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'■ 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































THE 


PICTOEIAL LIBEAEY 

OF 

USEFUL INFORMATION, 


FAMILY ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 

COMPRISING A 

COMPLETE LIBRARY OF USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING LITERATURE, 


DESIGNED ESPECIAILT FOE 

FAMILY reading; 


THE ‘WHOLE 

COMPILED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES. 


EMBEACINO 


MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION; ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY; BIOGRAPHY 
OF CELEBRATED STATESMEN, HEROES, PHILANTHROPISTS, AND PUBLIC BENE¬ 
FACTORS; GEOGRAPHICAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY OF VARIOUS 
PARTS OF THE WORLD; DISCOVERIES IN ARTS, 

SCIENCES, &o. &o. 


BY WALTER PERCIVAL, A.M. 


ILLUSTRATED WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY ENGRAVINGS. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. 

1851 . 







Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, 

By PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., 

In the Clerk’s OfiBce of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 


IE 




r ' 


WRIGHT & HASTY, PRINTERS, 
3 Water Street, Boston. 





PREFACE 


In offering the “Pictorial Library” to the public, its editor begs to say a few words, 
partly by way of explanation of the plan which has governed its arrangement, and 
partly as a form of confessional to those whose substance he has so freely drawn from. 

“ The Pictorial Library of Useful Information and Family Encyclopsedia” —this is the 
title of our work now at hand, and however elaborately we may attempt to describe the 
plan of its execution, it will, after all, be much less liable to be mistaken by a careful reading 
of the title-page, than by a more labored analysis. Yet its editor could not bear to 
send it out into the world, without giving some reasons for christening it under this 
somewhat pretending name. 

First, then, we will mention its “Pictorial” attractions. It will be found to contain some 
two hundred and fifty illustrations, which we think will bear a favorable comparison with 
the finest wood engravings yet issued from the American burin. Although attended with 
great expense, yet this feature was deemed indispensable in carrying out our project of 
amusing and interesting the young, as weU as the middle-aged and the old. It will be ob¬ 
served that we give considerable space to the more interesting subjects in Natural History; 
and on this feature especially we think a liberal iRustration is very desirable, as a knowl¬ 
edge of natural history, as well as astronomy, must lead the young to adopt sentiments of 
admiration of the wisdom, intelligence, and benevolence of the Great First Cause of all 
things. It is presumed, therefore, that, generally, this portion wiR prove agreeable, as 
such articles must be useful as weR as entertaining information. 

A portion of our space wiR be found occupied by moral and reRgious topics, (excluding, 
however, everything of a sectarian nature,) sometimes drawn from the editor’s own scanty 
store-house, and sometimes from writers of estabRshed reputation; always aiming, how¬ 
ever, to give credit to those whose labors he may thus appropriate. 

In foRowing the plan as indicated by the title, the editor finds a wide field before him; 
and he trusts that the character of the Encyclopaedia wRl show that his object has been 
to disseminate useful information among the many. The great body of the people want 
information without excitement, and knowledge instead of inflammatory appeals to their pas¬ 
sions ; and, unless knowledge is served to them in a pleasing form, greater or less num¬ 
bers wiR, in the future as in the past, be constantly stumbRng before the wily gaze of the 
notoriety-loving sociaRst, and imagining themselves oppressed under a government of mRd 
and equal laws. Let all, then, endeavor to do their mite towards averting such a state of 
pubRc sentiment in the rising generation; and in doing this the editor hopes he has not mis¬ 
taken his mission in the preparation of “ The Pictorial Library of Useful Information and 
FamRy Encyclopaedia ” 








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V A 




INDEX 


A. 


Astronomy.—No. 1 . . . 






. 7 

Anemometer, or Wind Guage 

• 





24 

Arnold, General Benedict . 






. 83 

Astronomy.—No. 2 . . . 

• 





44 

Archimedes .... 







Africa, Central .... 






71 

Aloe. 







Academy, New Female, in Albany. 

• 





104 

Architecture, Piscatory 






. 118 

American Institute of Instruction 

. 





122 

Artedi, John .... 






. 144 

Animal Magnetism. 






160 

Alcohol ..... 







Astronomy. 





181, 250 

Albany N. Y. 







Asylum, Widows and Orphans, in Philadelphia 



188 

Ancients, Geographical Knowledge of. 





. 190 

Artesian Wells .... 






194 

Abraham, History of . 






. 196 

Andes of Chili .... 






201 

American Continent . 






. 207 

Ancient Writings, Genuineness of . 

. 





233 

Ancient History of Phoenicia 






. 286 

Abraham, History of . . . 






239 

Animals of Former Periods now extinct 





. 241 

Anecdote of a Frenchman 






248 

Artillery and Dragoons . 






. 253 

Ames, Fisher, notice of 

• 





273 

American Rail-Roads 






. 293 

Ancient Pilgrims 






832 

A Benefactor 






. 838 

April Fools. 

• 





839 

America and the Ancients . 






. 840 

Advantages of Moral Science 

• 





849 

Arrow-Root .... 






. 862 

Annual Fair in India 

• 





368 

American Gipsies 






. 872 

A Question .... 

• 





886 

Agriculture on the Prairies 






. 394 

Americanisms • . . . 

• 





404 

Ancient British Navy 






. 406 

Adulterations of Tea 

• 





438 

African Snakes .... 






. 452 

Anecdotes of Parrots 






455 

Apparent distance of objects 






. 461 

Agricultural labours in France 

* 





464 

Alligators ..... 






. 474 

Adams, John .... 

* 





481 

Asthma ..... 







Ancients, Natural History among the 

• 





489 

Andrew Ferrara 






. 490 

American Builder’s Book 






502 

Animals, Longevity of 






. 506 

Asbestos ..... 

• 





503 

Jirolites .... 






. 515 

B. 







Boatman’s Song . 






. 25 

Bunker Hill .... 

• 


* 



26 

Beautiful Extract 


• 




. SO 

Bread Fruit .... 

• 


• 


. 

32 


Black Hawk. 






45 

Bacon, Lord, lines by 


• 


• 


50 

Bible in England in 1587 . 






. 56 

Beds, Feather. 


• 




58 

Bridges, Turnpikes, Rail-Roads. 






. 60 

Bishop Heber, lines by . 






67 

Boston in March, 1776. 






80 

Boston, Ancient Buildings in . 






80 

Balbec, Ruins of. 






. 85 

Boston Academy of Music . • 






98 

Bible, The * . . . 






. 102 

Book Making .... 







Boon, Daniel .... 






. 115 

Boston, Census 






145 

Boston, The Reported Riot in 






. 163 

Back’s Expedition in 1333-4 . 






169 

Buffalo ..... 






. 173 

Birds, Rare .... 






173 

Books, New Publication of 






. 175 

Bee, The Honey or Domestic . 






173 

Brooks’s Letter from Amsterdam. 






. 192 

Blood, Circulation of the . 






217 

Beaver, The .... 






. 220 

Bee, The .... 







Bank of Pennsylvania. 






. 249 

Beauty and Time . 






258 

Bear, Great White 






. 259 

Barry, Commodore, Biographical Notice 

of 



285 

Bridewell in New York city. 






. 287 

Bent of the Mind . 






294 

Boston Tea Party 






. 817 

Bath for Horses 






822 

Burning Spring .... 






. 840 

Brazilian Ant Hills 






846 

Bee Hunt. 






. 357 

Bells . . . . 






887 

Baker’s Bread .... 






. 890 

Bank of Amsterdam 






402 

Bacon. 







Bunyan’s Works 






419 

Boots, South American 






. 485 

Birch Tree Sugar 






496 

Buenos Ayres, City of 






. 510 

Book Printing 






510 

Big Kettle .... 






. 518 

c. 







Child, the, should be early taught 






. 10 

Cork Oak .... 


• 




13 

Capitol of Maine 






. 15 

Capital Punishment 

• 

« 




15 

Camel, The .... 






. 21 

Child, A .... 

• 





22 

Comets. 






24, 156 

Cosmogony .... 

• 

« 




82 

Curious Springs .... 







Church, Seaman’s in Boston 






34 

Cuckoo, The .... 






. 41 

Column on Beacon Hill 


• 




47 

Contentment .... 






. 54 

Camera Lucida 


• 




56 

Caribou or Rein Deer 






. 57 

Cariole, The Canadian . 






58 



































IV 


INDEX 




)oor 


Y. 


Jottage 


Canal, Atlantic and Pacific 
Comets and Women 
Channing, Dr. Discourse on the Wants of the Poor 
Christians, Union among. 

Comet’s Influence 
Causes of Social Evils 
Country. Future hopes of our 
Cow Tree . 

Chemical Discoveries 
Church, Second Presbyterian at Auburn 
Colonization of Free Negroes 
Crusades, The .... 

Cowi)er’s Comparison of Voltaire to a 
Cheeses, Mammoth 
Church, A, restored to Light 
Cotton Manufacture, Ancient Mexican 
Cold Weather .... 

Clinton, De Witt, late governor of N. 

Cleopatra’s Needle 

Cretlit. 

Consumption of Spirits in Great Britai 
Cherokee Alphabet 
Celeste, Madame 
Cursed Bowl, the . 

Coal. 

Cows, French 

Cheuiistry. 

Congress .... 

Cooper, James F. Notice of 
Chateaubriand 

Chili. 

Church, St. Paul’s, Troy N. Y. 

Capital Punishments . 

Chilled Cast Iron 
Coloured Bones .... 

Complaint, by Coleridge 
Climate ..... 

Comparative Longevity . 

Chinese Magnets 
Cromwell, Oliver, Burial of . 

Cross-Bow. 

Combativeness . 

Coffee House Slip 
Castilian Quadrille—Music 
Calhoun, John C. . . . 

Combustion of a Professor 
Coinage ..... 

Camel’s Thorn 

Colours, Doctrine of . . . 

Cooper, Dr. Samuel . . 

Customs, Fifty Years since 
Commerce—Cabbage and Tailors 
Chantrey’s Washington 
Chinese Pyramid 
Corfu, insects in 


221 , 


65 

70 

87 

94 

100 

103 

107 

114 

120 

127 

142 

150 

150 

153 

170 

171 
174 
177 
199 

191 

192 
194 
194 
203 
211 
213 
231 
224 
231 
235 
241 
243 
260 
288 

294 

295 

296 
299 
315 
331 

333 

334 
345 
852 

859 

860 
865 
869 
875 
879 
879 
884 
402 
405 
418 


Drunkards, Warning to . 

Dog Keeper . . . . 

Destruction by War 
Death of Hindoos on the Ganges 
Dale, Commodore . 

Distant Sounds . . . • 

Danish Monarchy . 

Dancing Horses . . . < 

Diamond, Combustibility of the 

Dirt-eating. 

Duels. 

Despots . . . . 

Duston Family 

Dog ...••■ 

Dead Animals, Uses of 
Dead Sea and the River Jordan . 
Devil’s Hill .... 
Diseases in Former Times 
Diseases of Parrots 
Disposal of the Dead . 

Duelling . . . • 

Drinker, Edward 

E. 


Cincinnati Water Works 

• • 

419 

Chinese, Idolatry of the .... 


. 423 

Cassava Root, or Maniock 

• • 

436 

Children, Indulgence of ... . 


. 444 

Cincinnati. 


449 

Cookery. 


. 467 

Canadian Indians ..... 

• • 

475 

Churches and Cathedrals .... 


. 497 

O/O&l •*••••• 


498 

Cat. 


. 499 

Caverns. 


507 

Custom . . 

• 

. 517 

D. 



Deerfield Mansion House . . . 

• • 

11 

Duck, the Tame. 

• 

. 40 

“ the Summer .... 

• • 

41 

Dependence on God ..... 

« 

. 50 

Daily and Weekly Press 

• » 

107 

Duty of a Good Citizen . . . . 


. 110 

Density of Bodies at Different Depths 

• • 

123 

Death’s Final Conquest . . . . 

• 

. 125 

Dale, Richard, of the American Navy 

• • 

183 

Decatur, Commodore .... 

• 

. 218 

Deaths of eminent Persons in 1835 

• • 

223 

Duxbury^, Ship Building in ... 

• 

. 227 


Earth, First and Early settlement of 



80 

Experience comes too late .... 



. 88 

Extract. 



112 

Elections. 



. 181 

Esquimaux Indians ..... 



145 

Employment of Leisure time by the Young 



. 147 

Enigma ...•••• 



166 

Esquimaux Huts of Snow . 



. 166 

Earthquake in Cappadocia .... 



205 

Education ....... 



. 207 

Excretory Functions ..... 



214 

Ear, The. 




Extract from Lamartine’s Pilgrimage 



233 

Everett, Gov. Speech of . 



. 252 

Ettrick Shepherd, Death of the 



256 

Eilucation of Children, Moral 



. 264 

Education in the West, Progress of 



291 

Exercise of the Brain ..... 



. 302 

Extract from the ‘ Puritan ’ . . . . 



809 

Editorial Notice ..... 



. 312 

Egyptian Papyrus ...... 



815 

Earth, Former Temperature of the 



. 825 

English Paupers and American Convicts 



344 




. 347 

Exmouth, Viscount. 



858 

Etawah, Gardens of, in India 



. 875 

Extravagance ...... 



385 

Extinct Animals. 



. 407 

Esquimaux Dogs—Economy, Village of 



430 

European Notions of the Americans . 



. 461 

Entrance of the American Woods,—Poetry 



478 

English Cottages ..... 



. 487 

Eliot, Life of. 



495 

Earth, Girdle for the .... 



. 499 

El Dorado. 



510 

F. 

Fig Tree . . .... 



. 43 

Faneuil Hall, Notice of .... 



56 

Farmers ....... 

Federal Constitution ..... 



. 65 
77 

Faith ....... 



. 88 

Fort Independence. 


• 

101 

Fly Boats. 



. Ill 

Fresh Pond, in Cambridge .... 



155 

Far, Far o’er Hill and Dell,—Music . 



. 176 

Fredericton, N. B.. 



187 

Feathers of Birds. 



. 204 

From Washington’s Orderly Book . 
Forefathers’ Day ..... 


• 

209 



. 224 

Female Seminary at Canandaigua . 



261 

Family, A . 



. 276 

Franklin’s Expedition . ... . 



281 

Fashionable Wigs ..... 



. 284 

Family Lyceums—Flowers, Cultivation of 



287 

Field of the World. 



. 296 

Forcing of the Strawbeny, On the 


• 

29- 


246 

243 

256 

297 

820 

822 

848 

851 

864 

872 

875 

385 

395 

897 

410 

426 

458 

466 

472 

480 

504 

508 










































INDEX 


V 


Fragments of things 

French Soldiery , 

Fire in New Orleans, . . 

Flat Head Indians 
Federative Government 
Forced Abstinence 
Fidelity 

Fortitude .... 
Forging of the Anchor , 

Flint in Hay 

Farewell, by Bishop Heber 

Fashions at Hamburg 

French Labouring Classes 

Fossil Elephant . . . 

Fessenden's Poems 

Fashion in Otaheite 

Flesh of the Boa 

Fresh Air, Importance of . 

Fogs of London 

Fire Hunting 

Foundered Vessel 

Females in Europe 

Funei-id Ceremonies 

Foreign Products, Transplantation of 

Fashions of Hats 

Fire Worshippers 

Feminine Characteristics 

Fur Trade, Sketch of the 

Fire at Mirimachi, N. B. 

G. 

Geography, Hebrew and Phoenician 
Guinea Hen, or Pintado 
Gadsden Mr., Patriotic Reply of . 
Golden Club 

Giants .... 

Glass, The first Invention of . 

Greek Church 

Girard, Stephen 

Grave of Fingal 

Gas Lights from Rosin 

Goat, The common 

God Provideth . 

Girard Bank, Philadelphia 
German Literature 
Gold Washing 
Greenough, the Sculptor 
Gratitude of Animals 
Gardens on House-Tops 
Great Timber Slide 
Grace Church . 

Grotesques 
Ground Parrot . 

Goldfinch .... 
Globe, Weight and substance of the 

H. 


Hickory, Thick Shell-bark 
Hernans, Mrs. Lines by 
Hytena, The Striped 
Hope’s Brighter Shore . 

Hindoo Castes 
Heat, The Effects of . 

Heth, Joice 
Home, Early 

Human Life, Calculation of 
Honesty the best Policy 
Henry, Patrick 
Hindoo Avatars 

Heckla and Griper, at Melville Island 
Hudson River, A view on 
Holt’s Hotel, in N. Y. 

Horses, Natural Language of . 
Hindoos 

Hutchinson House 
Hope of future life . 

Horn, Uses of . 

Hoboken . . . 

Hanging Rock . 

Horse 


. SOI 

Hamilton, Alexander 


• 



. 854 

305 

Human Life, Duration of . 



• 


876 

. 810 

Heat, Effect of Colour on 


• 



. 886 

327 

Human Sacrifices in Mexico 



• 


389 

. 333 

Heat Lightning . , 


• 



. 897 

834 

Hair 



• 


415 

. 836 

Habitations of Man 


• 



. 4.S1 

840 

Hottentot Doctors . 



• 


472 

. 346 

Hot Springs of Iceland . 


• 



. 512 

851 







. 356 

1. 






862 

Introduction 



• 


1 

. 883 

Ice Islands or Ice-Bergs 


• 



. 29 

391 

Is he Rich ? 



• 


29 

. 403 

Instruction, Moral and Religious 


• 



37 

427 

j4<t> A 

Idolatry, Origin of 



• 


62 

• 4o4 

/4 on 

Inquisition 


• 



. 64 

4oy 

Innovation, The Cry of 



• 


74,159 

. 443 

Intolerance . . . 


• 



. 131 

446 

Invention, New and Important 



• 


139 

459 

Idols, in West Africa 


• 



. 153 

469 

Ice Islands . 



• 


161 

471 

Intoxication 


• 



. 171 

486 

Internal Improvement 



• 


177 

. 493 

Idumea, or Edom 


• 



. 206 

494 

Intemperance 



• 


212 

. 500 

Indians of North America 





. 214 

509 

Insect Plant . . 



• 


221 

. 516 

Indiana . . . 





. 252 


Intolerance . . , 



• 


843 


Indian Corn . . , 


0 



. 843 

24 

Indian Hieroglyphics 



• 


856 

. 40 

Influence of the Seasons 





. 377 

46 

I remember, I remember 





877 

. 59 

Inquisition, Mandate of the 


• 



. 899 

59 

Ice Houses. . 



• 


417 

. 74 

Indian Juggler . 


• 



. 432 

102 

Ink .... 



• 


438 

. 104 

Itnportance of Fresh Air 


• 



. 439 

124 

Influence of Music on Animals 



• 


463 

. 127 

Indian Su|)erstitions 


* 



. 476 

151 

Iiulians of Fraser’s River . 



• 


491 

. 191 

Italy, Climate of 


• 



. 517 

219 







. 255 

J • 






358 

Jews .... 





. 81 

. 367 

Jewish History 

• 


• 


216 

374 

Jungle Fowl 


• 



. 239 

. 376 

Jerusalem . ' . 

• 


• 


269 

399 

Juvenile Outcasts 


• 



. 360 

. 414 

Jewish Burial 

• 


• 

. 

897 

422 

Jerusalem 


• 



. 519 

. 429 







490 

K. 






. 518 








Knout 



• 


366 


Killing a Turtle 


• 


* 

. 436 

14 

Kreutzberg . 

• 


• 

• 

460 

8, 28, 36 

L. 






25 







. S3 

Last Lines of Mrs. Hernans 


• 


• 

. 18 

64 

Love Apple, or Tomato 

• 


• 


29 

. 66 

Locke, Mr. 


* 



. 63 

72 

Labour, Mechanics’ Hours of 



• 


70 

. 79 

Liquorice . . . . 


• 



. 88 

93 

Library in Philadelphia 

• 


• 


91 

. 95 

Lowell, History of 




* 

. 93 

119 

Lake Erie Waltz,—(Music) 

• 


* 


136 

. 128 

Lowe, Sir Hudson 


» 


• 

. 142 

169 

Lights and Shades . 



* 


144 

. 193 

Leap Year 


• 



. 185 

196 

Lynx 





189 

. 197 

Launch of a 74, at Constantinople 


• 



. 191 

199 

Lake of Aculeo 



• 


201 

. 237 

Life Boat 





. 247 

259 

Lincoln, Major General, Biographical Notice of . 

267 

. 804 

Lombardy Poplars 


• 


• 

. 276 

SIS 

Lithograi)hic Printing 



• 


295 

. 840 

Lucien Bonajtarte 


• 


• 

. 348 

348 

Lake Superiour 

• 




378 


1 























INDEX. 


Lumberers of Maine 
Leeches 
Lightning Rods 
Lime as a Manure 
Laplandish Customs 

M. 


. S80 
422 
. 442 
456 
. 513 


Mercury bearing Science round the World 
Magnetic Pole . 

Mineral Springs of Virginia 
Mount Tabor 
Mother’s Love 

Magazine, x\merican Gardener’s 
Midnight .... 

Mint, the United States 
My Life is like the Summer Rose, by R. H. Wilde 
My Life, Answer to, by a Lady 
Meteoric Stones 
Magnificent Present 
Martineau, Miss, Lines by . 

Massachusetts, Capitol of 
Musk Ox or Bull . 

Mental Powers of the two Sexes 
Mulberry, White Italian 
IMoore, Lines hy 
Middle or Dark Ages 
Music, Boston .\cademy of 
Manual Labour Schools 
Mount Ararat 

Missionary to the North American Indians 
Mercury, Transit of 
Mineral Magnetism 
Magnolia, an eighty feet 
Magnetic Needle 
Mahogany 
Mount Ararat 

Minerals mentioned in the Bible 
Musings .... 

Manufactures 
Mackintosh, Sir J. 

M usic, Effect of, on different Animals 
Massachusetts 
Mount Auburn . 

Manure .... 

Madison, James 
Mind and Matter 
IMexican Custom 
Modern Jewish Passover 
Moorish Peculiarities 
Mandate of the Inquisition 
Moonlight 

Mahor, the .... 

Mahal, or Palace Tomb 
Magellan Clouds 
^lilitia .... 

Mischievousness of Monkeys 
Major Burnham’s Orderly Book 
Mobs .... 

Man, Conformation of 
Men, Sj)ecies of . 

Mary and Elizabeth 

N. 


3 

4 
9 

19 

20 
25 
28 
31 
41 
41 
52 
54 
56 
69 
71 
76 
81 
86 
96 
98 

103 

111 

121 

127 

147 

155 

158 

164 

181 

186 

187 

192 

198 

198 

207 

235 

236 
246 
292 
295 
335 
368 
399 
407 

424 

425 
462 
479 
485 
503 
505 

514 

515 
517 


New Orleans, Trade of 
Natural Production 
North Carolina, Capitol of 
Nile, The River 
New Method of Producing Heat 
New Zealand Chief, Tool • 
Newton, Sir Isaac 
New Year . 

Notes of a Modern Traveller 
New York, Capitol of , 
New York, Great Fire in 
Noses, the Science of 
New York City 
Norwegian Peasants 
New York University 
New State Hall, Albany, N. Y. 
Notiae, Editorial 


. 52 
52 

. 61 
62 
. 132 
140 
. 150 
203 
208, 229 
211 
. 224 
268 
. 275 
336 
. 409 
475 
. 520 


o. 


Oak, Branch of . . - 




13 

Ohio, The State of . . 

, 



109 

Officers in the War of the Revolution 




120 

Ourang Outang 




143 

Orange Lodges 




. 165 

Omnibus Utnbrella 




173 

Otle , . • . • 




. 175 

Ontario Steamboat 




270 

Old Pirates .... 




. 271 

Ohio, The 




288 

Originality .... 




. 302 

Original Poetry, by L. H. S. 




302 

Ourang Outang 




. 321 

Origin of Words 




388 

Ostrich, To the 




. 428 

Old Maids in France 




435 

Odours, Effect of Colour on 




. 467 

Olive Oil, Consumption of 




484 

P. 





Paradise Lost . , 




. 32 

Parental Hope, by Mrs. Sigourney 




35 

Pigeon, The Common or Wild 




. 47 

Political Societies, Progressive stages of 




52 

Penn, Gov. Letter of . 




. 52 

Pickling Meat 




57 

Perpetual Motion 




. 64 

Power, Thomas, Lines by 




75 

Protestantism 




. 88 

Press, Liberty of the . 




116 

Presbyterian Minister . 




. 118 

Perkins, Jacob 




137 

Peach, a new mode of propagating the 




. 158 

Penobscot, Expedition in 1779 




165 

Portland, View of . . . 




. 173 

Patents, Late American 




174 

Prairies west of the Mississippi 




. 188 

Physiognomy, Lavater, on 




199 

Peach Trees .... 




204 

Particular Providence 




212 

Poetry of Life .... 




. 238 

Plants, Origin of . 




238 

Poetry ..... 




. 246 

Pilgrims .... 




249 

Places of Worship in Boston 




. 255 

Puris, Hut of the 




257 

Palmyra .... 




263 

Punishment of Death 




279 

Pike’s Letters .... 




. 286 

Preservation of the Dead . 




814 

Phrenology .... 




. 337 

Pennsylvania Hospital 




371 

Plague ..... 




. 412 

Pigeons .... 




421 

Potatoes .... 




. 424 

Poetry, by Rev. G. Croly . 




436 

Peasants on Stilts 




. 442 

Poetry .... 




457 

Puritans .... 




. 468 

Puma, or American Lion . 




471 

Peking in China 




. 477 

Pitch Gatherers 




506 

Pope, The .... 




. 518 

Cl. 





Quakers, or Friends 




50 

R. 





Relative Duties 




12 

Roell, H. A. . 


• 


. 20 

Rittenhouse, David 




39 

Resistance of Liquids to Solid Bodies 


• 


. 48 

Rail Road to Quebec 




52 

Religion of the World . 


• 


. 76 

Russian Observatory 

• 


• 

76 

Revolution, Survivors of the 


• 


. 81 

Riding, The Exercise of . 

• 



82 

Rock struck by Moses fw Water 


• 


. 97 

















INDEX. vii 


Redeeming the time 

• 


. 168 

Roses, Otto of 


• • 

171 

Rochester . . . 

• 

• 

. 174 

Religious Speculation 


• • 

189 

Rivers and Mountains of North America 


. 190 

Rail Road from Philadelphia to Sunbury 


202 

Rail Road from Charlestown to Cincinnati 

. 209 

Rochester, N. Y. . 



229 

Reformation of the Church Establishment 

in England 

258 

Retniniscence 



260 

Recollections of England 

• 

• 

. 262 

Rocky Mountain Goat 



296 

Rubies .... 

• 

• 

. 836 

Russian Police . 



866 

Red Jacket 

• 

• 

. 877 

Royal Household Book 



405 

Remarkables at Rangoon 

• 

• 

. 434 

Roads, Tunnels, &c. 



445 

Rheumatism, Singular Effect of 

• 

• 

. 452 

Revolutionary Sentiments . 



496 

Rattlesnake 

« 

• 

. 511 

s. 

Slavery .... 



22 

Solar System, a general view of 

Style, Corrections of 



. 23 



23 

Settlement of the Earth 



. 80 

Seamens’ Church, in Boston 



34 

State Prison, at Charlestown, Mass. 
Sailing Carriage . . . 



. 42 



46 

Silk Twist, Manufacture of 



. 50 

State House, or Hall of Independence 



53 

Stag, or Red Deer 



. 57 

Seventh Day, The . 



62 

Sonnet 



. 64 

Sacred History, Writers of 



67 

Sound, Conveyance of 



. 69 

Smith, Captain John 



73 

Silk Manufacture in America . 



. 76 

Sabbath, The 



86 

Steam Boats 



. 87 

Steam Engines 



89 

St. Paul’s Church at Albany 



. 93 

Spectacles .... 



96 

Spider Silk 



. 100 

Sling, or Fundator Balearis 



100 

Silver Hair 



. 101 

Sabbath Sonnet 



109 

Secretary Bird 



. 113 

Sea Serpent 



122 

Sacred History, Writers of 



. 125 

Skepticism 



127 

Suttees 



. 132 

Shakers, in Canterbury, N. H. 



133 

Snow, and the Snow Bird 



. 144 

Silkworms 



148 

Sounds, Clearness of at night . 



. 166 

Switzerland 



168 

Steam Boats, Sheet Iron 



. 173 

Southern Character 



174 

Steam Engines 



. 175 

Scripture Explanation 



178 

State House, in Concord, N. H. 



. 197 

Solitude .... 



198 

Scenes in South America 



. 201 

Somerville, Sketch of Mrs. 



206 

Spring of eternal youth 



. 209 

Stages .... 



213 

Sabbath 



. 244 

Stone, Artificial 



244 

Studies of the young 



. 255 

Singular Accident . 



288 

Sugar, on the cultivation of 

Soldiers .... 



. 289 



296 

Sleep of Plants 



. 828 

Snakes . . ' . 



332 

Scanty Sustenance 



. 348 

Scenes of War 



372 

Sleep, nature of 



. 385 

Spanish Locusts 



392 

Salt, its Origin and Manufacture 



. 393 


Sabbath Bells 

• • 

• 

899 

Spina Christi 

• 

• 

. 406 

Sea Unicorn 

• • 

• 

417 

Spearing Fish . . 

• 

• 

. 438 

Similitudes . 

• • 

• 

439 

Second Baptist Church, Albany, N. Y. 

• 

. 441 

Street Police of Paris 

• • 

• 

451 

Schenectady Lyceum . 

• 

• 

. 453 

Sound of Thunder . 

• • 


459 

Southern Forest 

• 


. 462 

Steam Power 


• 

480 

Shaw’s Patent Threshing Machine 

• 

. 

. 487 

Suffolk Bank 



501 

Spider’s Web 

• 


519 

Sperm Whales 

. 

• 

520 

T. 

Temperance 

. 10, 

48, 53, 

65, 74 

Thick Shell Bark Hickory 



14 

Telescope 



18, 99 

Tabor, Mount 



19 

Three Homes . 



. 20 

Theology', Natural 



21 

Tomato, or Love Apple 



. 29 

Truth and Falsehood 



SO 

Tristan D’Acunha, The Island 



. 43 

Thoughts in a Balcony at Daybreak 


93 

Ti(*es .... 


102, 108 

Trenton, Battle of 



112 

To a correspondent, from Decatur, Ala. 


. 135 

Tremont Street, Boston 



157 

Tear, The Frozen 



. 170 

Tent of Alexander the Great 



183 

Toronto 



. 187 

Tinned Cast Iron Hollow Ware 



200 

Texas, its population and resources 


. 202 

To the Young 



256 

Tower of Babel 



. 866 

Turtle 



869 

Trumpet Fish . 



. 418 

Travelling in Russia 



431 

Turkish Ladies, Dress of 



. 467 

Travelling in South America 



47S 

Tomb of the Saviour 



. 504 

u. 

United States Mint . 

• • 

• 

31 

University of Pennsylvania 

• 

• 

. 141 

Upper Canada 

• • 

• 

898 

V. 

Vision, Phenomenon of 

• 

« 

. 37 

Volcanoes . 

• * 

• 

60 

Vital Powers, Transference of 

• 

• 

. 60 

Vegetables, Mammoth 

• • 

• 

162 

Vanity and Pride 

• 

• 

. 200 

View on the Hudson River 

• • 

• 

245 

Valley of the Sweet Waters 

• 

• 

. 861 

Vegetating Wasp . 

• • 

• 

416 

Violins .... 

• 

• 

. 459 

Vae Vobis . 

• • 

• 

152 

w. 

Whale Catching 

• 


. 6 

Worm and the Flower 

• • 


10 

Wind Guage, or Anemometer 

» • 


. 24 

Watts, Dr. 

• • 


38 

White Beech 

• 


. 63 

Weyer’s Cave 

• • 


75 

World, Religions of the 

• 


. /6 

Winds 

• • 


114 

Water, Conti action and Expansion of 


. 141 

Whitney, Eli . . 

• • 


146 

Water, Advantages of drinking 
Wood Flour 

• 


. 151 

• • 


162 

Woman, J’he Province of 

• 


164 

Welcome Winter 

• • 


167 

Widow’s Mile 

* 


. 2<'3 

Woman 

. 


201 























viii 


INDEX. 


Winter Hymn . 

West, Benjamin, notice of 
Wolf .... 
Washington 
Waterloo Vase 

Warriours, Ancient and Modem . 
VVild Turkies and Deer 
Wolfe’s Monument 
Wild Ducks ... 

Wolfe, on the heights of Abraham 
VV’^onls, Origin of . . 

Washington 

Wasp .... 
Water Works, Cincinnati . 
Wilson, Burns, and Franklin . 
Wild Horsemen 
W air us 


. 212 
225 
. 256 
265 
. 280 
829 
. 334 
344 
. 873 
881 
. 388 
402 
. 416 
419 
. 428 
432 
. 442 


Washington’s Spring 
Witch Ointment 
Wives of Emigrants 
Wolf, anecdote of a . 

Wood Engraving . 

Wind, voice of the 
Wild Horses 

Weight and Substance of the Globe 

Y. 


Young Ladies, for 


z. 


Zoophytes . 

Zodiac, The, A monthly paper 
Ziska John 


470 
. 470 
476 
. 485 
488 
. 492 
512 
. 518 


. so 


72 
. 158 
482 








Guided by MINERVA, MERCURY is 

In selecting such a group of mythological di¬ 
vinities, as the commencement of the Illustrated 
Library, we protest against the charge both of 
vanity and heathenism. It is but a small por¬ 
tion of the globe that we expect to enlighten, nor 
do we even hope to give light enough to the re¬ 
gions visited by this work. If we can contrib¬ 
ute only a mite, we think we shall not be called pre¬ 
sumptuous in adopting the device; and it is the 
attempt rather than the fruit of our labors, to 


BEARING SCIENCE ROUND THE WORLD. 

which we would be understood to refer. And as 
to heathenism, it is only complying with long estab¬ 
lished custom in such matters, to allude to the 
imaginary deities of ancient times, to indicate a 
literary object or plan. Though we make allusions 
to the pagan classics, we trust the character of the 
Encyclopedia, at least, will show that we have 
a reverent regard for whatever is Christian, and 
our decided, though temperate, disapprobation of 
whatever is rmti-christkm. 









































































6 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE MAGNETIC POLE. 

It may gratify our readers to give the result, 
in a simple and plain manner, of Capt. Ross’ 
attempt to reach and discover the magnetic pole, 
from his narrative of his last voyage, just published. 
—“ The j)lace of observation was as near the mag¬ 
netic pole as the limited means which I had, ena¬ 
bled me to determine. The amount of the dip was 
89 deg. 59 min. being within one minute of the 
vertical; while the proximity of the pole, if not its 
actual existence where we stood, was further con¬ 
firmed by the total inaction of the several horizon¬ 
tal needles in my possession. These were suspend¬ 
ed in the most delicate manner possible; but not 
one showed the least effort to move from the posi¬ 
tion it was in—a fact, which the most uninformed 
on the subject must know proves, that the centre of 
attraction lies at a very small horizontal distance, if 
at any.” The British flag was then fixed on the 
spot by Capt. Ross and his party, &c., all which 
was very natural: and a small monument or heap of 
stones was erected. Capt Ross proceeds to state, 
“ that a learned professor in England had, in the 
absence of the expedition, laid down all the curves 
of equal variation to within a few degrees of the 
point of concurrence; leaving that point of course 
to be determined by observation, should observation 
ever fall within the power of navigators. It was 
most gratifying on our return to find that the place 
I had fixed upon was precisely the one where these 
curves should have co-incided in a centre, had they 
been protracted on his magnetic chart.” Capt. 
Ross adds, if popular observation gives to this voy¬ 
age the credit of having placed a flag on the very 
point—on the summit of the mysterious pole, which 
it views, perhaps, as a tangible and visible reality, it 
may now correct itself if it pleases. 

A few days after, and on returning to their more 
permanent station, Capt. Ross examined his instru¬ 
ments, and his experiments served to convince him 
that his observations on the celebrated spot were 
correct. The theory previously adopted, was that 
the place of the magnetic pole was at 70 deg. north 
lat. and 9S deg. 30 min. 45 sec. W. longitude— 
and the spot where Capt. Ross supposes it, is 70 
deg. 5 min. 17 sec. north 1. and 9(5 deg. 46 min. 
45 sec. west long. A committee of the Admiralty, 
to whom Capt. Ross’ narrative and statement was 
submitted, reported, (among other things,) that 
“ they have no reason to doubt that Capt. Ross ac¬ 
tually reached the magnetic pole.” 

It has been supposed that the magnetic pole was 
not identical with the north pole; or, was not ex¬ 
actly at the point of 90 deg. from the equator. 
The magnetic meridian was also knowm not to be 
uniform, on all parts of the earth, or not to be par¬ 
allel with the meridians of longitude. “ There are 
certain points on the earth where there is no decli¬ 
nation of the magnetic needle; that is, no varia¬ 
tion from a north and south direction. And the 
line formed by these places do not coincide with 
geographical meridians (as just observed) but de¬ 
viate from them quite irregularly. According to 
the latest observations, there is a line without de¬ 
clination (or variation) in the Atlantic ocean be¬ 
tween the eastern and western continents, ft in¬ 


tersects the meridian of Paris, in south latitude 65, 
thence it mounts to the N. W. to about 35 W. 
longitude from Greenwich, (England,) as high as 
the latitude of Paraguay; after which, becoming 
again nearly north and south, it skirts the coasts of 
Brazil, and passes to the coast of Cayenne. Then 
turning to the N. W. it takes the direction of the 
United States, and proceeds to the north parts of 
the continent of America, which it traverses in the 
same direction. The position of this line on the 
globe, however, is not immutable. It has now been 
tending to the west for nearly a century and a half. 
But there is no regularity in this change. In the 
West Indies, the variation has been very trifling for 
one hundred and fifty years. There is supposed 
to have been a retrogradation towards the east fcr 
forty years past. The inclination, or dip of the 
needle is also found to be variable. At London in 
1775, it was 72® 30', in 1805, it was 70® 21'. 

There is another line at which there is no decli¬ 
nation, nearly opposite the one above described, in 
the southern ocean, and running in a N. W. direc¬ 
tion. It cuts the west part of New Holland, tra¬ 
verses the Indian ocean, enters the continent of 
Asia at Cape Comorin, lat. 10 north, long. 80 east, 
thence passing through Persia and West Siberia, 
reaches Lapland. There is a branch or division of 
this line near the Archipelago of Asia, which runs 
north and south, crosses China, and touches the 
eastern part of Siberia. Indications of a fourth line, 
wdiere there was no declination, were mentioned by 
Capt. Cook, in the South Sea. The greatest decli¬ 
nation, or variation noticed by Cook was in lat. 60, 
south. The greatest declinations have been in 
high latitudes, south and north. In northern lat¬ 
itudes, where the magnetic pole has been more 
nearly approached, (and lately supposed to be 
reached by Capt. Ross, as stated in the beginning 
of this article,) the greatest variation has been ob¬ 
served ; nearly 90® even. “ And if the magnetic 
pole should be passed, (says a writer on this sub¬ 
ject,) the north pole of the needle would turn to 
the south; and directly over the pole its direction 
would be vertical, and of course there would be no 
horizontal direction. It would appear, therefore, 
that the horizontal direction will be very weak, 
when the indication or dip is greatest; so that a 
slight extraneous influence may render the compass 
useless.” We ask the reader to refer anew to the 
above statement of Capt. Ross. Before Capt. 
Ross made his last voyage to the northern regions, 
it had been supposed and asserted, that the strong¬ 
est, or greatest inclination of the needle was be¬ 
tween 70 and 80®. Capt Parry found the ijjclina- 
tion 88® 43', in latitude 74® 47'. If Capt. Ross 
is correct. Parry passed to the north of the magnetic 
pole; and yet he did not notice the phenomenon 
mentioned above, of the north pole of the needle 
pointing south. Farther observations and explana¬ 
tions seem to be necessary. And yet it is considered 
by mathematicians in England, that Capt. Ross’ 
statement is correct. 

As to the magnetic pole, or the substance which 
produces the phenomena of the magnetic needle, 
some suppose “ that there are great magnets in 
the earth, which move periodically.” Professor 



OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


Steinhauser, was of opinion, “ that an interior 
planet revolved round the centre of the earth once 
in 440 years, and produced the magnetic effects at 
the surface.” Sander contended these phenomena 
are to be ascribed to a magnetic planet beyond the 
newly discovered planet Herschel, or Uranus, per¬ 
forming its revolutions in 17*20 years. Truly, the 
subject requires further explanation ! 

THE WHALE, AND WHALE CATCHING. 

In giving a description of the whale, the writer 
must necessarily repeat much that has been written 
by others ; but one who has seen them, in their na¬ 
tive element, and has often met them in all their 
terrors, can at least strip his description of the ex¬ 
aggeration in which most writers have indulged. 

The whale may be properly divided into two 
genera: the Bone whale and the Sperm whale. 
I prefer this distinction to the scientific one usually 
given, as it will more definitely mark the dift’erence 
of these animals than classic words, to which we 
attach little meaning. The Bone whales are of 
several species, all agreeing in general habits and 
character, but each having some distinct character¬ 
istic. The first and most important is the Black 
whale, or as the Americans call him the right whale. 
This animal is usually about fifty-six feet in length, 
the largest may reach to sixty feet. Their color is 
black on the back, and white on the centre of the 
belly. Occasionally he is spotted with white. The 
head of this creature is about one third of his whole 
length. The eyes are placed upon the sides of the head, 
near the body, and from its great size, it is conse¬ 
quently unable to see either directly forward, or be¬ 
hind it, so that it may be approached very near, with¬ 
out being alarmed. But the most singular part of the 
animal, is its mouth, and its adaptation for collect¬ 
ing the food upon which it lives. The upper jaw 
opens at least fifteen feet in length, and is pro¬ 
vided with over five hundred laminae, or slabs, of 
thin black bone, which are hairy on the inner side, 
and when seen without, have the appearance of a 
Venetian blind, placed perpendicularly. The un¬ 
der jaw is broad, and when closed receives the 
ends of this bone upon its soft gums. It is also 
provided with two immense lips, one on each side, 
which are large enough to close the whole mouth 
and cover the bone. Some idea of these lips may 
be formed, when we know that the longest bone, 
is fourteen feet in length, and the largest lip will 
make three barrels of oil. The body is from forty 
to fifty feet in circumference, and has two fins just 
behind the head, in which whalemen, owing to the 
peculiar situation of the bones, trace a fanciful re¬ 
semblance to the human hand and fingers. The 
use of the fins appears to be to direct their course 
and not to assist them in swimming. The body is 
thick for the greater part of its length, but it ta¬ 
pers near the end, and finishes in a tail, or as it is 
usually called, in flukes. These flukes are from 
twelve to fifteen feet in breadth, and in them is 
placed the animal’s means of offence and defence. 
With its flukes it strikes blows which may be heard 
at the distance of miles, and from their force, one 
would suppose that nothing could sustain them, but 
we find that in their contests with each other, they 
seldom or never produce death. 


This whale feeds upon the animalculse of the 
ocean: more particularly upon a very minute spe¬ 
cies of shrimp, by the whalemen called britt, which 
is found without the tropics, both in the northern 
and southern oceans. This is obtained by swim¬ 
ming with its mouth partly opened, until a sufficient 
quantity is collected ajid retained by the hairy bone 
of the upper jaw, when the lips are closed, and by 
means of its tongue this small food is collected and 
swallowed. Its manner of feeding would remind 
you of the grazing of the ox, the same disproportion 
between the size of its food and the animal to be 
supported. But when we reflect upon the fact, that 
the ocean is teeming with life, and remember the 
immense net-like mouth of the whale, we shall at 
once see that the end is not disproportioned to the 
means. Like the ox too, this animal feeds indus¬ 
triously for a few hours, and then either rises above 
the surface and sleeps, or exercises itself in awk¬ 
ward gambols. If playful, it beats the water with 
its flukes, or sinks to the depths of the ocean, and 
ascends with such velocity that it throws its whole 
body out of the water. It cannot remain long 
under the water at one time, it being a warm 
blooded animal, and breathing air, it must ascend 
for respiration. Its usual time of breathing is once 
in fifteen minutes. It has two orifices on the top 
of the head which answer for nostrils, and when 
it throws out its breath it is detected by the spray 
or steam which it throws up; owing to this, it be¬ 
comes the prey of the whalemen. This animal is 
sought for its oil and bone. 

The other species of Bone whale are the Hump¬ 
backed whale, the Finback, and a species called 
the Sulphur Bottom, by American whalemen, (per¬ 
haps answering to the Razor Back of the English.) 
The Humpback is killed for his oil, but his bone is 
small and of no value; he differs from the Black 
whale in having a large hump on the back, and in 
his fins, which are at least fifteen feet in length, 
with which he strikes severe blows, and will readily 
destroy a boat. The Finback whale is ninety feet 
in length, being much longer than either of the 
others, is distinguised from them by throwing his 
spout much higher, and by having a fin on the top 
of his back, and never lifting his flukes out of the 
water. He is also much fleeter than the Black or 
Humpbacked whales. For while they usually move 
but three or four miles an hour, and when excited 
can only for a short time accelerate their motion to 
ten or twelve miles, and must then stop and rest, 
the Finback can readily move at the rate of twenty 
miles an hour, (at the least) and will continue 
that rate for a length of time, that render all at¬ 
tempts to take him unavailing. The last and larg¬ 
est of the whale species, is the Sulphur Bottom or 
Razorback whale. They have been met with at 
the estimated length of one hundred and thirty feet, 
they differ little in appearance from the Finback, 
except that the back fin is nearer the tail, and 
their motion is much slower, seldom exceeding 
five miles an hour. They feed in the same manner 
as the Black whale, and like them are killed for their 
oil. All the species of Bone whale are alike in their 
habits, being all timid and cowardly, trusting to 
flight when attacked, and never if they can avoid it, 
defending themselves by injuring others. 




s 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


The Bone whales have but one known enemy ex¬ 
cept man. This is a fish called by whalemen 

The Killer,” about twenty feet long, ratlier large 
in the body, and armed with strong teeth, which 
attacks the bone whale for the sake of his tongue. 
He first fastens upon the blow holes or nostrils of 
the whale until he is forced to open his mouth, to 
breathe, which then entering he fastens upon the 
tongue and devours it, thus killing this immense 
animal, which would appear from its bulk, to be 
safe from the attack of all minor creatures. 

The Sperm whale difi'ers from the Bone whale in 
its feeding. The food of the Sperm whale is a spe¬ 
cies of animated vegetable, called squid, usually 
found in deep water. As this substance has much 
consistency, the whale is provided with thirty-six 
large teeth on the under jaw, with which it rends 
its food from the rocks to which it is attached. The 
head of the Sperm whale is square at the end, and 
seems unfit for rapid motion, but it is so hard that 
it is unaffected by collision with hard substances, 
and one means of offence with this animal is to 
strike with the head. Its head is not only one 
third the length of the body, but contains one third 
of the oily matter of the whole creature ; its upper 
jaw is frequently fourteen feet in thickness. Its 
upper surface of about six or eight feet in thick¬ 
ness (in a very large whale) is called junk, being 
formed of hard muscular fibres filled up with very 
fai oily matter. Beneath this is a cavity called the 
case, in which is contained a semi-liquid matter, 
which is spermaceti mixed with a little oil. This 
whale is not so timid as the Bone whale, and has 
more means of offence. It can attack with its 
square head, its jaw, or its flukes, and either of them 
are usually fatal to its opponent. It is the monarch 
of the ocean, and probably the leviathan of Job. 
It is not usually dangerous, or malicious, but when 
aroused and aware of its enemy, its ferocity is ter¬ 
rible ; it is not satisfied with beating him off, but 
pursues him to his destruction. It pursues the 
boat of the whaleman until he has dashed it in pie¬ 
ces ; but they who man it are too contemptible an 
enemy for this terror of the deep ; when the appar¬ 
ent enemy is destroyed, the men are left to their 
fate, and are safely picked up by another boat. 

The Sperm, like the Bone whale breathes air, but 
is capable of remaining longer under the water. It 
is usually supposed that the Sperm whale remains 
as long under the water as he does on the surface; 
and the largest have been known to be one hour 
and a quarter on the surface, breathing, and the 
same time below. This whale has but one nostril 
or spout hole, and in breathing blows the spray 
forward and low. He moves slowly through the 
water when not excited, but when attacked is ca¬ 
pable of moving seven or eight miles an hour, and 
continuing at that rate for a great length of time. 
The male of the Sperm whale, is much larger than 
the female; the largest male whales, having pro¬ 
duced from one hundred and fifty to two hundred bar¬ 
rels of oil, while the largest female never yields more 
than forty barrels. Of the same genus as the Sperm 
whale are the Porpus and Black fish. Their habits 
are similar, and their oil of the same kind. All 
whales produce their young alive,^one every year, 


and the young are suckled like the calf until they 
are capable of providing for their own sustenance. 

Having given a short account of the liabits of 
whales, and the character of the different species, 
I shall now describe the manner of taking them and 
saving the oil. 

A whale ship is usually fitted with three or four 
boats, according to her size. Each boat is manned 
with six people—one mate, one harpooner or boat 
steerer, and four sailors. Besides the boats’ crews, 
she has six or eight men to keep the ship when the 
boats are in pursuit of whales; having in all from 
twenty-five to thirty-three men on board. Each 
boat is provided with a tub containing thirteen 
hundred and fifty feet of tow-line, which, when 
used, is made fast to two harpoons. She also has 
several lances, which are sharp weapons five feet 
in length and made fast to a pole, and used to des¬ 
patch the whale after the boat is made fast to him 
by the barb harpoon. There are also several mi¬ 
nor articles attached to the boat, which conduce to 
the safety of the men in case of accident. The 
ship is also provided with two or three large iron 
pots, capable of containing from one hundred and 
sixty, to two hundred and twenty gallons each, for 
the jHirpose of boiling out the oil. Thus provided, 
the ship takes her departure in search of the mon¬ 
sters of the deep. At this time commences the toil 
and excitement of the whalemen, which I shall now 
attempt to describe, using the language of the 
whaleman where it is intelligible to landsmen. 

The ship goes on her course with an officer at 
her mainmast head, and a sailor at her fore. All is 
industry on deck. When the look-out aloft, cries 
“ there she blows,” instantly he is answered from 
the officer of the deck, with the shrill cry, “ where 
away.” He answers, giving the direction in which 
the fish is from the ship. Now all is bustle, but all 
is order. The captain with his telescope, ascends 
the mast, and observes the spout, and directs the 
ship to steer for the expected prey. The mates 
and boat steerers prepare their weapons for the con¬ 
flict. The men are all on the look-out to catch the 
first view of the whale from the deck. The old and 
seasoned whaleman looks forward to the strife with 
hope and excitement, and perhaps amuses himself 
by frightening the landsmen with the dangers they 
are about to encounter. At last comes the order, 
“ haul aback the main yard,” “ lower away the 
boats.” In breathless haste the orders are obeyed, 
the boats are gone, the ship lies like a log on the 
waters, and all is silence and expectation. The 
boats speed towards their object, the old sailors 
recklessly indifferent to the danger, and highly ex¬ 
cited with the hope of gain, and the pride of con¬ 
test, the landsmen doubting but usually firm, and 
too proud to yield when others will lead. 

Unaware of his danger, the leviathan of the deep 
lies idly on the water. His foe is upon him. All 
is silence and exertion ; now comes the stern order 
to the harpooner, “ stand up—dart,” and the barbed 
iron is buried deep in his vitals. Then is heard 
the shout, “ stern all,” (to escape the danger of the 
agonized exertions of the wounded monster,) and 
the reckless exultation of the daring whaleman ; then 
writhing with pain he lashes the waters with his 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


9 


tail, and in the words of the Hebrew poet, “ he 
makeih the sea to boil like a pot, one would think 
the deep to be hoary.” But this soon passes away, 
his strength is exhausted, and he lies treniblingon the 
waters, or he seeks safety in flight. Now the boat 
by its tow line is brought near to him, and the 
niate with his lance, strikes him to the heart; he 
throws blood from his nostrils ; his breathing is 
choked; in his agony he lashes the water; the 
ocean resounds with his bellowing; his strength 
can endure no more, he rolls a lifeless mass on the 
waters, the prize and scorn of his puny enemy. 
Yet in all this there is but little danger to the 
bold and experienced whaleman. He watches the 
motions of his timid foe, he avoids the agonized 
blows of his tail, and sutlers him to exhaust his 
great strength in futile exertions. 

When the whale is dead commences the labor of 
saving the oil. The animal is brought along side 
of the ship, and secured by a chain around the 
small part of the body where it joins the flukes. 
Large tackles (or pully blocks with ropes rove 
through them) are made fast at the main mast head, 
one end of the fall or rope is passed around the 
windlass forward; and to the lower block is attach¬ 
ed a large hook. A hole is now cut in the blubber 
or outer coat of the whale, and the hook is placed 
in it; the men at the windlass then heave up the 
hook, a strip of about four feet in width of the 
blubber is cut by the officers of the ship, and the 
fat or blubber is peeled oflf as the bark is peeled 
from a tree. When a piece extending from the 
animal to the head of the mainmast is hove up, a 
new hole is cut and another tackle is made fast 
below, and the part above is cut off and lowered 
into the hold. The other tackle is hove up with an¬ 
other piece, rolling the whale over and over, until 
the whole of the blubber is taken into the ship. 
When every thing valuable is secured, preparation 
is made to boil out the oil. Two men commence 
cutting the blubber into small oblong pieces. It is 
then passed to two others who with large knives 
mince it thin, when it is placed in the large pots 
and heated until the oil flows from it, and all the 
water is expelled. The oil is then bailed into a 
large copper vessel from which it runs through 
a strainer into a large pot, and is thence put into 
casks and rolled away to cool. The scraps or solid 
matter of the blubber are used for fuel, so that every 
part is useful; and if it were not for the scraps, no 
ship could carry wood enough to boil out its oil. 
When the oil is cooled it is sent below into casks 
in the hold, by means of leather hose, and is there 
done with until the ship arrives at home. 

The description of a whale-ship boiling at night, 
may amuse, and would convey no bad idea of the 
fancied infernal regions of former days. If the 
observer were placed near enough to see the gene¬ 
ral movements, and yet not so contiguous as to let 
dull reality dispel the illusion of appearance, and 
could fancy the heaving ocean glaring in the fitful 
light to be liquid sulphur, he would have the ma¬ 
terial hell of our precise ancestors before him. The 
men feeding their huge fires, and now stirring them 
into fierce action, the bright blaze flaring wide over 
the ocean and throwing in bold relief visages black¬ 


ened by smoke, unshorn and shaggy, their bright 
steel forks and pikes now flashing in the light, and 
now indistinct as the flickering blaze fades away, 
and again seen as the master-demon throws boiling 
oil into the blaze, (to give light to his operations,) the 
hasty movements of the men passing suddenly be¬ 
fore the fires and then lost in darkness, or their 
forms thrown at length before the blaze in the mo¬ 
ments of relaxation,—a morbid fancy might easily 
make it an image of terror, or a fighter mood might 
laugh at the ridiculous pageant as it passed before 
him. 

Note. —For this article we are indebted to a 
sturdy, but well educated young man of Massachu¬ 
setts, who had been a whaling voyage—thus we 
ventured on no criticism, or addition. Its descrip¬ 
tion could not be mended, and its freshness might 
be injured, by any attempts at explanation. 

ASTRONOMY. 

We have already, once and again, referred to 
astronomy; but it is intended to treat ol ihe topic 
more fully, and in several successive numbers, jii 
doing which, we stiall make use freely of other 
works, and shall endeavor to oraw Irom the most 
correct modern writers itiree centuries ago. it 
might have been necessary m speaking on the sub¬ 
ject, to advise against vulgar errors, and to be guid¬ 
ed by facts and proofs, however opposed to popular 
belief. Such advice is hardly necessary now. 
Since the discoveries of Kepler, Newton, and others, 
of the 17th century, we are prepared to reason, and 
to believe what can be, and is demonstrated. The 
elements or outlines of astronomy are at present 
well settled. The sun is at, or near the centre of 
our system; and the earth and other planets move 
round the sun in orbits or paths, more or less ellip¬ 
tical ; (that is, not in perfect circles, but partaking 
of an oval form ;) and requiring longer or shorter 
times to perform their revolutions, according to 
their several distances from the sun, or the centre 
of the solar system. The motions of these planets 
are regular and uniform in their orbits, and subject 
to the same great law of gravitation and attraction ; 
and yet they appear to be irregular in their motions, 
and some retrograde. But besides a motion round 
the sun, they turn on their own axis, in shorter or 
longer periods, and vary their position as it respects 
facing the sun; which cause day and night, sum¬ 
mer and winter, or heat and cold. The earth and 
some other planets are attended by satellites, revolv¬ 
ing round them, at short periods. Some knowledge 
of mathematics is necessary, to understand astron¬ 
omy, and to comprehend both the real movements 
and the appearances of the heavenly bodies; and 
great advantage will arise to the student in astron¬ 
omy from a more than ordinary acquaintance with 
mathematical science. Astronomy is also explained 
and illustrated by figures, and still more so by tlie 
globe and orrery. The fixed stars, so called, are at 
an incalculable distance from the earth, and are 
supposed to be centres (or suns) of other systems. 
Their distance must indeed be immense, when they 
scarcely change their apparent place, seen from us 
at the opposite points of the earth’s orbit. 

^'hough astronomy more directly refers to tho 

2 




10 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


stars and planets, yet some general knowledge of 
the eartii is important, as preliminary to it. And it 
should not be thought strange by a student in astron¬ 
omy, that the earth is ranked with the planets. 
P'or such it in truth is. Though it is a dark body, 
and seems to us to be at rest, it revolves round the 
sun, as the other planets do, and turns on its axis 
in twenty-four hours. Such motions of the earth 
must be admitted, to explain and account for the 
appearances and occurrences, which cannot be de¬ 
nied, and are known to the most common observer. 
And no doubt, the earth, or the atmosphere which 
surrounds it, reflects the light, as well as the moon 
and the other planets, so that it appears to those 
who inhabit them, as they appear to us. 

The ancients supposed the earth, (because they 
perceived not its motion,) to be at rest; and that 
the sun and all the planets and stars rose and set, 
according to appearance. Some of them, indeed, 
were led to doubt this on reflection. For they be¬ 
lieved the sun and stars and planets at a very great 
distance, and perceived that their velocity must be 
inexpressibly great to move round the earth, as they 
appeared to do. And the system now adopted 
was suggested by some in early times. Still, the 
general belief was otherwise, and the common lan¬ 
guage was such as if the earth was at rest, and the 
heavenly bodies revolved round it, every twenty- 
four hours. This theory however, was so evi¬ 
dently improbable, (not to say impossible,) in the 
view of reflecting men, that it was long matter of ob¬ 
jection and doubt, till the present system was more 
fully taught by Copernicus and demonstrated by 
Kepler, Newton and others. But we shall not go 
into their arguments; it were needless; and it is 
therefore, assumed, that the sun is at or near the 
centre of our system, and that the earth and plan¬ 
ets revolve round it; and that the stars (as distinct 
from the planets) are central suns of other im¬ 
mensely distant systems. In observing the appear¬ 
ances of the sun, planets, &-c., we are to consider 
also, that the earth, on which we are, is constantly 
in motion, rapid motion; and that it has two mo¬ 
tions, viz. one round the sun in three hundred and 
sixty-flve days and a few hours, and one on its axis, 
or in other words, is constantly turning like a ball 
in swift motion. Thus different parts of the earth 
are successively turned to the same point in the 
heavens, and the same part to different points of 
the heavens; and the earth is continually changing 
its place iri the heavens, or in space, as it is con¬ 
stantly moving in its orbit; and the effects of these 
motions and changes of place, or the different ap¬ 
pearances (both as to the sun, stars and other plan¬ 
ets) arising from them must be considered to account 
for the phenomena presented to us. A little reflec¬ 
tion will teach any one more than many words, or 
long descriptions. 

<!)ur globe is surrounded by air, called the atmos¬ 
phere, which is not only necessary to life and health, 
but to sight and sound ; the extent of which from 
the earth is uncertain, though at the herght of more 
rhan ten miles, it is so rare as not to answer the 
purposes of air; and yet at five times that distance, 
it is possible and even probable that it extends, in 
a §tate of extreme rarity. The highest mountains 


are not more than five miles perpendicular. But 
no one has ascended more than two-fifths or four- 
sixths of this extent. But the daring aeronaut has 
ascended to the height of five miles, or 25,000 feet. 
And the refracting power of the air is also impor¬ 
tant, especially in optics, and therelore so to the 
astronomer. The air, as well as water, a denser me¬ 
dium, (or fluid) has this power of refraction. The 
appearance of objects is often different from their 
real situation or size, and we are thus liable to be 
deceived, if ignorant of this property. The rays of 
light from a body beyond the atmosphere are 
turned from a straight line, and the body does not 
appear in its true place. And the refraction is greater 
the more obliquely the light passes through the 
atmosphere, while in the zenith there is no refrac¬ 
tion. Thus a body in the true horizon appears above 
it. And a body is visible after it is actually a little 
below the horizon. This is true of the sun both 
morning and evening. 

The exact amount of atmospheric refraction is 
a difficult subject of physical inquiry, and one on 
which geometers are not entirely agreed. And this 
difficulty arises from the different density of the 
air in different states of heat and cold, moisture and 
dryness. The accuracy of astronomical observa¬ 
tions depends much on a knowledge of the refract¬ 
ing property of the atmosphere, and of its density 
as affected by heat or moisture, and their opposites. 
It is owing to the reflection of light that we are not 
immediately in total darkness when the sun is at all 
below the horizon. It is not only by the direct 
light of a luminous object that we see; but the 
portion of light which would not otherwise reach 
us, is intercepted in its direct course, and thrown 
on us laterally, and is the means of illumination. 
Such reflective obstacles always exist floating in the 
atmosphere. The course of a sunbeam entering 
the chink of a window-shutter into a dark room is 
visible as a brighter line in the air; and if it is sti¬ 
fled, or let through an opposite crevice, the light 
scattered in the room will prevent total darkness. 
The luminous lines sometimes seen in the air, when 
the sky is full of broken clouds, commonly called 
“ the sun drawing water,” are caused in the same 
way. They are sunbeams through openings in the 
clouds, partly intercepted, and reflected on the dust 
and vapors in the air below. Thus also the solar 
rays, which, after the sun itself is below the horizon, 
traverse the higher regions of the atmosphere and 
pass through them, without directly striking the 
earth. So, when the sun is above the horizon, it 
illuminates the atmosphere and the clouds, and 
these disperse and scatter a portion of light in all 
directions. The generally diffused light which we 
have in the day-time, is a phenomenon originating, 
or caused as the twilight. Were it not for this re¬ 
flective and dispersing power of the atmosphere, 
no objects would be visible to us out of a direct 
sunshine : every shadow of a passing cloud would be 
pitchy darkness ; the stars would be visible through 
the day ; and every place to which the sun had not 
direct admission would be involved in nocturnal 
obscurity. - 

French Proverb. —Secret de deux, secret de 
Dieu; secret de trois, secret de tous. 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


n 



As one object of this work is to give descrip¬ 
tions of “interesting subjects, scenes, and places 
to be found in our country,” we insert the follow¬ 
ing view of the old mansion-house in Deerfield, m 
the county of Franklin, which escaped the confla¬ 
gration of that town, by the French and Indians, 
in'Queen Anne’s war, 1704. 

This edifice is situated near the Brick Church, in 
the centre of the village; its age is not precisely 
known, but from the best data may be stated at 
one hundred and fifty years. The ground plan is 
forty-two by twenty-one feet, with an elevation of 
two stories; a chamber and a garret extending the 
whole length of the building. Excepting the walls, 
which are filled in with brick, the structure is of 
timber, of a large size and firm texture, most of 
which remains sound, even to the sills, and the 
primitive clap-boards at the gables, are in a good 
state of preservation. Other parts of the edifice 
have been repaired, and do not exhibit so antique a 
contour as its age would indicate. 

This ancient structure excites the curiosity of all 
travellers who are acquainted with the history of 
Deerfield, and particularly its front door, which is 
made of double pine boards, firmly attached by 
iron nails, in a tessellated manner; and near its 
centre is a triangular perforation, made with the 
tomahawk of the Indians at the time the town was 
destroyed. The house was then owned by Capt. 
John Sheldon, and occupied by his family, includ¬ 
ing a son and his wife. The doors of the house 

O 

being firmly bolted, and the windows barricaded, 
the Indians found it difficult to gain access; and 


after they had perforated the door, a musket was 
thrust in and discharged obliquely into the eastern 
room, which killed the Captain’s wife, then rising 
from her bed in the opposite corner,—the Captain 
being absent from home at the time. The perfo¬ 
ration of the fatal ball is still seen in the wall, and 
through the original door leading to the front entry. 
This door has been removed from its place, but is 
still preserved. Marks of other balls are seen in the 
ceilings and timber in various parts of the same room. 

During this attack upon the door, the Captain’s 
son and wife, who lodged in the chamber over the 
room in which Mrs. Sheldon was killed, leaped 
from the east window, with the hope of escaping 
from the enemy; but the descent was so violent, 
upon the crusted snow, that the wife strained her 
ankle, and being unable to flee, was seized by the 
Indians, while the husband escaped to the eastern 
woods. 

This house and a small Church, were the only 
buildings wdthin the fort, that escaped destruction. 
Another dwellinghouse, situated about ten rods 
southwest of Sheldon’s, was defended by seven 
men and a few women, by keeping up a deadly 
fire on the assailants; but after the enemy left the 
place, these brave defenders pursued them into an 
adjacent meadow, and attacked their rear: while 
thus engaged, the house accidentally took fire, and 
was consumed. 

The house now standing, being one of the largest 
in the place, was occupied by the enemy as a depot 
for their prisoners; and on quitting it they set it on 
fire, but it is supposed to have been saved, by the 
gallant men in the neighborhood. 































































12 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


At the time of the attack, the central and most 
elevated part of the village was enclosed with 
palisades, including about twenty acres, near the 
northwest angle of which was situated the present 
house; but this fortification aflTorded but a feeble 
defence. The snow, then very deep, was drifted 
against the palisades, which enabled the enemy to 
pass over them, and to penetrate to the centre, 
before they were discovered ; the guard usually 
kept up, having retired to their houses. 

The mode of fortifying on the frontiers at that 
time, was rude and imperfect, calculated only for 
defence against slight attacks of musketry. In 
some instances, single houses were enclosed with 
palisades, of round or cleft timber planted perpen¬ 
dicular in the ground, and the larger works about 
villages were constructed in the same manner; 
but generally without ditches and flanking parts. 
Log houses were sometimes pierced with loop-holes, 
on every side, through which a fire could be directed 
upon assailants. 

The walls of many of the framed buildings were 
lined with brick, musket proof, the upper stories 
projecting over the lower, and loop-holes prepared 
to fire down upon an enemy, in a close approach; 
and sometimes flanking parts, resembling bastions, 
were erected at the angles. 

A work called a mount was often erected at the 
most exposed points, resembling a block-house, so 
elevated as to give a view of the neighboring coun¬ 
try ; and when these were wanting, sentry boxes 
were sometimes placed upon the roofs of houses. 

One great error was common in the construction 
of forts about villages,—they embraced too much 
area. Strong block-houses, within the exterior 
palisades, so placed as to give an enfilading fire, 


and furnished with light artillery, such as swivels, 
and a small number of men, would have aflorded 
an effectual defence against any number of sav¬ 
ages, and even small regular forces, without artillery. 

Our early frontier settlers, unable to construct 
expensive forts, and procure the necessary artillery 
and munitions of war, relied more on bone and 
nerve, in the defence of their cottages and villages, 
than on art and science. Hardy and brave, almost 
to a fault, they breasted danger in every form, and 
finally triumphed over an enemy, of no mean 
prowess. The contest was indeed, long, severe and 
bloody ; but they held their ground, and bequeathed 
to their successors a country, which has now taken 
an elevated stand among the nations of the earth. 
Our present border men have a less dangerous task. 
With the aid of a government, rich in its resources, 
they can erect tenable fortifications, provide the 
necessary ordnance and stores, and in a short time 
a body of men may be brought into the field, with 
whom it would be vain for savages to contend. 

The condition of the early frontier settlers was 
not unlike that of the ancients, previous to the 
invention of gunpowder and fire-arms, as is inge¬ 
niously expressed in the following lines, which I do 
not recollect to have seen in print. 

“ When bows and weighty spears were used in fight. 

The nervous limb declared the man of might; 

But now gunpowder scorns such strength to own. 

And Heroes, not by Ihnbs, but souls are shown.” * 


* These lines are found imprinted on a curious powderhom, made 
by a friendly Indian, at Lake George, bearing date Sept. 8, 1765. 
They are said to be the production of the late Judge Paine, who was 
a Chaplain in one of the regiments at that place, in General Johnson's 
army. The horn is in the possession of one of the family of Dr. 
Thomas Williams, who served as a surgeon in the same army; and 
evinces great skill in the use of a tool, no better than a penknife. 


RELATIVE DUTIES. 

The condition of man in a state of society includes 
several particular connexions and relations, or such 
as he does not bear to the whole society, but to 
individuals of the society. These relations, though 
not universal as connecting man with the whole 
society, yet are universal as comprehending all the 
individuals of the society, and connecting each with 
some other. These are the private domestic relations 
of parent and child, husband and wife, master and 
servant, guardian and ward. The consequences of 
marriage are to make the husband and wife one 
person, or so to incorporate the interests of the wife 
with the husband, and the reverse, that each has 
thereby new rights and disabilities not incident to 
them in their single state, or to others who do not 
bear this relation. By marriage, the husband be¬ 
comes liable for the debts which his wife owed prior 
to the marriage, and also is bound to pay those 
which she incurs afterwards during the marriage, so 
far as they are for things necessary to her support, 
and to provide for her comfortable maintenance. 
As an offset however to him for this obligation, her 
personal property, if she have any, becomes his, and 
her earnings belong to him. He acquires a right also 
to the income of her real estate, while she lives, and 
also if there is issue of the marriage surviving her, he 
IS entitled to the income after her decease. She ac¬ 


quires a right to a support from him while he lives, 
and after his decease is entitled to one third of his 
personal property, and to the income of one third 
of his real estate. If there is no child, she has half 
of the personal property. He cannot make any 
grant to her by deed, or make any covenant with 
her. She cannot make a deed to him, or to any 
other person, nor a contract with any. He can, 
however, by will give her any estate, though he can¬ 
not take property by devise from her; it having been 
supposed, anciently, when this law originated, that 
the wife was under his control, and acted by his 
coercion. As the law is favorable to the wife it 
remains unchanged, though by the greater politeness 
of the times, the reason for it has, in the majority 
of cases, ceased. In some crimes, also supposed to 
be committed by the constraint of the husband, the 
wife is excused. And this anciently furnished a 
reason for allowing the constraint of the husband 
to prevent her misdemeanors. He might therefore 
give his wife moderate chastisement, but it should 
be no more than was necessary for her government 
and correction. This is now obsolete, and a wife 
may have legal process against her husband to pun¬ 
ish him for any assault. W. 

If every person will amend one, all will be im¬ 
proved. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


13 



THE CORK OAK. —[Qcerccs Surer.] 


The Cork Oak is not a native of America ; but 
its introduction into the United States has been 
particularly recommended. It is a native of the 
countries about the Mediterranean : and is cultiva¬ 
ted in Spain, Portugal, and also in the south of 
France. 

It is best adapted to a dry, sandy, mountainous 
soil. This tree furnishes the cork of commerce. 


and hence its name : for it has not generally, the 
properties of other oaks. The cork is made of the 
outer, thick fungous covering of the bark ; and is 
detached at intervals of ten or twelve years. In 
some countries, where it is abundant, the people 
use it for lining and covering their houses, and for 
various other purposes. It is only in its general 
appearance, that it resembles the family of oaks. 
























14 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



THICK SHELL-BARK HICKORY,— [Juglans Laciniosa.] 


In the genus Juglans there are numerous spe¬ 
cies ; and we have before referred to several. The 
thick Shell-bark Hickory has a general likeness or 
analogy to the shell-bark; and is generally con¬ 
founded with it. It abounds in the western parts 
of the United States ; and is seldom found east of 
the Alleghanies: but is sometimes seen on the Schuyl¬ 
kill, forty or fifty miles from the Delaware. It is 
also found in some parts of Virginia. Near the 
river Ohio it grows among the black walnut, wild 
cherry, black maple, white maple, and button wood. 
It grows to a great height like the common shell- 


bark hickory. The bark also is arranged like that 
of the last mentioned tree; being divided into 
strips from one to three feet. The outer scales of 
the barks do not adhere closely throughout to 
the inner ones, but retire like the common shell- 
bark hickory. But the nut differs from that of 
the other, being almost of double the size, and 
is of an oblong form. The shell of the nut is 
thicker, and of a yellow hue, while that of the 
other shell-bark is white. The nut of the thick Shell- 
bark Hickory is sometimes in the market, at Philadel¬ 
phia, but it is not common, nor in large quantities. 

















OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


15 



CAPITOL OF MAINE. 


This spacious and elegant building has been fin¬ 
ished about two years. It is situated near the 
western bank of the Kennebeck river, within the 
town of Augusta, and between that village and 
Hallowell, on rather an elevated site, from which is 
an extensive and pleasant view. Augusta is at the 
head of the navigable waters of the Kennebeck, ex¬ 
cept for small craft without sails, which ascend to 
Winslow and Waterville, eighteen miles above. 
Augusta is about forty miles from the mouth of the 


river. The capitol is built of granite, and is of 
agreeable proportions. It has a spacious room or 
hall for the representatives : and two of convenient 
size for the senate, and the executive council. On 
some accounts, it is pronounced superior to any 
other building in the New England States. Au¬ 
gusta is a flourishing place, and a place of consid¬ 
erable trade. In this town is an arsenal of the Uni¬ 
ted States, consisting of ten buildings of stone. 


CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. 

The result has been such as he expected and 
predicted. Solitary confinement by night is found 
to be, in this prison, and in all others, highly ad¬ 
vantageous, and to operate as a great preventive of 
evil, and a means of good, by leading to self-exam¬ 
ination and serious reflection. Before, when four, 
SIX, and even eight criminals were lodged in one 
room for the night, some of them very depraved 
and hardened, the efl'ect was truly deplorable. The 
young, and those comparatively guiltless, were ex¬ 
posed to the corrupt language and evil communi¬ 


cations of the more abandoned and the more skil¬ 
ful in vice. The employment of a pious, intelli¬ 
gent and judicious minister the whole lime, is also 
a great improvement on the original plan of the 
penitentiary. This, and the solitary confinement by 
night, are necessary to the moral benefits, which 
all good men have in view, by the institution. It 
is not merely and solely a place of punishment, of 
entire punishment,—but there is time and opportu¬ 
nity given the criminal for reflection ; there is op¬ 
portunity and the means of religious instruction 
and advice, (at the very time the punishment of 
human government is in course of infliction, in con- 
















































































































































































































































































16 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


fining the guilty, that they may not depredate on 
society) by the consoling and cheering truths of re¬ 
ligion, which are suggested to the heart. And 
vvlio so depraved and guilty, as to justify us in say¬ 
ing, that his case is hopeless, and there is no call for 
efi’orts to arouse and reform him ? 

I am fully aware, that the first and chief object of 
human governments, in the infliction of punishment, 
is to render society safe. I do not oppose this ob¬ 
ject, nor contend that it should give way to any vis¬ 
ionary plan of reforming the guilty. But I do con¬ 
tend, that if society can be made secure, by a penalty 
or punishment, which at the same time places the 
criminal in a situation favorable to his reformation, 
human government is bound, the Christian legislator 
is bound, to provide such punishment for the guilty, 
and thus afford the means and the hope of his re¬ 
pentance. 

And now to apply these remarks to the peniten¬ 
tiary system. There has, indeed, been an outcry 
against it, as to inefficiency and failure. It has 
been said that none are reformed, and that many 
are rendered more depraved and made more ready 
“ for stratagems, spoils and death.” Before the addi¬ 
tional building was erected so as to provide for sol¬ 
itary confinement, (I speak of Massachusetts State 
Prison,) there was perhaps some foundation for 
such an objection or complaint. But even then the 
results were far less unfavorable than have been 
pretended. And it is a little surprising, that from 
prejudice or pride of former opinions, or from ig¬ 
norance, any men can be found who listened to 
and circulated such complaints. In 1820, the (then) 
Warden of the State Prison in Charlestown, four¬ 
teen or fifteen years after it had been in operation, 
(in a public document, never contradicted, and no 
doubt, strictly correct) stated, that of fourteen 
hundred convicts sent to the prison, only one hund¬ 
red and twenty had been sentenced a second time; 
which gives only one in twelve who committed crimes 
after their discharge from the prison; and that, 
after allowing a number to have left the State, 
when discharged, there would be eight in twelve 
(or two-thirds) who were known not to have repeated 
their offences, and who probably became industrious, 
peaceable and orderly citizens. But even then, in¬ 
deed, there w'as weekly religious instruction given, 
and the young w'ere taught and kept separate, as 
far as the rooms would admit. Now I think it just 
to ask, if the old modes of punishment, setting in 
the pillory, and public whipping, ever produced as 
great a proportion of reformed offenders. I speak 
from reference to public documents which came, 
officially, under my notice. It may also be proper 
here to interrogate, what would probably have been 
the number of offenders, and the number of injured 
in the State, for the fifteen years, if there had been 
no State Prison ? The results now% since there is 
entire'solitary confinement, and regular, and fre¬ 
quent, and faithful religious instruction is given, I 
understand, are far more favorable; but I am not 
able to state how much better comparatively. Many, 
it is stated, are rendered thoughtful and sober, and 
some give evidence of sincere and deep repentance. 
And a great portion, after two or three years, re¬ 
turn to society, with the characters of industry. 


sobriety and moral virtue. It is believed, then, that no 
pious or benevolent man can be willing to abandon 
the penitentiary and return to the old mode of pun¬ 
ishment. For there would then be no hope of the 
reformation of the criminal, and very little, that 
society would be safe and secure. 

The question is certainly a very grave one, as to 
abolishing capital punishment in all cases, after so 
long a period of practice on the present system. 
Great changes in the laws should not be hastily 
made. It is as unwise to indulge a disposition to 
innovate, as it is to continue old systems, because 
they were approved by our ancestors, and society 
kept together and was secure, generally. 

Public opinion, both in Europe and in the United 
States is become more opposed to Capital Punish 
ment—with some, as to its policy, with others, as 
to its agreement with the rights of humanity, and 
with others again, as to its inconsistency with the 
spirit of Christianity. 

It is believed, by a portion of the people, that 
Christianity does not justify or sanction it—and that 
this consideration is superior to all others. With 
the sincere Christian, this suggestion should, and 
will have influence. If the Gospel does not allow 
one individual to take the life of another, how 
can a society of men justly do it ? It must first 
be shown, that the safety of society requires it, and 
cannot be safe without it. But this is doubted: 
and some remarks have already been made with 
the hope of showing, that the cells and walls are a 
sufficient guaranty for the welfare of society, both 
as it regards the criminal, and the bad in society, 
who are to be terrified from crime by the awful ex¬ 
ample of others. And as to humanity and mercy, 
they certainly plead for the guilty, so far, as that they 
may have an opportunity and the means of refor¬ 
mation, if consistent with the welfare of the vir¬ 
tuous. And as to the policy of the milder system, 
many believe, and something has been offered 
above to confirm it, that severe punishments rather 
increase than diminish crime. It has been fully 
proved, both in Europe and in America, that where 
the penalty is severe, the effect has been, that few, 
very few, are convicted or complained of, and that 
a vast majority of offenders, therefore, escape all pun¬ 
ishment. And this evidently serves only to corrupt 
society, and bring the civil authority into contempt. 
To the operation of the severe system in England, 
we have already referred. It is much the same in 
the United States, though not at present to so great 
an extent. It is difficult to find a jury who will bring 
in a verdict of guilty, against one charged and con¬ 
victed of a crime which is to be followed by a capi¬ 
tal punishment. They w'ill be casuists enough to 
find some reason for saying not guilty; when, if 
the punishment were confinement to hard labor in 
the state prison, they would readily have said guilty. 
There is no reasoning against this feeling, or this 
result. So it is. Many men think human govern¬ 
ments cannot rightfully take away the life of man. 
There are cases which might be named ; one w ithin 
two years in a neighboring state, particularly, when 
the spectators thought, and the judges thought, and 
the jurors no doubt thought, the prisoner at the bar 
guilty. But death was the penalty of the crime 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


17 


charged, and they said not guilty. And the prisoner 
was discharged. But had the punishment been 
confinement to hard labor for life, there is no doubt 
the verdict would have promptly been “ guilty.” 

There is a portion of the people, and I am in¬ 
clined to believe a large portion of the reflecting 
and judicious, who are in favor of abolishing the 
punishment of death, in all cases except wilful and 
deliberate murder. The capital offences according 
to the present laws of Massachusetts, are five,— 
murder, arson, rape, burglary in the night time 
armed with a deadly weapon, and highway robbery, 
armed with a deadly weapon ; to which may per¬ 
haps be justly added, piracy on the high seas, by 
the laws of the United States. If capital punish¬ 
ment for all crimes, except wilful and deliberate 
murder, were abolished, (and even for murder, it 
may be a question,) and confinement to hard labor 
for life substituted, those in favor of reforming the 
code of criminal law believe that society would be 
safe, the punishment would be a sufficient terror 
and check to the evil-minded, and the criminal at 
the same time have an opportunity for repentance 
and reformation. 

It is admitted that the state prisons now are 
strong enough to prevent all escape; and it is admitted 
by most, that the fear of confinement to hard lalxtr 
for life, will prove as sure and powerful a preventive 
of crime, as the punishment of death. And surely, 
with every man, something is due, with the benevo¬ 
lent much is due, to the consideration of giving a 
poor miserable sinner time to reflect, to repent, and 
become prepared for heaven. 

As the state prisons are now generally regulated 
and conducted, I believe they afford an opportunity 
for reformation, and do often effect that most de¬ 
sirable object. It is true that the principal design and 
purpose of human government is to punish for the 
violation of law, for the welfare and protection of 
its subjects, and heretofore this has been the only 
design. The spirit of this enlightened age, chas¬ 
tened and guided by the spirit of Christianity, has 
suggested the penitentiary system ; by which the 
criminal may have an opportunity to reform, at the 
same time, that he is subjected to the restraint or 
punishment inflicted by society for its safety; and 
many benevolent and pious individuals are seeking 
for the accomplishment of this object. I see not 
how the plan can be opposed by any enlightened 
philanthropist. No objection to it will satisfy the 
humane and benevolent, which does not go to show, 
either that confinement in a state prison will not be 
a safe and effectual restraining of the criminal 
from farther mischief: or that this punishment will 
prove a far less preventive of crime, with the bad 
who are abroad in society, than the gallows, and 
will therefore not be so great a terror to the wicked 
as capital punishment. It is not necessary to go 
again into the argument on this point. For it is 
believed, that it has been already shown, that, with 
the most abandoned and depraved, confinement to 
hard labor for life will be more dreaded than a sud¬ 
den death; and that while capital punishment is 
the penalty of crime, (here is great reason to expect 
most who are guilty will escape all punishment, 
through the influence of public opinion, and the 


humane feelings of the jurors. I believe we are 
far more sure of having the guilty detected, con¬ 
victed and punished, if capital punishment should 
be abolished, and confinement to hard labor for life 
in the state prison substituted, in all cases where 
now the statutes require the penalty of death ; ex¬ 
cept perhaps in the case of wilful, deliberate mur¬ 
der ; and even in that case, the change of punish¬ 
ment might, as some believe, be safely made. 

But there is another objection to the penitentiary 
system, and to punishment in the state prison, in¬ 
stead of hanging: it is said, that the criminal 
through the influence of friends and of the chaplain 
who may possibly be deceived by the professions 
of the prisoner, as to his sincere penitence, may be 
discharged, and let loose on society, while his evil 
passions and dispositions are unsubdued. Such a 
case is possible, and the consideration deserves atten¬ 
tion. But it ought not to operate to prevent the 
penitentiary system of punishment; but to induce 
the keepers and officers one and all, as well as the 
supreme executive of the state, to be on their guard 
against all such deception; and the pardoning 
power might by law be rendered more definite, and 
in some cases, perhaps, not permitted to be exer¬ 
cised. There is reason to believe, that mistakes of 
this kind have been made, though very seldom 
indeed. 

It may be asked further, what real hope can a 
sober reflecting man have, that a criminal will re¬ 
form in a state prison, when in society he has been 
growing worse and worse for thirty years, under the 
means of religious instruction. There are many 
persons so unfortunately situated, that they have 
had little or no religious instruction, either from 
parents or clergymen ; and have been exposed to 
temptations from vicious associates, who have led 
them astray, and hurried them on to the commission 
of the greatest offences. With regard to such, it 
appears to me we may hope, that solitary confine¬ 
ment, with occasional friendly advice and sugges¬ 
tions will produce favorable results. The voice 
and the wish of every benevolent man must be,— 
let the system be further tried before it be con¬ 
demned and abandoned. It will be admitted pro¬ 
bably without dispute, that to produce a sincere 
and thorough reformation, the criminal must be 
made sensible of his guilt: and it has been ob¬ 
served, with great propriety, that the severest pun¬ 
ishment which can be inflicted on a person for his 
crimes, is to convince him of his ill deserts, and 
thus to awaken him to a due sense of his moral 
condition. This will prove a severe as well as sal¬ 
utary punishment. It is a punishment which God has 
indissolubly annexed to crime, (in some degree 
through the power of conscience,) and until this is 
effected, all other punishment will be of little or no 
avail. 

Whether then, in conclusion, perpetual confine¬ 
ment to hard labor for life, be in all cases so great 
a terror to evil-doers and evil-disposed, as the pros¬ 
pect of speedy death ; still, if that mode of punish¬ 
ment be a safeguard to society, and at the same 
time afford an opportunity to the guilty to reform, 
we have a strong argument in favor of such pun¬ 
ishment over that which requires the prompt death 

3 






18 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


of the convict. Let this mode of punishment, I 
repeat it, be fairly and fully tested ; for if it is 
found sufficient to deter men from, crimes and lead 
to the discontinuance of capital punishment, it will 
be a measure in favor of humanity, not less honor¬ 
able to the present age than the abolition of the 
-slave trade. 


THE LAST LINES OF MRS. HEMANS. 

THE POETRY OF THE PSALMS. 

Nobly thy song, O minstrel, rush’d to meet 
Th’ Eternal on the pathway of the blast. 

With darkness round him, as a mantle cast, 

And cherubim to waft his flying seat, 

Amidst the hills, which smok’d beneath his feet— 
With trumpet voice thy spirit called aloud, 

And bade the trembling rocks his name repeat, 
And the bent cedars and the bursting cloud— 

But far more gloriously to earth made known 
By that high strain than by the thunder’s tone. 
Than flashing torrent, or the ocean’s roll; 

Jehovah spoke through the inbreathing fire, 
Nature’s vast realms forever to inspire 
With the deep worship of a living soul. 

Dublin, 


THE TELESCOPE. 

Being lately present when an astromomical tele¬ 
scope was purchased for a country school, I was led 
to inquire why so few of these instruments are used ; 
not one school, probably, in a hundred being fur¬ 
nished with one. I concluded, that the great rea¬ 
son was, that little was known of their cost and 
uses; and I inquired of Mr. Widdifield, (an opti¬ 
cian of Boston, who has an assortment,) the prices 
of those of such size and power, as would be best 
to assist young persons in the study of that inter¬ 
esting branch of astronomy, the contemplation of 
the starry heavens. To those familiar with the tel¬ 
escope, it is unnecessary to say more of its uses 
than merely to state what is its power. But as few 
perhaps who are just beginning the study of astron¬ 
omy know what is here meant by power, a word may 
be proper on this point. “ What can you see?” 
“ How large w'ill the moon look ?” are questions 
often proposed, without receiving satisfactory an¬ 
swers. I shall not now undertake to state every 
thing which may be seen by the telescope; yet we 
will give some idea of what may be e.\pecte(l to be 
performed by them. 

If we look at an object, a post for instance, at a 
certain distance, say ten feet in height, with a tele¬ 
scope of a power of ten, we shall find it (apparently) 
magnified to the height of a steeple, of 100 feet, as 
seen by the naked eye at the same distance. And 
if a steeple subtend an angle, at the eye, of three 
degrees, the angle will be enlarged by the telescope 
to thirty. If we view the moon with the same in¬ 
strument, her diameter being about thirty, it will be 
seen enlarged to five degrees. And if we view it 
with a power of ninety, the diameter will be mag¬ 
nified to forty-five degrees; that is, if its lower 
limb touches the horizon, the upper limb reaches 
half way to the zenith. 

The telescopes of Mr. Widdifield are of different 
powers, from seventy to one hundred and twenty. 
I shall refer particularly to the former, as it is most 
convenient for common use. The moon’s disk is 
magnified by it from thirty to thirty-five degrees. 


Spots on the moon’s surface, such as mountains, 
cavities, &.C., are not seen by the naked eye, unless 
of the extent of seventy miles. But by a telescope 
of seventy power, objects may be seen, of only one 
mile in extent. Sharp mountainous peaks, casting 
their long and well defined shadows always on their 
sides opposite the sun, and deep cavities with their 
shadows on their sides next the sun, are now dis¬ 
tinctly seen. Bright ragged ridges are also seen 
extending from the enlightened into the dark parts 
of the moon’s disk. Brilliant spots are seen in the 
dark part, at such distances from its intersection 
with the illuminated portion as indicate them to be 
mountainous peaks, some of great height. 

Saturn’s ring and some of his satellites are also 
seen with a telescope of this power, and form an 
interesting and beautiful object; the disk of the 
planet being magnified to more than half that of 
the moon’s; and the diameter of the ring to more 
than the moon’s whole diameter. His belts are 
also discernible. 

Jupiter’s belts and satellites are seen to great ad¬ 
vantage: his disk being magnified to almost double 
that of the moon. His satellites may be seen by a 
much lower power. And with the planet, they 
present an interesting sight, with a power as low as 
twenty or fifteen. 

Many of the nebulae, which appear to the naked 
eye as misty spots, are restored, by the power of 
seventy, to splendid clusters of stars : and many of 
the double and treble stars, and Castor, a binary 
one, are easily chstinguished as such, by th^s power. 

Telescopes of a very large size do not afl’ord 
gratification or benefit commensurate to their 
great additional expense. Their use is requisite 
only for a few purposes of the science, in an ad¬ 
vanced state, but which would be of little benefit 
to the student in astronomy. 

The prices of telescopes generally selected for 
the use of schools and academies, are the following: 


A 2 1-2 feet telescope, 

highest power 

70 

$75 

A 3 feet telescope, highest power 

104 

120 

A 3 1-2 feet telescope. 

highest power 

120 

150 


These instruments are handsomely and conve¬ 
niently mounted on brass tripod stands. 

When it is seen at how moderate an expense an 
instrument may be furnished, which is capable of 
affording so much rational gratification to all, and 
especially to the young, (for now quite young chil¬ 
dren would be ashamed of being entirely ignorant 
of astronomy,) it is a matter of great surprise, that 
so few telescopes are found in our populous or com¬ 
mon country towns. We wonder any village should 
be without one. As I hope the defect, with regard 
to this instrument, may be soon remedied, and chil¬ 
dren attending public schools favored with the use 
of the telescope, I shall let them hear from me 
again (by leave of the editor of the Magazine) on 
this subject, when I will endeavor to describe some 
of the heavenly bodies, which may afford them 
gratification, and render them some assistance in ex¬ 
tending their inquiries beyond our own planet. 

The more honesty a man has, the less he affects 
the air of a saint: the affectation of sanctity is q 
blotch on the face of piety. 








MOUNT TABOR. 

Judges iv. 6,12, 14. 1 Sam. x. 3. Psalm Ixxxii. 12. Jer. xlvi. 18. Hos 











































































































































































































































20 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


MOUNT TABOR. 

This is the spot generally supposed, as well by 
travellers, as by biblical commentators, to be the 
mount of transfiguration. But some persons, 
who have recently visited the Holy Land, have 
expressed doubts on the subject. The account of 
the evangelical historian is, “ that our Lord took 
three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, and 
went up into a high mountain apart,” or privately. 
His design, no doubt, was to favor them with a 
new and remarkable proof of his divine character, 
or mission, that they might be prepared for the se¬ 
vere trial of their faith at his condemnation and 
crucifixion, by the Jewish rulers, which approached. 
He often took occasion during the latter part of 
his life especially, to prepare and fortify their minds 
for that calamitous and disastrous event. Peter 
alludes to it, in one of his public letters, as a most 
memorable occasion, and one which left a deep and 
lasting impression in favor of Jesus as the true 
Messiah. Then appeared (in vision) to the tremb¬ 
ling and astonished disciples, Moses and Elijah, 
who held converse with our Lord. And a voice 
proceeded from a bright and extraordinary cloud 
which surrounded them, “ This is my beloved Son.” 
A similar attestation to our Saviour had before been 
given. It was soon after this event, that Jesus 
expressly told his disciples, “ that he should shortly 
go to Jerusalem, and there suffer death.” 

This memorable spot is about the centre of Gal¬ 
ilee. It is a high mountain, and of rough and 
difficult ascent; but on the top there is a consid¬ 
erable space, nearly level, which was fortified by 
Josephus, the Jewish general, who lived soon after 
Christ, and in the time of the Roman army besieg¬ 
ing Jerusalem and overrunning Judea. There was 
formerly something of a village there; and latterly, 
a monastery. It rises in the midst of a large plain, 
and is about thirty stadia high. Mount Hermon is 
not far distant from it; nor is the eminence far off 
where our Lord delivered his celebrated discourse, 
usually called his Sermon on the Mount. 


THE THREE HOMES. 

“ Where is thy home ?” I asked a child, 
Who in the morning air 
Was twisting flowers most sweet and wild 
In garlands for her hair ; 

“ My home,” the happy heart replied, 
Smiling in childish glee, 

“ Is on the sunny mountain side, 

” Where soft winds wander free.” 

O ! blessings fall on artless youth. 

And all its rosy hours. 

When every word is joy and truth. 

And treasures live in flowers ! 

“ Where is thy home ?” I asked of one 
Who bent with flushing face. 

To hear a warrior’s tender tone 
In the wild wood’s secret place ; 

She spoke not, but her varying cheek 
The tale might well impart; 

The home of her young spirit meek 
Was in a kindred heart. 

Ah ! souls that well might soar above. 

To earth will fondly cling. 

And build their hopes on human love. 
That light and fragile thing ! 

” Where is thy home, thou lonely man ?* 

T asked a pilgrim gray, 


Who came with furrowed brow and wan 
Slow musing on his way ; 

He paused and with a solemn mien 
Upturned his holy eyes, 

” The land I seek thou ne’er hast seen, 
J^fy home is in the skies !” 

O ! blest, thrice blest the heart must be 
To whom such thoughts are given. 
That walk from worldly fetters free. 

Its only home is heaven ! 


H. A. ROELL. 

Among the enlightened theological writers, near 
the close of the seventeenth century, Herman Alex¬ 
ander Roell held a distinguished place, particularly 
in Holland. His chief peculiarity was in advancing 
the claims of reason to judge in matters of religion. 
He denied, “ that the volume of revelation, or the 
sacred writings propose any thing to us as an object 
of faith, which is repugnant to the dictates of right 
reason ; ” and he affirmed, “ that the divine origin 
of the holy scriptures can be demonstrated by 
reason alone ; ” and thus denied the doctrine, then 
advanced by many theologians, that “ the inward 
testimony of the Holy Spirit in the heart was ne¬ 
cessary to a firm belief of their divine inspiration.” 
Roell held some other opinions differing some¬ 
what, (at least in manner of explaining them and 
speaking of them,) from the popular creed of the 
time. These related particularly to the nature of 
Christ, and to his Son-ship. “ His notions,” says the 
learned translator of Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical His¬ 
tory, “ concerning the Trinity did not essentially 
differ from the doctrine generally received, upon 
that mysterious and unintelligible subject; and his 
design seemed to be no more than to prevent 
Christians from humanizing the relation between 
the Father and the Son. But this was wounding 
his brethren, the vigorous systematic divines, in a 
tender point; For Anthropomorphism (or the cus¬ 
tom of attributing to (Jod the kind of precedence, 
in acting and judging which is usual among men) 
was banished from theology, orthodoxy would be 
deprived of some of its most precious phrases ; .and 
our confessions of faith and systems of doctrine cwild 
be reduced within much narrower bounds.” We 
give no opinion as to the correctness of the above 
remarks; but refer to them as matter of historical 
curiosity. 


A MOTHER’S LOVE.— by bulwer. 

Oh ! in our sterner manhood, when no ray 
Of earlier sunshine glimmers on our way. 

When girt with sins and sorrows, and the toil 
Of cares which rend the bosom that they soil ; 
Oh ! if theie be in retrospection’s chain 
One link that knits us with young life again. 

One thought so sweet we scarcely dare to muse 
On all the hoarded raptures it reviews. 

Which seems an instant in its backward range 
The heart to soften, and its ties to change ; 

And every spring, untouched for years, to move. 
It is —the memory of a mother’s love. 


Cutting reproof. —A boy who used profane 
words, was asked by some of his playfellows, who 
w’ere better educated, wdio learnt him tosw^ear? He 
answered, father. And why does your father swear? 
Because he drinks rum. When he drinks rum, he 
swears at me and mother. 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


21 



THE CAMEL. 


The Camel is among the most singular and use¬ 
ful of all animals. It is possessed of some of the 
qualities of the horse, the cow and tlie sheep; in¬ 
deed it serves all the purposes to the Arabs and 
some others, which those animals do where they 
are found. The milk of the Camel is very nutri¬ 
tious ; the flesh is a wholesome and good food ; 
and the hair is made into various kinds of cloths 
and stuffs. For travelling and conveying heavy 
articles, it is also highly useful. It is fleet in its 
movements, and the Arab, if in danger or fear, will 
travel into the wilderness the distance of one hun¬ 
dred and fifty miles in twenty-four hours; and it is 
capable of carrying a load of four hundred weight. 

The Camel has been supposed to be a native of 
Arabia ; but there appear to be two species, one 
peculiar to Arabia, and sometimes known by the 
name of Dromedary ; and the other called the Dac- 
trian Camel, which is found in Turkey and the 
Levant. The Bactrian Camel has two bunches on 
its back, and the Arabian but one. But generally 
their properties and habits are similar. “ Efforts 
have been made to introduce this Camel into other 
countries, but without success. Still it is not con¬ 
fined to the places above named, but is employed 
in Persia, and in Egypt and other parts of Africa. 
They have been of great use to traders and travel¬ 
lers, from the most remote ages, where naviga¬ 
tion is unknown or neglected. They often jour¬ 
ney in large companies, called caravans, in unsettled 
parts of Arabia and Africa, amounting to several 
thousands. The Camel seems remarkably fitted for 


those countries where it has been so long employed. 
This is owing to their existing long without water. 
The structure of its stomach is peculiar, having a 
reservoir for water, where it remains some lime 
without corruption or mixing with the other ali¬ 
ments, and they generally take a large quantity at 
a draught. It is said also, that they can discover 
water by smell, at a great distance. The Arabian 
Camel is more swift in travelling than the other. 
Those used by the Jewish patriarchs in early ages 
were probably of the Bactrian species. They were 
highly convenient for those wandering families; 
for they are very tractable, and carry an immense 
quantity of baggage. 


NATURAL THEOLOGY. 

A volume on this highly important and interest¬ 
ing subject has been lately published, from the pen 
of the celebrated Lord Brougham, an eminent Brit¬ 
ish statesman, and sometime lord high chancellor 
of England. A learned and ingenious work, on the 
same subject, w'as written several years ago by 
archdeacon Paley. It was a happy effort of that 
popular writer. If it was not profound, it was intel¬ 
ligible and satisfactory. Wollaston and Butler^and 
others had wTitten on the subject long before, with 
great ability and learning, but not in so popular a 
manner as Paley. The work of Lord Brougham 
presents some new views, and his illustrations are 
at once striking and convincing. It is not wonder¬ 
ful that such a man should write ably and with some 














































































22 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


originality on any topic ; but it is remarkable that, 
amidst his various public duties, he should have 
found leisure for such a work; and that one whose 
whole life seemed devoted to politics, should have 
given his mind so much to theology. Lord Brougham 
has long been distinguished for his successful labors 
m the cause of civil liberty and of human learning. 
No one has done more to extend the means of edu¬ 
cation among the common people, and to diffuse 
useful knowledge. And now he has published a work 
on natural religion ; which cannot fail to be of great 
benefit to society, and to the present generation es¬ 
pecially, when there are so many unbelievers and 
skeptics laboring to unsettle the minds and to cor¬ 
rupt the hearts of the people. Revealed religion 
is, indeed, most important, as it clears up many dif¬ 
ficult points in theology, which no effort of human 
reason seems adequate to explain or to discover. 
But natural religion is the foundation (if we may 
so say, without intending to undervalue revelation) 
of, or equally necessary to, our belief in the wisdom, 
power and goodness of God. The natural attri¬ 
butes of the Deity (so to speak) are to be assumed, or 
first proved, before one can reasonably argue on the 
evidences of revelation. And these divine attri¬ 
butes are to be proved by a knowledge of the works 
and providence of the Great Creator and Governor 
of the Universe. A close and thorough contem¬ 
plation of the works of God, and of the laws which 
sustain, regulate and control them, abundantly in¬ 
dicate intelligent, and benevolent design, as well as 
infinite power. Who can examine the mechanism 
of the human or animal frame, without exclaiming, 
“We are wonderfully and skilfully made !” Wlio 
can look abroad in the earth, without seeing “ that 
it is full of the goodness and the riches of its Cre¬ 
ator?” Who can look to the heavens above, and 
not cry out, “ the heavens declare the glory of God, 
and the firmament showeth forth his handy work ! 
Day after day uttereth speech, and night after 
night sheweth knowledge of him,” that he is al¬ 
mighty, all-wise, and all-beneficent. And who that 
examines the powers, the capacity and the operations 
of his own mind can possibly doubt, “ that the 
Father of his spirit,” is a Spirit, infinite, unbounded, 
universal. By an analysis of the mind, he under¬ 
takes to prove that it is entirely distinct from mat¬ 
ter. This is not indeed a new theory. It has been 
admitted and advocated by the greatest philoso¬ 
phers in every age of the world. The nature and 
properties of matter are by no means adequate to 
account for the phenomena of mind. Lord Broug¬ 
ham refers to the reasoning powers of the mind, its 
power of attention and comparison, to its conscious¬ 
ness of existence and of action; in a word, to its 
power of volition, its self-moving power, its freedom : 
And concludes, that it cannot be affected by the de¬ 
composition or dissolution of matter. The mind 
of man, then, is immaterial; and therefore, im- 
mortaV. 


The whole solar system, consisting of the sun, 
the earth, and other planets with their satellites, are 
supposed to move through space. What is its 
orbit, or what the period of its revolution, has not 
been calculated or conjectured. 


A CHILD. 

What object in nature so beautiful, so interesting, 
so attractive, as a child ? It is so because it is in¬ 
nocent, and because it has a capacity for endless 
improvement, and will be constantly making ad¬ 
vances in an intellectual and moral course, unless 
there is some great neglect in its natural guardians 
and directors, or some very singularly unfavorable 
events occur to entice it to evil, and divert it from 
its high destiny. This child is to be formed and 
moulded, I had almost said anew. It has been 
created, and endowed with inherent powers, or ca¬ 
pacities for a boundless progress, for a glorious and 
happy race. But is it certain to advance and to 
gain the prize? Who is to direct and cultivate the 
unfolding germ of intellect? Who is to control 
and discipline the feelings, as growing years shall 
draw them forth ? Who shall patiently, steadily, 
and kindly, though firmly, govern the child ? There 
is a great responsibility resting somewhere, and 
where but on the parents ? On them it depends, 
in a great measure, whether it shall be an angel or 
a demon ; whether its powers and faculties shall be 
employed for good or for evil; whether it shall be¬ 
come virtuous and mild, and self-denying, and 
benevolent, and pious, and therefore happy; or 
whether it shall be wayward, perverse, mischievous, 
selfish, malignant, and devilish,nad therefore wretch¬ 
ed ; ah, wretched beyond expression, and beyond 
conception. 

Look on that lovely child, without guile and 
without sin ; with a mind and heart easily formed 
and moulded almost at your will ; it is docile, full 
of feeling, and confiding in a parent’s love and 
judgment. And can you who are parents be indifler- 
ent to its future character and future lot ? No. But 
you have other cares, and other pleasures, and 
other engagements, which prevent that attention 
you know you ought to bestow, for their imnrove- 
ment and their good. One now addresses you, who 
has had experience in the education of children ; 
and who knows that much, very much depends on 
the kindness, and firmness, and fidelity of parents. 
The motive is strong to discharge this high parental 
duty ; and the hope is a reasonable one, that it will 
not be discharged in vain. They may not all be 
every thing you would wish ; but you will reap the 
fruits of your labor, and escape the unutterable 
pangs which negligence and unfaithfulness must 
produce. 


AGITATION. 

The subject of domestic slavery is discussed anew 
in some parts of the country with a vehement zeal 
which threatens deeply to agitate, if not to put in 
jeopardy, the union of these States. By every wise 
and discreet man, this is a matter of extreme regret 
and concern. When the Constitution, which is the 
law of the land, has settled this matter as fully as it 
could justly interfere, and when the people in the 
non-slave-holding States have no authority, no 
business in the affair, what can it avail that appeals 
are made to the prejudices, and the passions of the 
people, that inflammatory addresses are delivered to 
the young and the uninformed, towaids curing iho 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


23 


evil ? It is at best aiming at a doubtful good,—doubt¬ 
ful as to the results and as to a just right to inter¬ 
fere, with a certainty of much evil and suffering ; 
evil and suffering to an extent which it is impossible 
to foresee. 

We all regret the existence of slavery, as incon¬ 
sistent with republican freedom and the rights of 
humanity. We consider it an evil, and would be 
glad it, in a just, lawful and peaceable way, it might 
be gradually discontinued and brought to an end. 
But it is against our principles to use means evi¬ 
dently unjustifiable and wrong, for the attainment 
even of what we suppose right. On ourselves we may 
inflict present evil lor greater future good, but we 
have no right to do this with the property, and 
concerns, and happiness of others. We have no 
political right to interfere with slavery in other 
States; nor are we called on as Christians or phi¬ 
lanthropists to do more than to give an opinion 
calmly, and to use cool arguments against it. All 
beyond this, is improper, unwise, unjust, and dan¬ 
gerous. 

It is enough for us, that Washington and his 
patriotic colleagues, who formed the Federal Con¬ 
stitution, gave their consent to, and acquiesced in, 
the domestic slavery of the colored people. It 
is enough for us, that the holy apostles of Christ 
speak of slaves, and give advice both to slaves and 
their masters or owners, without condemning sla¬ 
very ; which they would not have failed to do, had 
it been absolutely and in all cases a moral wrong. 
Are we wiser and better or more benevolent than 
they were ? 

Without doing any thing to uphold slavery, or to 
justify it, we must say, that we disapprove of the 
conduct and proceedings of those who are urging 
the immediate abolition of slavery at every hazard. 
Their efforts and speeches tend to agitate and jeopar¬ 
dize the Union, as well as to render the slaves unhap¬ 
py and desperate, when no feasible remedy is pro¬ 
posed. It is matter of joy to find the intelligent and 
discreet people in the north, expressing their disap¬ 
probation of the conduct of the over-zealous abolition¬ 
ists. And we hope our brethren in the south w'ill see 
in it, a disposition to conciliate, to adhere to the Con¬ 
stitution, to be just, and more than just, to act the 
part of brothers of one great republican family. 


GENERAL VIEW OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 

Ten stars, among the countless number with which 
the firmament appears resplendent, are known, 
from numerous observations and demonstrations, to 
be 'planets revolving about the sun, and deriving 
light from it. The earth has a similar motion and be¬ 
longs to the same class of bodies. Several of these 
planets are attended by satellites; and the whole 
are preserved in their courses or orbits, by a cen¬ 
tripetal and centrifugal force united or combined. 
And thus relations exist among these bodies, by 
which they may be justly regarded as belonging to 
one system; having the sun in the centre; and 
therefore called the solar system. As to the other 
planets, we conclude from analogy, that, like the 
earth, they are designed and fitted, by infinite wis¬ 


dom and goodness, for the accommodation of inhab¬ 
itants, and probably millions of sentient and rational 
beings are placed upon them. The rotation of the 
other planets, their atmospheres, of which there is 
proof, and the changes which may be seen taking 
place in their atmospheres, resemble so much what 
takes place on our earth, that no one can doubt 
that the planets are inhabited. As to the fixed 
stars, it may be observed, that the sun, if viewed 
from a sufficient distance, would appear but a point, 
(like a star) and the planets which revolve round 
it would be invisible; and for the same reason it is 
supposed that every fixed star is a sun, and centre 
of a separate system, surrounded with a number of 
planets and comets ; which, at different distances, 
and in different periods, perform their revolutions 
around them respectively. 

CORRECTIONS OF STYLE. 

We lately noticed some American vulgarismsy 
taken chiefly from another work. Both the purity 
and elegance of the English language require that 
all superfluous words should be omitted. We 
therefore, refer again to the subject to point out the 
following phrases, in which there is a superfluous 
word, which neither elegance nor force of expres¬ 
sion require. “ Or else,” we often hear spoken, 
and find in the composition of good writers, but one 
of the words is sufficient; and if one only were 
used, it would be an improvement; for redundant 
words are not a beauty, but a defect. The com¬ 
pound word “ oftentimes ” may be seen written, and 
heard uttered; but “ often ” expresses the same idea, 
and is therefore better for the reason just given. 
Instead of saying, “ underneath,” it would be bet¬ 
ter, as well as more concise, to say “ under.” The 
phrase “ at all,” is often found written as w^ell as 
heard spoken, but it is redundant and therefore 
inelegant. Nor can it make the sentence more em- 
phatical; for the negative word always used in the 
sentence with it, is sufficiently expressive; and 
certainly euphony does not require these hard 
words. The same remark applies to the obtrusive 
word “got.” It is redundant and inelegant in 
ninety cases in a hundred, in which it is used. It 
cannot be used for the sake of euphony; nor does 
it add to the strength of an expression, nor serve 
to explain its meaning. I have, or we have; or 
I have procured, or have obtained, (where more 
than the term “have,” is necessary,) would be 
more proper, more elegant, and more harmonious. 
Besides, the word “ got,” or “ gotten,” has another, 
and very appropriate meaning, for w'hich only it 
should be used. 

We venture also to suggest, that “ despite ” is 
better than “ in despite.” And there are the minor 
redundances, of “ that one,” and “ this one,” 
“ that same one ” (as inelegant as “ this here,” and 
“ that are,”) instead of this, that, the same; which 
are worthy of correction. Every one now studies 
the English language; but I find as many inaccu¬ 
racies and redundances of speech in common con¬ 
versation as there were forty years ago. 


He who cheats me once, shame fa’ him, but he 
who cheats me twice, shame fa’ me. 






24 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE ANEMOMETER, OR WIND-GAGE. 


It consists of a hollow cylindrical tube, in which 
is placed a spiral wire, that may be compressed by 
means of a rod passing through the tube. Having 
observed how much different weights are capable 
of compressing the spiral, mark the corresponding 
points on one end of the rod. Let there be affixed 


to the other end of the rod, so as to set at right 
angles to it, a plane surface at any given area, say, 
a square foot. Now set this surface in the “ eye 
of the wind,” and the mark, to which the rod is 
driven, will indicate the force in pounds, &,c., that 
the wind exerts on a square foot. 











a b c d, a brass cylindrical tube e f, b. piston 
passing through the tube and spiral; g h, the sur¬ 
face e.xposed to the eye of the wind; k /, the sup¬ 


port which is fitted to be received into a tripod or 
table. The piston toward e, is marked at the pla¬ 
ces to which different weights would force it out. 


COMETS. 

So much has been lately said about Halley’s Comet, 
(as it is commonly called) vvhich is expected to ap¬ 
pear this month, that nothing need now be added. 
But there was a comet visible to some parts of our 
globe a short time before the one so fully described 
by Halley, (viz. in 1680,) and a reference to it may 
not be uninteresting. Its tail, at that time, extend¬ 
ed 70“^ and was very brilliant; but the most remark¬ 
able fact, with regard to it is, that it approached 
nearer to the sun than any other comet; and that 
Sir Isaac Newton calculated it would approach 
much nearer at its next perhelion. It was within 
540,000 miles of the sun in 1680. Its revolution 
takes up five hundred and seventy-five years ; and 
its return to our system will be in 2255. Several 
visits of this comet have been noticed and recorded. 
In the 44th year before Christ; A.D. 531, A.D. 1106; 
and in the latter part of 1680, and first of 1681. 

There is another remarkable fact, respecting this 
comet. Assuming, as there is good reason to do, 
that five hundred and seventy-five years, or five 
hundred and seventy-five and a half years is the 
period of the revolution of this comet, and count¬ 
ing back from the close of A.D. 1680, we reach 
the year 2349 before Christ, the year of the deluge 
in the days of Noah, according to the date of it, 


as fixed by most chronologists. The opinion, or 
suggestion of Newton on this point was alluded to 
in our last number. 


HEBREW AND PHCENICIAN GEOGRAPHY. 

The sacred records, in addition to their higher 
claims on our attention, possess the advantage of 
giving an account of the forms of society in early 
ages, and the original and primeval races or genera¬ 
tions of mankind. They are far more ancient than 
any records of Egypt or Assyria, of Greece or 
Rome. The most ancient and obscure of profane 
or pagan accounts do not go back so far as Abra¬ 
ham, (though they do to Moses,) much less to Noah, 
who was ten generations and nearly three centuries, 
(referring to him even after the deluge,) before that 
faithful patriarch. From the book of Genesis, es¬ 
pecially the tenth chapter, we learn the origin and 
rise of those kingdoms or monarchies, which chang¬ 
ed the face of human affairs, and whose history is 
the history of mankind for eight hundred or one 
thousand years from the deluge. The distant and 
separate settlements, which sprung up by occasional 
emigrations from the more dense population, are 
not particularly noticed, nor was it important that 
they should be. 




































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


25 



THE STRIPED HYiENA 


The HycBna is as much dreaded as the Tiger or 
the Lion : while in its general form and character, it 
resembles somewhat the dog, or the wolf. And there 
is an animal found near the Cape of Good Hope, 
which is called the Tiger wolf. Of the real Hyaena, 
there are two pretty distinct species, the spotted and 
the striped. The latter is found both in Africa and 
Asia. It inhabits Asia as far as India, and the 
northern parts of Africa. It does not appear that 
the two species occupy the same region. The 
striped Hyaena, also called the vulgar Hyaena by the 
moderns, was known to and described by the 
ancients. The ground colour of this animal is a 
brown gray, with dark stripes, transverse and irreg¬ 
ular. The ear is broad and rather long. The hair 
of the body is long, especially on the neck, where it 
forms a thick mane. This animal chooses the night 
for its rambles; and though considered very fero¬ 
cious, it is far from being daring in its attacks. It 
is only on smaller and weaker animals that they 
seize. They fly from the presence of man; and 
even when ill-treated or taken by force, they do not 
attempt to avenge themselves. They venture to 
new settlements near the deserts or forests, in the 
dark, and depredate on domestic animals, or con¬ 
sume the most filthy offals. They are very vora¬ 
cious ; and their teeth are of great size and strength. 
As to their gait and movement, they cannot be said 
to be very fleet; but when pursued, they move with 
considerable swiftness, though with apparent lame¬ 
ness ; owing probably to their crooked hind legs. 
The Hyaena, may therefore be said to be more fero¬ 
cious in appearance than its character will justify. 
It has only four toes, or claws, on a foot—the head 
is rather broad and flat; its fore legs are longer than 
the hinder, and its eyes are very fierce and wild. 
The ancients speak of the Hyaena as very formida¬ 
ble and fearful; and describe it as possessing won¬ 
derful properties. Its howl was said to be like the 


human voice ; it was supposed also to have a power 
to charm its destined prey, and even to change its 
sex. But it is now known to have no miraculous 
power, and to be far less dangerous than formerly 
represented. In its size as well as in some other 
respects, it approaches very nearly to the wolf. 

THE BOTANIST’S SONG. 

“ Sleep’st thou or wak’st thou ? faiiest creature ? 

Rosy morn now lifts her eye, 

Numbering ilaa bud, which nature 

Waters wi’ the tears of joy.” Burnt. 

Awake thou, my love, (tho’ thy visions be bright) 

While the dews of the morn, in each ray 
Of yon glowing God of the new risen day, 

O’er mountain and mead are reflecting the light. 

Like gems of an Eastern fay; 

While the air is resounding, as thro’ it there wheel 
Bright insects, deck’d out in their azure and green. 

Or in mails of gold and polished steel; 

And the trees and the flowers enmantled in sheen 
Are fairer and fresher than words can reveal. 

Come forth, O my loved one, come forth to the field; 

I’ll gather for thee the bright flowers,— 

While Aurora is leading the wakened hours; 

Far sweeter and purer’s the incense they yield 
Than e’er breathed from fairy bowers. 

Come, fairest and loveliest ! The spirit before us. 

That shakes not the dew from the blade; 

As it springs unrestrained from every bright glade. 

The flowers that bloom round, the trees that wave o’er U3 
Invite us to roam thro’ the shade. 

P, 


The Oyclopedia of Useful Knowledge is the 
title of a work recently published, which we 
would recommend to the public, as being a work 
containing a mass of useful and instructive infor¬ 
mation. The work is beautifully embellished, 
with about four hundred fine wood engravings, 

4 



























26 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


BUNKER HILL. 

I have often, in former years, visited the heights 
of Charlestown, where the first great battle was 
fought in defence of constitutional freedom. The 
associations called up by a visit to this memorable 
spot are highly interesting and exciting. We are 
carried back to the beginning of that wonderful 
revolution achieved by our fathers, a brave, a 
high-minded and virtuous generation, who were 
extremely reluctant in opposing the administration 
of the government under which they lived, and 
who never would have opposed it, had not its 
measures become very oppressive, and the prin¬ 
ciples advanced by it so arbitrary as to render per¬ 
sonal liberty and property wholly insecure. They 
were not a restless or innovating people ; they were 
not averse to paying taxes constitutionally im¬ 
posed, more than their ancestors had been ; nor of 
a spirit to complain of just ’aws and light burdens. 
They long clung to the parent government, they 
had hazarded life and poured out abundantly of 
their treasures in support of that government. But 
then, the government was just and parental in its 
measures. And when in 1765, new and arbitrary 
principles were advanced, going the whole extent 
of a despotic power, claiming a right to govern, and 
asserting the duty of the subject to submit, in all 
cases whatever; they were surprised, they were 
grieved ; and they petitioned, remonstrated ; point¬ 
ed out the limits of rulers and the rights of the peo¬ 
ple, and appealed to constitutional principles, which 
were fully recognised in 1688, and professed at 
least to be correct ever after. For ten years, they 
endured this state of things, but without relaxing in 
their claims, their appeals, their remonstrances and 
petitions, ^me rash and turbulent acts were com¬ 
mitted by a few of the people, when goaded, op¬ 
pressed, threatened and insulted. But the govern¬ 
ment of the province did not rebel; it only reasoned, 
and argued, and pleaded,—but this was done so 
powerfully, that a military force was sent over, in 
1768, to Boston, to keep the people in awe, and to 
enforce submission, to any measure the administra¬ 
tion might order. This force might have been put 
down, or sent back to England by the brave yeo¬ 
manry of the country. But it was not attempted, 
it was not thought of; the people, and their more 
able advisers supposed the king was misinformed, 
and had been deceived. And they therefore still 
submitted to, and endured repeated arbitrary acts; 
nor did they resort to force till they found force 
was to be used by the government to destroy their 
rights and to enslave them ; and even then, it was 
expressly declared and honestly intended not to 
use that force, except in self-defence, and to ward 
off the blow first airped at their vitals. But, spite 
of the counsels of her ablest statesmen, and heedless 
of the resentment of an abused but brave people, 
whose spirits corresponded to the justice of their 
cause, the liritish rulers drew the sword, and rushed 
upon “ the thick bosses of the freemens’ buckler 
when the latter, having endured till endurance 
would have been pusillanimity, and forborne till 
forbearance would have been an invitation to op¬ 
pression and a criminal surrender of their natural 
rights, breasted the dagger’s point apd resisted the 


ruffian arm of tyranny raised to crush them: and 
Bunker Hill, on the 17th of June, 1775, was the 
place and the day, when America announced to 
the world, that she would be free, or that tyrants 
should possess the land only by shedding the blood 
of her hardy and virtuous sons. 

Within a few days, being in the spirit of sixty 
years ago, and knowing that I must soon put off 
this mortal body, I again turned my feeble steps 
to this consecrated spot; consecrated by the number 
and vaiue of the victims who offered themselves on 
the altar of their country’s freedom ; by the blood 
of Warken, Gardner, Parker, McClary, Moore, 
and others. 

The massy monument is rising to perpetuate 
their noble daring and their heroic deeds in defence 
of liberty ; and it shall stand long as the proud em¬ 
inence on which it rests; to tell the story of our 
fathers’ bravery, to read a lesson of warning and 
of terror to arbitrary rulers, and declaring to the 
world, in all future time, “ that resistance to tyrants 
is obedience to God.” 

After the affair at Lexington and Concord on the 
19th of April, which, however, was not decisive of 
a contest by force, but only a new proof of the de¬ 
signs of an arbitrary ministry calling for more ener¬ 
getic measures for defence, the militia of Massachu¬ 
setts, of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode 
Island, assembled at Cambridge and vicinity to pro¬ 
tect the country from further inroads of the British 
army, then in possession of Boston. By advice 
of the Executive Committee of the Provincial Con¬ 
gress of Massachusetts, with the consent of the 
chief officers of the militia, on the night of the 16th 
of June, a detachment was ordered from Cambridge 
to fortify Bunker Hill, though it was opposed by 
some who were consulted, as a rash or dangerous 
plan. It had been in contemplation for several days 
before to occupy either this spot, or the heights of 
Dorchester on the south of Boston, or both of them 
at once; in the hope that it would induce the Brit¬ 
ish troops to depart from the metropolis and from 
the province. The detachment consisted of about 
twelve or fifteen hundred, under the immediate 
command of Colonel William Prescott, of Middle¬ 
sex county ; General Israel Putnam, of Connecticut, 
having the superintendence and direction of the 
enterprise. When the detachment reached Bunker 
Hill, it was concluded that the spot was too far 
from Boston ; and it was soon determined to ad¬ 
vance to another eminence (called Breed’s Hill) 
distant nearly half a mile, on an air line, and di 
rectly towards the metropolis. At this latter spot, 
an entrenchment was began, of nearly a square 
form, and of about five rods each side ; and by 
sunrise on the 17th was nearly completed. Gene¬ 
ral Putnam was on the ground during the night, 
and gave directions or advice in laying out the plan 
for the entrenchment which was made. But he rode 
off the peninsula, at an early hour, no doubt, to 
forward recruits, for he must have anticipated an 
attack from the British; and soon after returned, 
to direct in the operations and movements which 
might be more necessary if an assault should be 
made. Meantime a portion of the troops in the 
metropolis, under General Gage, w'ere ordered to 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


27 


the north part of Boston, and directly opposite to 
Breed’s Hill, (the distance of three quarters of a 
mile, and separated by Charles River,) to fire on the 
militia laboring at the entrenchment. A heavy 
cannonade was soon began and continued from this 
part of Boston, and from two large ships of war 
then riding in the river, between Boston and 
Charlestown. And at an early hour in the fore¬ 
noon, two floating batteries were sent up an arm of 
the river, on the west and north-west side of 
Charlestown, to annoy the recruits which might pass 
over the neck for the newly erected fortifications. 
The forenoon was probably occupied by the British 
officers in devising and maturing a plan for an at¬ 
tack on the American militia, at Breed’s Hill. 
Aware of a powerful assault, Prescott despatched 
Major Brooks (a colonel during the war, and after¬ 
wards governor of Massachusetts) to Cambridge, 
to request a seasonable reinforcement from the main 
body of the militia there assembled, under command 
of General Ward. But Ward thought he was in 
danger of an attack from the British, and declined 
sending any of his men to Charlestown. Brooks 
then proceeded to Medford, (and all this on foot, 
as he was unable to procure a horse,) to urge on 
the New Hampshire troops stationed there under 
Colonels Stark and Read. Most of these marched 
for Charlestown, but dfd not arrive till between two 
and three o’clock, and just as the first attack was 
made by the British. 

Between one and two o’clock, the British troops, 
to the number of three thousand or more, left Bos¬ 
ton in boats, and landed at a point in Charlestown, 
about south-east from the works thrown up by the mi¬ 
litia, and half a mile from them. The accounts vary 
as to the number, but three thousand is the lowest 
given, while the Americans were estimated at two 
thousand, then on or near the heights; for some 
recruits had been brought on at this time by the in¬ 
fluence of Putnam. Some time was spent by the 
British troops in forming, when a large detachment 
of them proceeded northerly, near the banks of the 
Mystic river, instead of marching up north-west, 
directly for the entrenchment. But they advanced 
slowly, which gave Putnam time to place men in 
front to oppose them, as it appeared to be their de¬ 
sign to advance some way in that direction, and 
then make an attack on the militia at the entrench¬ 
ment in the rear. The Connecticut troops, and 
some others, and among them the New Hampshire 
militia,who had then reached the ground, (it being 
nearly three o’clock,) were posted at a rail fence, 
near Mystic river, north-east of the entrenchment, 
a little more than one-fourth of a mile, to check 
the British advancing there, as above stated. The 
militia threw up some grass newly mown against 
the fence, to form what shelter they might, slight 
as it was. The British fired on these men soon as 
they came sufficiently near; but the Americans 
were ordered to reserve their fire till the assailants 
approached within a short distance, that it might 
be with more effect. The British had expected 
the Americans would not stand their fire, but 
would retreat on their approach. But they soon 
found their mistake, by a most tremendous and de¬ 
structive fire, which led them precipitately to retreat 


to their boats, or near them ; having lost as great a 
number of the detachment as ever fell in the field, 
where no greater numbers were engaged. The 
British officers soon rallied their men, and advanc¬ 
ed again to the American lines. They were re¬ 
ceived in the same cool and resolute manner, by the 
militia as at the first assault; who pouring into 
their ranks a deadly fire soon routed them, and they 
retreated a second time to the vicinity of their first 
landing place. The British generals in Boston wit¬ 
nessed these defeats, and soon ordered a reinforce¬ 
ment. The additional number of troops sent over 
is not known; but probably not less than fifteen 
hundred or one thousand. Two general officers 
accompanied them. And a part of the reinforce¬ 
ment consisted of light artillery. In the meantime 
some additional men were added to the American 
forces, who were ordered on to the heights by 
Putnam; making, probably, in the whole thus on 
the field of battle, nearly two thousand five hun¬ 
dred. Some cannon were also brought on by the 
Americans; but a part were unfit for use, or want¬ 
ed balls or cartridges of a proper size. It is in 
evidence, however, that one or more was near the 
rail fence, and was several times fired. In artillery, 
the British had greatly the superiority; and in men 
also, they were nearly double. The third attack 
was made more directly and fully against the en¬ 
trenchment on the hilj; and it was now approached 
by the British on three sides. Between the second 
and third attack, and just before the last, the town 
of Charlestown, then consisting of about two hun¬ 
dred wooden houses and stores, was fired, no doubt 
by design of the British, which added to the hor¬ 
rors of the occasion. The militia had very little 
ammunition remaining on the third attack, and that 
was soon expended; and few recruits had arrived 
after the battle began. The British soon took ad¬ 
vantage of this, and rushed over the breastwork 
within the entrenchments; and on the east side, their 
artillery fired through an opening on the militia 
posted there. Word was then given to the militia 
to retreat; but many fell at this time, and as they 
were leaving the fort. It was then that the brave 
Warren also fell, a few rods from the entrenchment, 
whither he had come a short time before the retreat 
The militia stationed at the rail fence on the east, 
and near Mystic river, were not so powerfully at¬ 
tacked as before, and they were ordered up the 
hill to support those in the breast-work, but the 
retreat had began just before they arrived; and all 
the assistance which could be given, w'as to cover 
them in part as they left the entrenchments. In 
this. General Putnam appears to have been active; 
and when the militia reached the real Bunker Hill, 
nearly half a mile in rear of the breastwork, and 
which was in the way to pass over the neck from 
Charlestown, he attempted to stop them there, 
to throw up an entrenchment, and make a stand 
against the British troops then pursuing them. But 
the attempt failed, and all the militia passed over 
the neck to Cambridge and Medford, before or by 
six o’clock. 

The loss of the British, in killed, wounded and 
missing, was stated to be from sixteen hundred 
to seventeen hundred; about eight hundred of 




28 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


which were killed, and among them a large portion 
of commissioned officers; not less than eighty. 
The accounts given were various. Of the Americans 
tlie killed, wounded and taken, were about four 
hundred ; one hundred killed, nearly three hundred 
wounded, and between thirty and forty taken pris¬ 
oners, in consequence of their wounds. 

This first great battle of the revolutionary con¬ 
test, convinced the British of the daring character 
of the Americans, and made them cautious in their 
future attacks. The militia soon poured into the 
camp at Cambridge and Ro.xbury in great numbers ; 
and on the third of July, General Washington, of 
Virginia, took command of all the American troops, 
by special appointment of the Continental Congress, 
then convened in Philadelphia. Indeed, a nu¬ 
merous band of brave and generous citizens of the 
south, hastened to the defence of Boston, and Massa¬ 
chusetts, and resolved to oppose the tools of op¬ 
pression and tyranny at every hazard. And at all 
times, when danger should threaten their brethren 
in the north, in New England, they would be found 
rushing powerfully to the rescue. Let the same 
spirit be cherished by the citizens in this section of 
the country: And whenever any part of the Union 
is threatened, whenever our fellow-citizens of the 
south or west need our aid, let us unite for their 
protection and welfare. 


LINES.— BY MRS. HEMANS. 

If thou hast crushed a flower, 

The root may not be blighted. 

If thou hast quenched a lamp, 

Once more it may be lighted; 

But on thy harp or on thy lute. 

The string which thou hast broken, 

Shall never in sweet sound again 
Give to thyself a token. 

If thou hast loosed a bird, 

Whose voice of song could cheer thee. 
Still, he may be won. 

From the skies to warble near thee; 

But if upon the troubled sea 

Thou hast thrown a gem unheeded, 

Hope not that wind or wave shall bring 
The treasure back when needed . 

If thou hast bruised a vine. 

The summer’s breath is healing. 

Its clusters yet may glow. 

Through the leaves their bloom revealing; 
But if thou hast a cup o’erthrown. 

Filled with a bright draught, never 
Shall earth give back that lavish’d wealth. 
To cool thy parched lip’s fever. 

The heart is like that cup. 

If thou waste the love it bore thee, 

And like that jewel gone. 

Which the deep will not restore thee; 

And like that string of harp or lute. 

Whence the sweetest sound is scatter’d,— 
Gently, oh! gently touch the chords, 

So soon for ever shatter’d! 


SLAVERY DISCOUNTENANCED IN MASSA- 
CHUSETTS. 

We give the following e.xtract from Bradford’s 
History of Massachusetts, lately published, referring 
to the subject of slavery in this State, in past times. 
It is a concise statement of facts, and may gratify 


our readers at this time, when so much is said and 
written on the subject. 

“ In 1783, the involuntary slavery of the people 
of color in Massachusetts was in efl’ect condemned 
and prohibited, by a decision of the highest judicial 
tribunal in the State. An action was commenced 
in 1781, before a lower court, in the county of 
Worcester, against the master and owner of a slave 
for an assault and battery made by the master. The 
defence set up was, that the person on whom the 
assault was alleged to be made, being a slave, the 
owner might beat him at his pleasure; and was not 
therefore amenable to the law for an assault. The 
case appears to have been decided on great consti¬ 
tutional principles, recognised in the declaration of 
the bill of rights, “ that all men are born free and 
equal.”* The master was convicted of an assault 
and fined. Those who continued in service after¬ 
wards, in the state, remained so rather voluntarily 
than by compulsion. Public opinion was altogether 
against domestic slavery. It was believed to be in 
compatible with the principles of civil liberty, for 
which the people had been contending, and contra¬ 
ry to the spirit of Christianity. Instances were to 
be found, however, after that period, of the contin¬ 
uance of slavery, though it w’as probably voluntary ; 
as some aged persons, of this description, chose 
rather to remain in the families where they had long 
lived, than to be cast destitute on society. Before 
the revolution, domestic slavery was not uncommon 
in the large towns in Massachusetts; and as late as 
the year 1774, the public papers usually contained 
notices of black slaves for sale. The slave-trade 
had indeed been long discountenanced and forbid¬ 
den, even from a very early period, (1645,) though 
both Governor Bernard, in 1765, and Governor 
Hutchinson, in 1773, were instructed, to give a 
negative to bills to suppress it, passed by the house 
of assembly of Massachusetts. The judicial courts 
were opposed to it. In 1770, when an African was 
brought into the province by a British vessel, as a 
slave, he was urged to sue for his freedom; and 
the court ordered him to be set at liberty. The 
case w’as decided, by reference, (as a precedent,) 
to the principles then recognised in England, that 
whenever a slave put foot on its territory he became 

free-^ _ 

* The decision of the court was, “ that the man assaulted or beat¬ 
en was not a slave and was founded on the opinion that slavery 
was not authorized by law or statute, and though it had been permit¬ 
ted to keep negroes in such a condition, the principle could not be 
legally recosmised and sanctioned, and that the plea of the master in 
defence of the beating could not be justified. 

t John Lowell, a celebrated lawyer, took an active part in favor of 
the colored people held in bond.age, and offered them his professional 
aid without fees. 


MIDNIGHT. 

’Tis sweet at midnight, by the soothing fire, 

When all the world is lock’d in silence deep. 

To bid imagination’s wings aspire 

To Edens, beauteous as the dreams of sleep; 

While view’d at distance, breaking on our fear. 

The idols of the past arise again,— 

The eye of mind embodies the once dear. 

In shapes of fairer mould, and free from pain. 

They come, they come; and their fond looks of yore 
Again to fancy seek to soothe our grief; 

We feel their presence—feel at our heart’s core. 

And woo deceit, less palpable than brief; 

We fain would speak, but hear no an.swering tone; 

We start, and weep, to find ourselves alone. 

London Literary Gae. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


29 



ICE ISLANDS, OR ICE-BERGS. 


In particular situations on the American coasts 
in the high northern latitudes, the ice of successive 
years is piled into glaciers, which often rise to a 
great height and are of large extent, till their foun¬ 
dation being undermined by the waves, they de¬ 
scend into the ocean, and are carried by the current 
to great distances. They are frequently met in the 
latitudes passed by vessels sailing between Europe 
and America. In passages from England to Canada, 
Nova Scotia, and the northern parts of the United 


States, they are frequently encountered ; and they 
form to the mariners, much more to the passengers, 
a fearful spectacle. They are carried at the rate of 
a league an hour by the current, and often are sur¬ 
rounded with a thick vapour, so as not to be seen 
till very near; and if they come in sudden contact 
with a vessel may dash it in pieces. Scarcely a 
year passes, that we do not hear of shipwreck from 
this cause. 


TOMATO, OR LOVE APPLE. 

This plant or vegetable, sometimes also called the 
Jerusalem Apple, which belongs to the same genus, 
with the potato and egg-plant, was first found 
in South America. Ii is now cultivated in vari¬ 
ous parts of Europe, and in North America, but 
chiefly in the southern and middle states. In 
warm climates they are more used than in northern, 
and have a more pleasant taste. The Italians make 
great use of this plant in cooking, and it is becom¬ 
ing more common in England. In northern lati¬ 
tudes it is raised against walls and artificial banks, 
being first brought forward in hot-beds, and then 
transplanted like other tender annuals. The Tomato 
is a tender, herbaceous plant, of rank growth, but 
weak, fetid and glutinous. The leaves resemble 
those of the potato, but the flowers are yellow and 
arranged in large divided bunches; the fruit is or¬ 
namental, of a bright red color, and pendulous. 
It is now much used in various parts of the Uni¬ 
ted States; and many people consider it a great 
luxury. It is used in sauces and soups ; and when 
boiled and seasoned with pepper and salt makes an 
excellent sauce for fish and meat. A learned med¬ 


ical professor in the West pronounces the Tomato, 
a very wholesome food in various ways, and advises 
to the daily use of it. He says that it is very salu¬ 
tary in dyspepsia and indigestion ; and is a good an¬ 
tidote to bilious disorders, to which persons are 
liable in going from a northern to a warmer climate. 
He recommends the use of it also in diarrhoea, and 
thinks it preferable to calomel. If this vegetable, 
or fruit, has the properties here ascribed to it, it 
will no doubt soon be universally cultivated. P’or 
most other vegetables except rice, are supposed to 
be unfavorable to dyspepsia. 


IS HE RICH.? 

He is rich in sense, he is rich in worth. 

And rich in the blood of an honest birth; 

He is rich in his country’s heart and fame. 

And rich in the thought that high souls claim; 
He is rich in the books of olden time. 

And rich in the air of a freeman’s clime; 

He needs no star to shine on his breast. 

For the crimson drops of his father’s crest 
Fell, noble gems on the battle field. 

Where the haughty foenien were taught to yield. 
Then ask no more, “ Is he rich in gold?” 

His riches were bought—but can ne’er be sold. 























































ri( VI'OKI \|, I.IMK \\{\ 


no 


Mu,*<r ANi> i> \in.Y Ml'rn,ii',i\n'N r oii' 'niit'. 

n: Mi rii 

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uoih'iid dolhyt', l»v iM'iMiiioit mImmiI 

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ritl I'I It ritt'ht in It 

llitltt 100 (it 1100 ttl\ i«r< tiniit <ti 

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lit riiii'x ixitt, 

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'riii'iit'x N iliiilillim llllll 
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riii'it<'K A xiil|>lmi \ aIiiiia - 
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nr vi riri'i r\ ru u r 

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iti'tl Inia imiilt' mtiltmn ttt'illit t'l't't'iiit'inj'i. 

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ll;ta It* I'tvtlllitl IlltVlIim^a, Alttl tt ill al.llttl 
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I't' n« tntitnit ttaoa iltit'ti^lv aII nmt», 

f*iill, lltt' t'lt'ittAl jvmt'H'U' la I'tnv, 

.Nml lit lltttai* tlt't'p (tllt'tdlttlta lltAl tt A IVaI 
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\lttl Itt lltA tttAllllltii lAlt'lAtttt'aa oI'a t'ltiKl, 

I'v't At Alt I'llil llvitl all^a At'Att' ll* IttSul, 

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Nml At Alt itiH', Alttl llottm, .xml imtitiiyi Kiwk, 

NN A at'A It*'" At t'l \ lltlitjt ".la ts.i.iV \*iy ,• 

Na'I It'ttt lltAt Alt, ttitv' lit A ttt'lltl IlkA tllW, 

INml Ai'tiltit^ It' IwtlA Mm Ituitmii iMitltx 

I't'ii Yt'i Ntt' I vi'ivx.' l.i't tlinii noioi torjil't ihnt 

nii'iiiMl niij'ii'ionionl Nlit'iiltl mImmim U' ot'iuluoin'tv' 
nit'i!il v'Vt'i'lK'iit" ; iiinv'li v't'inivix n\ I'U'ti, MiiuH'iitv, 
(itlt'lm, Mt'lniii, oliMMti, Mlltl l*i'nt'it'li'iiv". Aiui 
llit'M' nit'ial tjiiMliOv'x MU' nillnl nil*' vImiIi oxori'i-xi', 
ni ,lU xlMllt'llX t't' lit'o. I'lu' tlldt Mini oliu'l' Vif tlu'si’ 

IX I'lt'iv* Aiul iot it IS t"K'vM'nxlMiitly ivnu'nilH'U'il, 
tliMt tIu' S'VimI tliitii's Mlltl ih'im'umI iirtuv's MU’ tvi Ik* 
ivitt'inivsl Mlltl oultiiMtv'il, St' hir tuvu In'inj; m- 
n'linvitil'lv' iiitli uioti, tliMt tiu'i MU' ukjiuukI I'l tho 
SMIIIO Mlltllt'lltl "lilt'll I'njvinis Iv'li' Mlltl ^IMtltUvlV to 
titsl. Anti It IS M i^uNit v'lu'r td' ,svinu' tv'niMlv's. thMt 
tlu'i inr-v»iniv' tliv'i sIimU I'mII tnuloi tlu'tlispU\Msuu' uf 
lusMii'ii I" Mtti'ntlni;; tt' tlu' t'ulniMTi vlutK'M v'f iilx’. 
rills is till’ |vii\'i-sitm t'f ti«v' u'UjTit'ii, Miui tht'ro 
liMiv' Isvn nistMiiv'v'x v'l' Us nijnuv'us miuI uuhMppr 

v'tliM'tx. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


O I 
•J 1 



THE UNITED STATES MINT. 


This establishment has been in Philadelphia from 
its origin in 1791. The buildings used for the 
business were formerly in Seventh Street, between 
Arc h and Market Streets. The building, of which 
we here present a view, was begun in 1829, and is 
in Chestnut Street, near Broad Street. “ The front 
is one hundred and twenty-two feet, divided into a 
portico sixty-two feet long, and two wings, each of 
thirty feel. The building is of the Ionic order, 
taken from a Grecian temple near Athens. The 
portico has six columns, three feet in diameter and 


twenty-five feet high. The material of the building 
is brick, but is faced with thick marble.” 

In 1827. the coinage effected at this establish¬ 
ment amounted to .$3,000,000, and consisted of 
9,000,000 pieces of coin, of gold, silver and cop>- 
per; the gold being of the value of .$131,000, the 
silver of $2,860,000, and the copper of $2.3,000. 

: Since the establishment (up to 1828) the whole 
j coinage amounted to $30,465,000, and the number 
I of pieces of coin were 103,081,000 ; of gold to the 
I amount of $8,255,000, of silver $21,899, and of 
















































































































































































































































































































































32 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


copper ^513,876. From that time to the be¬ 
ginning of the year 1834, the amount coined was 
annually, between three and four millions; and for 
1834, it was upwards of 7,000,000; of gold, nearly 
4,000,000, and of silver 3,000,000. 



THE BREAD FRUIT.— [artocarpus.] 

This very useful tree is found in most of the 
Polynesian Islands: in the Sandwich Islands, and 
especially in Tahiti, (or Otaheite.) It sometimes 
grows to the height of forty feet; and its branches 
spread widely, with large leaves. Its appearance is 
rich and luxuriant. The fruit is egg-shaped, the 
longest diameter being about eight inches, and its 
shortest seven. The rind, or outer covering, is 
smooth and green, and marked with hexagonal 
specks. The part eaten is between the skin and 
the core, which is hard and unpleasant to the taste. 
The fruit cannot be long kept after it is gathered 
unless baked, before it is unfit for food. There is 
an acid taste, which Europeans do not consider 
pleasant when they first use it. It serves both for 
vegetables and bread. It is most salutary when 
cooked, and is seldom eaten without being baked. 
The tree is used for timber, and the bark for canoes: 
and the inner thin bark is made into cloth. This tree 
and its fruit are justly considered a great blessing to 
the inhabitants of the Pacific islands. They would 
find it difficult to subsist without the fruit. It is 
cooked in various ways, sometimes with milk. And 
like other fruit or bread stuflTs, much depends on 
the cooking, whether it be either palatable or whole¬ 
some. A milky juice also issues from incisions 
made in the tree, which serves as a glue or cement. 
The English have transplanted the Bread-fruit tree, 
to the West Indies : but the black population have 
a prejudice against it, and prefer the plantain, to 
which they have been long accustomed. By most 
of the English planters it is esteemed a delicacy, 
and they use it in the form of puddings. It is very 
white, if duly gathered and prepared, and of the 
consistence of new bread. 


Messenger pigeons are employed to convey news 
from Paris to Antwerp and back. This appears to 
be a better method than the project of conveying 
intelligence by balloons. 


COSMOGONY. 

The only accoiJnt of the creation or origin of our 
globe, is that furnished by Moses in the first chapter 
of Genesis. All others, not derived from hirn, are 
mere fable, or exaggerated and obscure tradition. 
His statement is also the most probable, and the 
most philosophical; or, if not clearly agreeable to 
philosophy, it is not contrary to it, as commonly 
explained. Tradition, indeed, does not go further 
back than the deluge ; all which was previous is 
derived wholly from Moses, who might have receiv¬ 
ed it, through three or four individuals, from Noah 
himself. 

The account by Moses, however, may be con¬ 
sidered rather a new formation, than actually a 
new creation of the earth. That our earth, as it 
existed before the flood, was not a new creation, 
but a new formation, is quite probable; nor is 
there any inconsistency in such an opinion with .the 
representation given by Moses. Either opinion 
maybe held, without impugning the Mosaic account. 
Our earth might have previously existed in some 
other form, without supposing error or mistake in 
the Jewish historian. But, that our earth and all 
other matter was created in time, by the omnipotent, 
all-wise and eternal Spirit, there can be no question ; 
whether Moses be understood as speaking of a new 
creation, or not; for true philosophy, as well as 
revelation teaches this fundamental doctrine. Ex¬ 
cepting Moses, the most ancient and authentic 
cosmogony extant, is that of Sanconiatho, a Phoeni¬ 
cian, probably contemporary with the prophet Isaiah, 
about 800 years before Christ. But there are only 
some fragments of his treatise remaining. And so 
far as his opinion and views can be collected from 
the remains of his writings, he agreed with Moses; 
and it is not improbable that he was indebted to 
that more ancient and learned writer, for the state¬ 
ment he gave, respecting the formation of the earth 
and of the early history of mankind. Some ancient 
heathen philosophers supposed the world to be 
eternal; and others, that matter was eternal, but 
had received or assumed difi'erent forms in different 
periods of time. They said “the Divine Spirit was 
essentially active, and therefore as he was eternal, 
he had been eternally active in creation.” But the 
most general opinion, even among heathens, was 
that God created the world, in time and out of 
nothing. This was the doctrine of the Magi, the 
Brahmins, the Druids, &,c. derived probably from a 
vague tradition from the early patriarchs, or the 
Mosaic history. 


Paradise Lost in a French translation by M. 
DE Chateaubriand, is soon to be published, with a 
preliminary dissertation on English poetry from its 
origin to the present time. This is a work of great 
expectation, as the translator is a man both of genius 
and learning. He is an elegant writer and an ac¬ 
complished scholar: and his peculiar style seems 
well adapted to the work he has undertaken. 
Besides the political writings of Chateaubriand, his 
‘ Genius of Christianity’ has given him a name among 
the eminent Savans of France, particularly in the 
department of ethics and theology. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


33 


GENERAL BENEDICT ARNOLD. 

Mr. Sparks, of Cambridge, the intelligent and 
industrious historian and biographer, has written 
the life of the famous, alias infamous traitor, Bene¬ 
dict Arnold. And it is an extremely interesting 
work. Mr. Sparks seems to have spared no efforts 
to collect every thing relating to Arnold, which 
would serve to make his biography entire and com¬ 
plete. The great events respecting the alarming 
tleachery of General Arnold have been long known 
to almost every American. Still this volume will 
amply repay for the perusal, though that be a small 
tax of money and time. One likes to know the 
duplicity and wickedness of men, (when they 
are detected,) however humiliating it is to learn how 
bad human nature is capable of becoming. Gene¬ 
ral Benedict Arnold was born in 1740, at Norwich, 
in the'state of Connecticut; where his father moved 
some years before, from Newport, in Rhode Island. 
The family was one of the most ancient and-respect¬ 
able in that Slate. 

In his youth and early manhood, Arnold was 
headstrong, refractory and mischievous. When an 
apprentice to an apothecary, he gave his master 
great trouble. He was often unfaithful, and exhib¬ 
ited a degree of recklessness, not often seen in well 
educated ar*! well governed young men. Whether 
he was properly restrained by his parents does not 
appear. At the age of sixteen, he enlisted in the 
army then at the northward opposing the French 
from Canada. When the war of the revolution broke 
out, in April 1775, he was living at New Haven. 
He raised a company, and marched to Cambridge 
with many others from Connecticut. Early in the 
month of May, there was a plan projected at Hart¬ 
ford for taking possession of the British forts on 
Lake Champlain. Arnold probably had knowledge 
of the project. He applied to the provincial con¬ 
gress of'Massachusetts for authority to take a regi¬ 
ment and march to that quarter for the capture of' 
those forts; and he soon after proceeded on the 
enterprise, being joined by some men from the 
county of Berkshire, Mass. Ethan Allen from the 
Green Mountains (afterward Vermont) was com¬ 
mander of the Americans assembled for the same 
object, when Arnold arrived. And there was a 
dispute between them, as to the chief command of 
the whole. Arnold complained against Allen ; but 
in vain. In the fall of 1775, he commanded the 
troops which invaded Quebec, by the way of 
Kennebec river; when they suffered greatly in 
travelling through a wilderness of 150 miles. That 
expedition was unsuccessful; and General Mont¬ 
gomery the commander in chief was slain. Colonel 
Arnold was wounded. He was distinguished in 
1777, in the attacks on General Bourgoyne, pre¬ 
viously to his surrender. When the American 
army pursued the British from Philadelphia, in 
June 1778, Arnold was left in command of that 
city, by General Washington. His conduct in that 
situation was very arbitrary, and in other respects 
reprehensible. He was accused of retaining pro¬ 
perty left by the British, which belonged to the 
public. And both the citizens of Philadelphia and 
members of the Legislature complained loudly 
against him. A Court Martial was ordered, touch¬ 


ing these complaints by Geneva! Washington. Bnt 
he was acquitted. Yet was probably so mortified 
and embittered, that he was seeking an opportuni¬ 
ty to injure the country ever after. He was too 
avaricious and too envious to be a good patriot. 
But he had the policy to cloak his designs, till he 
thought he had a fair opportunity to gratify his 
revengeful temper, or his love of gold. He was 
detected, and the country saved. The particulars 
of his conduct in this atrocious affair, are detailed 
by Mr. Sparks with great accuracy and interest. 
Arnold died in London many years ago. And while 
he lived, he was an object of disgust and abhorrence 
to every honorable man. 

HOPE’S BRIGHTER SHORE. 

[From the London Court Journal.] 

O’er the wild waste, th’ Autumnal leaf careers. 

Nor vale nor mountain now is ripe with dowers; 

Nature’s fair brow, the snow of Winter sears. 

And all but Hope hath fled her once green bowers,— 
Hope with her sunny hair. 

And why thus lonely lingers she, when all 
The glorious gifts of Summer are no more ? 

Her foot already treads Spring’s leafy hall. 

Her eye sees sunbeams gild the distant shore. 

Distant, yet still how fair. 

So when the laugh of Childhood and the song 
Are heard no longer as in other days, 

Hope, with her rainbow wand, still leads along 

To where, all flush’d with manhood’s noontide rays. 
Succeeds a prouder age. 

Who loveth Fame ? lo where her temple stands I 
Who mad Ambition there, the laurel waves ! 

All that the majesty of mind commands. 

All that the heart of man insatiate craves. 

Is found in Hope’s bright page. 

And yet the mighty majesty of mind,— 

Ambition, Fame, are mixed with earthly leaven. 

What are their purest joys to the refined 

And spotless ones, the promised ones of heaven, 

Joys that shall ne’er decay ! 

The tear of sorrow hath no dwelling there,— 

Earth is its birth-place ; why should angels weep? 

They know not sorrow, as they know not Care, 

But, as Life’s pilgrim climbs the rugged steep. 

They cheer him on his way. 

Thrice happy he, whom, through each devious path, 

The lamp of Faith conducts with steady light ! 

His spirit quails not at the tempest’s wrath; 

He trembles not when low’rs the moonless night, 

Nor fears the Ocean’s roar. 

Oh ! life may have its sorrows and its cares. 

Yet come they but from sin to purify; 

While Death itself, the power that never spares. 

Is but the soul bark of Mortality, 

Seeking a brighter shore. H. 


A CURIOUS SPRING. 

In a low situation, and in a place like a cavern, 
on the coast of Brazil, there is a spring, (Caldeira.) 
the water of which boils up with a violent ebullition, 
as from a chaldron, and accompanied by a variety 
of loud noises. It throws up large quantities of 
mud, which is of a healing quality in cutaneous 
diseases. But the most remarkable phenomenon of 
the spring is, that if persons make a loud noise at 
the embouchure of the caldeira, the boiling water 
rushes out beyond the spring, to a distance in pro¬ 
portion to the violence of the concussion, and has 
been known to be thrown ten feet; and sometimes 
a smoke and flame accompany the violent ebullU 
tions, 

a 






34 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



SEAMENS’ CHURCH, IN BOSTON. 





































































































































































































































































































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


35 


SEAMEN’S CHURCH, IN BOSTON. 

This church has been finished and used as a 
house of public religious worship for the seamen 
belonging to, or residing in Boston, for about two 
years, it is located in the north part of the city, 
and near North Square, so called. Its front faces 
that square, and is fifty feet, with a handsome 
tower; and the north side of the building is con¬ 
tiguous to Sun-court Street, and extends seventy 
feet. The lower story is rough stone, and the up¬ 
per story is of brick. 

It will accommodate as many sailors as are gene¬ 
rally in port, and are not connected with families who 
belong to some other religious society: and it is 
usually well filled, with apparently sincere and pious 
worshippers. The Rev. E. T. Taylor, the pastor 
and teacher, is peculiarly well qualified for the im¬ 
portant office which he fills. He was many years 
a sailor, and he knows the character of sailors thor¬ 
oughly. He knows their great ignorance of reli¬ 
gious subjects ; their temptations and trials; their 
wants and sufferings. And he knows too that they 
have kind and tender feelings. With his experi¬ 
ence, and warm benevolence, and ardent piety, his 
instructions promise to be highly useful; they have 
already been useful. The sailors are fond of going 
to his church, and of hearing his discourses, and 
his exhortations. They evidently feel impressed 
with his benevolent and warm appeals to their 
hearts. He aims also to instruct, as well as to 
arouse and to impress. We believe it would be 
impossible to find a religious guide for the seamen 
better qualified for, or more devoted to the benevo¬ 
lent work. They believe him to be their sincere 
and disinterested friend; and they confide in his 
wise and affectionate counsels. It is pleasant to 
record that Mr. Taylor, though of the denomina¬ 
tion of Methodists, is not sectarian in his creed ; 
but is truly liberal in his feelings; and that gentle¬ 
men of all sects who have assisted in this benevo¬ 
lent work, have a friendly and Christian fellowship 
with him personally, as a man and a religious teacher. 

A part of the basement is used for a reading 
room, for the benefit of those seamen who have 
leisure and inclination to visit it. There are seve¬ 
ral newspapers, and a variety of tracts and small 
volumes of a moral and religious character. The 
advantage of this place to sailors, for worship and 
instruction, are incalculable. The city is saved 
from brawls and riots, and the poor sailor may find 
a friend to assist, to teach and guide him. 

This house of worship has been raised by the 
benevolent exertions of several individuals of the 
city. It is not necessary to name them. They 
fin'd their reward in the consciousness of having 
provided the means of moral and religious improve¬ 
ment for a portion of their fellow men, who seemed 
to be almost abandoned or forgotten by the more 
prosperous part of the community. A number of 
mechanics were among the contributors for the 
church, and were active in calling the attention of 
others to the subject. And merchants and profes¬ 
sional men came forward on this, as on former similar 
occasions, and gave them liberal aid, without which 
the object might not have been accomplished. 



[Old Seamen’s Church, Salutation Street.] 


Ancient Customs. —What wise man would ever 
think of clinging to a foolish practice, because it 
has become a habit, or is an old custom ? Or would 
oppose reform merely because it is deviating from 
the fashion of the last century ? Yet such a prin¬ 
ciple is sometimes gravely avowed, and a salutary 
change condemned as innovation; as if there were 
any thing dangerous in change. This plea is set 
up in defence of tobacco. The same apology may 
be made for the use of alcohol. It was almost the 
universal practice twenty years ago, to drink brandy, 
rum, gin, and whiskey, three or four times a day. 
And the dram-drinkers complain of the innovation 
made by the Temperance Societies. Had they 
more reason to complain than the lovers of tobacco, 
because this vile weed is reprobated by physicians ? 
The latter is not attended or followed indeed by 
so great evils as the former. But it should be 
enough, that it is pronounced unhealthy, and is 
generally offensive. 


PARENTAL HOPE. 

BY MRS. SIGOURNEY. 

"Lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.”— 
Acts xxvii. 24. 

Father! who o’er Time’s boisterous tide, 

A precious bark art steering; 

Mother! who, anxious at his side, 

Each distant storm art hearing; 

Bind ye the promise to your breast. 

Thus by the angel spoken ? 

Believe ye that your circle blest 
Shall gain the port unbroken ? 

Wide sever’d o’er his voyage course. 

Some idle child ye cherish— 

’Mid stranger-seas and billows hoarse. 

Far from your side may perish; 

Still trust ye o’er these waves of care 
To meet in God’s communion ? 

Oh! be your life one sleepless prayer 
To gain that glorious union. 

When stranded on the rock of woe. 

Life’s last faint watch-light burneth. 

And shuddering toward that bourne ye go. 

From whence no guest returneth— 

Then may each bark your love has launch’d. 

Gliding with a sail unriven. 

Send forth a seraph soul, to form 
Your “ family in heaven.” 


























36 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


DESPONDENCY, AND ASPIRATIONS OF FAITH AND 

HOPE.- BY MRS. HEMANS. 

My soul was mantled with dark shadows, born 
Of lonely Fear, disquieted in vain; 

Its phatitoins hung around the star of Morn, 

A cloud-like weeping train; 

Through the long day that dimmed the autumn-gold 
On all the glistening leaves; and wildly roll’d. 

When the last farewell flush of light was glowing. 

Across the sunset sky; 

O’er its rich isles of vaporous glory throwing 
One melancholy dye. 

And when the solemn Night 
Came rushing with her might 
O’er stormy oracles from caves unknown. 

Then with each fitful blast 
Prophetic murmurs pass’d, 

Wakening or answering some deep Sybil tone, 

Far buried in my breast, yet prompt to rise 
With every gusty wail that o’er the wind-harp flies. 

“ Fold, fold thy wings,” they cried, ” and strive no more. 
Faint spirit, strive no more !—for thee too strong 
Are outward ill and wrong. 

And inward wasting fires !—Thou canst not soar 
Free on a starry way. 

Beyond their blighting sway. 

At Heaven’s high gate serenely to adore ! 

How should’st thou hope Earth’s fetters to unbind ? 

O passionate, yet weak ? O trembler to the wind ! 

“ Never shall aught but broken music flow 
From joy of thine, deep love, or tearful wo ; 

Such homeless notes as through the forest sigh. 

From the reed’s hollow shaken. 

When sudden breezes waken 
Their vague, wild symphony : 

No power is theirs, and no abiding place 
In human hearts; their sweetness leaves no trace,— 

Born only so to die ! 

“ Never shall aught but perfume, faint and vain, 

On the fleet pinion of the changeful hour. 

From my bruis’d life again 
A moment’s essence breathe; 

Thy life whose trampled flower 
Into the blessed wreath 
Of household charities no longer bound. 

Lies pale and withering on the barren ground. 

“ So fade, fade on ! thy gift of love shall cling 
A coiling sadness, round thy heart and brain, 

A silent, fruitless, yet undying thing. 

All sensitive to pain ! 

And still the shadow of vain dreams shall fall 
O’er thy mind’s world, a daily darkening pall 
Fold, then, thy wounded wing, and sink subdued. 

In cold and unrepining quietude! ” 

Then my soul yielded; spells of numbing breath 
Crept o’er it, heavy with a dew of death. 

Its powers like leaves before the night-rain closing; 

And, as by conflict of wild sea-waves toss’d 
On the chill bosom of some desert coast. 

Mutely and hopelessly I lay reposing. 

When silently it seem’d 
As if a soft mist gleam’d 
Before my passive sight, and slowly curling. 

To many a shape and hue 
Of visioned beauty grew. 

Like a wrought banner, fold by fold unfurling. 

Oh ! the rich scenes that o’er mine inward eye 
Unrolling, then swept by. 

With dreamy motion ! Silvery seas were there 
Lit by large dazzling stars, and arched by skies 
Of Southern midnight’s most transparent dyes, 

And gemm’d with many an island, wildly fair. 

Which floated past me into orient day, 

Still gathering lustre on th’ illumin’d way. 

Till its high groves of wondrous flowering trees 
Color’d the silvery seas. 


And then a glorious mountain-chain uprose. 

Height above spiry height! 

A soaring solitude of woods and snows. 

All steep’d in golden light! 

M hile as it pass’d, those regal peaks unveiling, 

I heard, meihoiight, a waving of dread wings 
And mighty sounds, us if the vision hailing. 

From lyres that quiver’d through ten thousand strings * 
Or, as if waters forth to music leaping 

From many a cave, the Alpine Echo’s hall. 

On their bold way victoriously were sweeping, 

Linked in majestic anthems; while through all 
That billowy swell and fall. 

Voices, like ringing chrystal fill’d the air 
With inarticulate melody, that stirr’d 
My being’s core; then moulding into word 
Their piercing sweetness, bade me rise and bear 
In that great choral strain my trembling part 
Of tones, by Faith and Hope struck from a human heart 

Return no more, vain bodings of the night ! 

A happier oracle within my soul 
Hath swell’d to power;—a clear, unwavering light 
Mounts through the battling clouds that round me roll. 
And to a new control 

Nature’s full harp gives forth rejoicing tones. 

Wherein my glad sense owns 
Th’ accordant rush of elemental sound 
To one consummate harmony profound; 

One grand Creation-Hymn, 

Whose notes the Seraphim 

Lift to the glorious height of music wing’d and crown’d. 

Shall not those notes find echoes in my lyre. 

Faithful though faint ?—shall not my spirit’s fire. 

If slowly, yet unswervingly, ascend 
Now to its fount and end ? 

Shall not my earthly love, all purified. 

Shine forth a heavenward guide ? 

An angel of bright power ?—and strongly bear 
My being upward into holier air. 

Where fiery passion-clouds have no abode. 

And the sky’s temple-arch o’erflows with God ? 

The radiant hope new-born 
Expands like rising morn 
In my life’s life : and as a ripening rose. 

The crimson shadow of its glory throws 
More vivid, hour by hour, on some pure stream; 

So from that Hope are spreading 
Rich hues, o’er nature shedding. 

Each day a clearer, spiritual gleam. 

Let not those rays fade from me ;—once enjoy’d. 

Father of spirits ! let them not depart ! 

Leaving the chill’d earth, without form and void. 

Darken’d by mine own heart ! 

Lift, aid, sustain me ! Thou, by whom alone 
All lovely gifts and pure 
In the soul’s grasp endure ;— 

Thou, to the steps of whose eternal throne 
All knowledge flows—a sea for evermore 
Breaking its crested waves on that sole shore— 

O consecrate my life ! that I may sing 
Of Thee with joy that hath a living spring 
In a full heart of music !—Let my lays 
Through the resounding mountains waft thy praise. 

And with that theme the wood’s green cloisters fill. 

And make their quivering leafy dimness thrill 
To the rich breeze of song ! O ! let me wake 
The deep Religion which hath dwelt from yore. 
Silently brooding by lone cliff and lake. 

And wildest river shore ! 

And let me summon all the voices dwelling 
Where eagles build, and caverned rills are welling. 

And where the cataract’s organ peal is swelling, 

In that one spirit gathered to adore ! 

Forgive, O Father ! if presumptuous thought 
Too daringly in aspirations rise ! 

Let not thy child all vainly have been taught 
By weakness, and by wanderings, and by sighs 
Of sad confession !—lowly be my heart. 

And on its penitential altar spread 
The offerings worthless, till thy grace impart 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


37 


The fire from Heaven, whose touch alone can shed 
Life, radiance, virtue !—let that vital spark 
Pierce iny whole being, ’wildered else and dark ! 

Thine are all holy things—O make me Thine, 

So shall I too he pure—a living shrine 
Unto that spirit, which goes forth from Thee, 

Strong and divinely free. 

Bearing thy gifts of wisdom on its flight. 

And brooding o'er them with a dove-like wing. 

Till thought, word, song, to Thee in worship spring. 

Immortally endow’d for liberty and light. 

MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 

In the apprehension of some good men, there is 
danger that knowledge or science may be considered 
as the only object of study and acquisition; and 
that moral and religious culture may be wholly 
neglected. Knowledge, and mere knowledge, seems 
to be the chief, if not the sole object of desire; 
and the chastening influence of religious principles 
is little regarded. We boast of our knowledge and 
learning, and we are ambitious of exceeding other 
nations in science and the arts. Are we as desirous 
of surpassing them in moral virtue ? And are there 
proper exertions made to provide the means of 
moral culture, which an advance in civilization will 
render necessary ? Knowledge is certainly far more 
favorable to good morals, than ignorance; but 
knowledge is not virtue, nor does it always conduct 
to good morals. And yet we seem to be in danger 
of thinking that little more is necessary, to provide 
for the virtue of the young, than to give them the 
means of learning. We surely forget the history of 
other times and nations, when we expect that a 
literary education is all which is necessary for our 
children : and that we may safely dispense with 
moral and religious instructions, if we can make 
them learned. When Athens was at the height of 
its literary renown, it was exceedingly lax in morals 
and corrupt in manners. When France was en¬ 
lightened by a constellation of Savans fifty years 
ago, there was never a greater degree of moral 
degeneracy and licentiousness. Mere learning often 
leads to skepticism, and skepticism leads to disso¬ 
luteness of manners. We are not therefore to omit 
making our children as learned and scientific as we 
can : but religious, or moral instruction should not 
be neglected. And it is encouraging to reflect, that 
the youthful mind is favorable to moral culture. It 
has a susceptibility disposing it to receive and profit 
by instruction.—We mean not, that the mind of 
the young should be filled with mere speculative 
opinions, and obliged to receive disputed points in 
theology ; but they should be taught to feel their 
responsibility to God, and the duties of justice, truth, 
kindness and charity. These instructions are ne¬ 
cessary to save them from practical errors,—from 
errors of the heart; and to give them moral senti¬ 
ments, and assist in forming good habits ; for which 
all the learning of Solomon would be a miserable 
substitute, and without which, the wealth and power 
of the world would afford no security from coruption 

and suffering - 

PHENOMENA OF VISION. 

Appearances which are unusual, but as readily 
accounted for on principles of natural philosophy as 
the most common occurrences, are noticed by the 
ignorant with superstitious fears; and are calculated 


also to make false Impressions on the minds of the 
young. Some references to them of an explanatory 
kind, may not be useless or uninteresting to a por¬ 
tion of our readers. We refer to a few mentioned 
by Brewster, in his letters on natural magic. In 
the electorate of Hanover, there is a range of moun¬ 
tains, the highest of which is Brocken. Its height is 
3,300 feet, and it commands an extensive view. 
It has long been the seat of the marvellous with 
the ignorant people. A spectre is said to haunt the 
summit. One who witnessed it. May 1797, gives 
the following account of it: but it does not appear 
every day, and depends on the state of the atmo¬ 
sphere. “ The sun rose about 4 o’clock, in a serene 
sky: but in the southwest, a brisk wind carried 
before it the thin vapors, which had not then been 
condensed with thick and heavy clouds. He soon 
went towards the inn, and looked round to see if 
the atmosphere would afford a free prospect to the 
southwest; when he observed, at some distance, 
a human figure of monstrous size. Being in danger 
of losing his hat by the gusts of wind, he raised his 
hand to his head to protect it, and the gigantic figure 
did the same. He then made another movement by 
bending his body ; and this also was repeated by the 
spectral figure. It then vanished for a few min¬ 
utes ; but soon appeared again, acting over all his 
gestures and motions. He then called the keeper 
of the inn ; and soon two colossal figures appeared 
in the distance, and over the eminence where the 
other had been seen ; and for some minutes imita¬ 
ted the gestures and motions of the two spectators ; 
then disappeared. But soon again appeared joined 
by a third : and the three made the same motions 
which was first made by the gentleman and his host. 
The year following, the gentleman witnessed the 
same phenomena ; but not altogether so strong and 
distinct.” “ Similar phenomena, it is added, are 
often witnessed. Our own shadow seen in an 
opposite direction to the sun on a thin vapor near 
it, will imitate our movements, and the head is 
usually encircled with a halo of light.” Near the 
lakes of Cumberland, at particular states of the air, 
horses and dogs have been distinctly seen running 
for some time, causing great alarm to the inhabitants, 
till later periods, when the principles of atmosphe¬ 
rical refraction on which they depended, were ex¬ 
plained. The castles of the faery Morgana, so 
called, often seen in the straits of Messina, between 
Sicily and the coast of Italy, which is the appear¬ 
ance of superb palaces, &-c. on the surface of the 
water, are accounted for on the same principles. 
A spectator standing on an eminence with his back 
to the sun and his face to the sea, observes buildings, 
trees, flocks, &c. on the water, but they pass 
rapidly away. They are pictures of objects on shore, 
and are owing to the state of the atmosphere, and 
the position of the spectator. The phenomenon of 
an inverted ship, which is often witnessed, is ac¬ 
counted for on the same principle. In former 
periods, it was ominous of shipwreck, or other 

great calamity. - 

The young prince of Tuscany was baptized by 
the archbishop of Florence, by the name of Fer¬ 
dinand - Sauveur- Marie-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste- Fran 
cois-Louis-Goonzague-Raphael-Revnier-Janvier. 






38 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


EXPERIENCE COMES TOO LATE : 

OR A DISKEGARD OF THE WARNING VOICE OF AGE. 

It does not, indeed, partake of the character of 
moral evil; but while it exposes to error and suffer¬ 
ing, it also argues great want of wisdom and pru¬ 
dence. The child who refuses to observe the 
lessons, or to learn from the better knowledge of a 
parent, is considered sadly deficient in docility, or 
in good judgment. The young apprentice who dis¬ 
regards the instructions and directions of his master, 
in the vain belief cf know’ing better or as well, as 
one who has had several years experience, renders 
himself liable to the charge of obstinacy or conceit. 
As we are in the ranks of the aged, it would be 
hardly decorous to refer to the old proverb, young 
folks thinks old folks to befools, but old folks know 
young folks,” &-c. And yet we do honestly believe 
there is much homely truth in the proverb. 

Any one who has lived sixty-five, or sixty, or even 
fifty years, and has been only commonly observing 
and discriminating, must be far more able to point 
out the sources and occasions of danger, the mistakes 
to which all are liable, the path which leads to 
honor and enjoyment, and that which tends to dis¬ 
grace and misery; than those just entering on the 
stage of active life, the theatre of the world. We 
are aware, that in these remarks there is nothing but 
what every one knows and will acknow'ledge. And 
yet these self-evident truths are frequently wholly 
unheeded by ardent, and sometimes, by generous 
young men. And it is an evil much to be lament¬ 
ed ; it is an obliquity in the character of the young, 
which the wise and good regret, and wish sincerely 
to remedy. It is not very important to what this 
defect is to be attributed ; and whether it be called 
depravity, or only an imperfection, the consequence 
is the same. This disposition, or quality, of our 
nature, prevents the attainment of much good, and 
leads to numerous errors and sufferings.—We shall 
assume, that parents are truly desirous of the im¬ 
provement and prosperity of their children, and 
that, without any selfish feelings, they are chiefly 
anxious for their welfare and respectability in the 
world. We speak too, with reference to parents of 
good sense and good habits. But how often does 
one see the parental advice and warning grossly 
disregarded. It may be, as to occupation or busi¬ 
ness, the son is ready to say, “ I will find out a 
shorter or a better way in business, and to wealth, 
than my elders have pursued. I will try new experi¬ 
ments, which I think promise to give more pros¬ 
perity or to secure it sooner, than if I follow the 
plan recommended by my parents. I do not see 
all the evils which he predicts. He has been mis¬ 
taken or short-sighted ; I will act on my own judg¬ 
ment and according to my more sanguine wishes !” 
And what is the consequence? He finds himself 
mistaken, mortified, and perhaps ruined ; certainly 
subject to great loss. But “ experience comes too 
late.” He may indeed, afterwards profit of his own 
mistake, and retrieve his affairs, by doing as he should 
nave done from his first entering on business, and 
by then following the advice of one who knew 
better than himself. Still he has suffered by his 
ou'n folly, when he thought himself wiser than others, 


and by taking a new way, he has strayed far from 
the object he proposed so easily to attain. 

This imperfection of man is not confined to the 
young, in the common meaning of that term. Men 
approaching to middle life, when entering on a 
new line of business, and, of course, without much 
personal knowledge respecting it, confident of their 
own superior w'isdom, are very apt to spurn the 
advice and example of their superiors, and venture 
on a different course, in expectation of securing 
greater and more efficient benefits. Thus it often 
is, with the legislator. He has no experience to 
teach the difficulties of the subject; and he propo¬ 
ses, with a rash hand, to alter every thing which 
was done by his wise predecessors. He must have 
new laws, and different from the old, till his own 
experience shows him, that he is not so wise as he 
once thought himself, and that his ancestors were 
far wiser than he had supposed. He learns, that 
legislation is a very difficult subject; that little 
change is necessary, and that he shall see his way 
much better, if he avail of the lights of a former age. 

So it is in making acquaintance, and in the pursuit 
of pleasure. The young w'ill profit greatly by the 
advice and information given by a kind, intelligent 
father, who has seen much of the world, and has 
had opportunity to study human nature. In form¬ 
ing acquaintance, it is most important to'attend to 
character, and to fix on those of good habits and 
principles; and in matters of recreation or amuse¬ 
ment, the voice of experience, if the young will 
listen to it, will save from many dangers, if not from 
fatal evils. The experience of evil may teach us a 
useful lesson, which w’e shall never forget; but the 
remedy is a sore one, and it would be far wdser to 
follow tlie advice of those who do not err and will 
not deceive. And often, too “ experience comes 
so late,” that we cannot regain the good standing, 
or the innocence, we once had ; and vain regrets 
will continually harass our minds, for our past 
waywardness and folly. 

Dr. Watts, when almost worn out with infirmity, 
observed to a friend who visited him, that he remem¬ 
bered an aged minister, who used to say, that the 
most learned and knowing Christians, when they 
came to die, had only the same plain promises of 
the Gospel for their support, as the common and 
unlearned. “ And so,” said he, “ I find it. It is the 
plain promises of the Gospel that are my support; 
and I bless God they are plain promises, that do not 
require much labor and pains to understand them ; 
for I can do nothing but look in my Bible for some 
promise to support me, and live upon that.” 


In a conversation as to the proper division, or 
employment of the twenty-four hours, of a day and 
night, how much was suitable for rest, and how 
many to labor or study, or other business, there were 
various opinions expressed—And the sayings of 
ancient eminent men on the subject were quoted— 
so many hours for labor, and so many for sleep, and 
so many for recreation, and so many for meditation 
and prayer—Sir W. Jones said. 

Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven, 

Ten to the world allot, and all to heaven 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


39 



DAVID RITTENHOUSE. 

The United States may justly boast of having 
given birth to many individuals of philosophical 
research, and of ingenuity in the physical sciences. 
Many might be justly named who have made dis¬ 
coveries in these respects, or have improved the 
systems before received. In mathematics, astrono¬ 
my, and the mechanic arts, in mineralogy, and 
geology, it would be no difficult task to find names 
which deserve to be placed with distinguished men 
of science in Europe. Among these, David Ritten- 
HousE was one of the most eminent. He was born 
in the province of Pennsylvania in 1732, at a village 
near Philadelphia : And at an early age he gave 
presages of his peculiar genius. When engaged in 
the usual business of a farm, with his father and 
brothers, he was often detected in sketching mathe¬ 
matical figures. The first evidence which he gave 
of his mechanical talents, was the construction of a 
wooden clock, when he was only seventeen years 
old; and before he received any instruction in 
mathematics, or mechanics. From eighteen to 
twenty-five, he applied himself with great diligence 
to studies connected with the business of a clock 
and mathematical instrument maker, in which he 
was then engaged. As he found leisure from the 
labor of his trade, he read Newton, and other 
writers on the mathematical sciences. It is assert¬ 
ed, that he deserves the honor of having discovered 
the method of fluxions, as he was ignorant of the 
previous invention of Newton and Leibnitz. About 
this time he planned and executed the orrery; 
which was the fruit of his united study and me¬ 
chanical employment. It is true, that before this 
time, instruments had been constructed, capable 
of giving the student of astronomy a general idea 
of the relative motion of heavenly bodies; but his 
orrery was a great improvement on them, in several 
respects. He made two orreries with his own 
hands, and they answered the purpose he had pro¬ 
posed to himself to accomplish. In 1769, Mr. 
Rittenhouse was appointed with others, by the 


American Philosophical Society, to observe the 
transit of the planet Venus over the sun’s disc. 
His observations on the occasion were considered 
uncommonly accurate; the event was one of great 
interest to him, and his reputation was increased as 
an able mathematician and astronomer. His anxi¬ 
ety was so great, that when the planet reached the 
point of apparent contact with the sun, he fainted : 
but soon recovered from it, and made the observa¬ 
tions he wished. Mr. Rittenhouse was afterwards 
employed in fixing the boundary line between 
Pennsylvania and Virginia, between Pennsylvania 
and New York, between New York and New Jersey, 
and between New York and Massachusetts. He 
was a member, and on the death of Franklin in 
1790, he was elected President, of the American 
Philosophical Society; he was also a member of 
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 
Massachsetts, and of the Royal Society in England. 
In 1792, he was appointed Director of the Mint of 
the United States by Washington. For mechanical 
ingenuity and skill, he has probably not been sur¬ 
passed by any individual in America, and by very 
few in Europe. 


MOUNTAIN POPOCATEPEL IN MEXICO. 

In the southeast part of the valley of Mexico, 
which is one of the most beautiful and fertile tracts 
in the world, there are several mountains, some of 
which are eighteen thousand feet high. On two 
of the highest peaks there are volcanoes, but not 
always in operation. Some Europeans have lately 
succeeded in reaching the top of one of these lofty 
mountains. The snow was lying on a great portion 
of it, and far below the summit. They found no vege¬ 
tation after one third of the ascent. They passed 
through all the varieties of climate; and found it 
very cold in some parts ; and at, and near the sum¬ 
mit a great difficulty and pain in breathing. 

One attempt had been before made by some of 
the party, but their strength failed, and the rains 
were great. The air was so rarified that it was dif¬ 
ficult to be heard. They were nearly two days in 
ascending, after reaching the sides of the mountain. 
The mouth of the crater is a mile in diameter, and 
judged to be one thousand feet deep. The walls 
or sides of the crater are nearly perpendicular; so 
that it was impossible to enter it but by ropes fastened 
at the edge. The volcano was not active, except 
in emitting smoke and vapor, w hich was so highly 
sulphurous as to be offensive near the crater. The 
sulphur attaches to stones and rocks on the sides of 
the mountain, and is sometimes collected for the 
manufacture of gun powder. Snow was observed 
within the crater, at points on which the sun did 
not shine ; and on the outside the snow and sulphur 
were often found deposited near together. The 
prospect is represented as most magnificent and 
sublime. The adventurers were e.xcessively fatigued, 
and their pulse one hundred and forty-five; but 
after a little rest, only one hundred and eight. 
Their cheeks were deadly pale, and their lips of 
livid blue. - 

As no roads are so rough as those that have just 
been mended, so no sinners are so intolerant as hose 
that have just turned saints. 












40 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



THE GUINEA HEN: OR PINTADO. 


This bird must be referred to Africa, as the 
place of its origin. But it has been diffused over 
great part of Europe, the West Indies, and the 
American Continent. The young are considered 
a great delicacy ; and it is said generally formed a 
part of the Roman feasts. The females lay a larger 
number of eggs than the common domestic hens. 
And on this account, the Guinea Hen is particularly 
raised and kept. It seems to be a restless animal, 
and is almost constantly in motion. It is very noisy, 
and its sounds are harsh and unpleasant. When it is 
disturbed, it is very clamorous, as if it would raise 
an alarm for its protection. The Guinea Hen is of 
a larger body than the more common one; but its 
wings are quite short. The tail is pendulous like 
the partridge. It has no feathers on the head, but 
on the top is a callous protuberance of a conical 
form. The general color of the plumage is a dark 
bluish gray. 



THE TAME DUCK. —[Anas Domestica.] 


The Duck feeds on grain, herbs and grass. 
There are several species of this, as of most other 
genera of birds ; but all are converted into food by 
“ the lords of creation.” The Duck, with the hen, 
the turkey and the goose, has been made useful by 
being domesticated, and thus subjected at all times 
to man’s benefit and pleasure. The Tame Duck 
differs from some others chiefly in its habits, while 
from others it varies in several respects. Its origin 
is traced to the common wild duck, or mallard ; but 
it has been domesticated from time immemorial. In 


its plumage, the Tame Duck resembles the wild; 
and yet its colors are various. The domestic bird, 
as would be natural to expect, is not so keen and 
quick in its look, as the wild one. In their wild, 
or natural slate, it is said, they always pair, and are 
confined and true in their sexual intercourse. But 
this is not the case with the Tame Duck. The 
Tame Duck is very prolific; and it is matter of 
some surprise that more attention is not given to 
raise them. Every farmer can find a pond, or 
make one, by help of a brook, where the Duck 
might be kept and raised, with little expense. 


MORALITY ALONE INSUFFICIENT. 

Morality, to be uniform, stable and habitual, must 
be supported by principle, and fortified by some 
comprehensive doctrine whose influence is power¬ 
ful and constant. If it rest on the opinion of the 
individual of what is right, or on his belief of what is 
useful merely, or on public opinion, it may not 
alw'ays be correct, nor uniform. It must be founded 
on something more fixed and permanent. Con¬ 
science, if enlightened and free from all influence 
of the passions and of interest, would be a safe 
guide, perhaj)s; but who does not know’, that con¬ 
science may be darkened by ignorance, and blinded 
by passions. And the opinion of the world, as a 
guide to what is correct in all cases,—that too, is 
defective and erroneous. Public opinion can in¬ 
deed do something; and conscience may do more, 
in favor of moral virtue. Still a surer and stronger 
foundation is necessary for its support. A man 
w'ho regards his own peace of mind, who wishes to 
avoid censure and reproach from the world, and to 
preserve a good name in society, has powerful con¬ 
siderations for an upright and honorable course. 
But religious faith and principles seem necessary to 
give security to our virtue, and to furnish motives 
for a pure moral conduct in all situations of life. 
Religion is but another name for the divine law ; 
and should therefore be the standard and guide of 
moral actions. And it is sufficient for every situa¬ 
tion and every condition of life. It reaches the 
springs and motives of action. It would direct the 
affections, control the thoughts, and govern even 
the desires of the heart. Whatever can effect this, 
is a sufficient foundation and guard of habitual vir¬ 
tue; and that is insufficient and inadequate, which 
cannot do it. Faith then, in divine revelation, and 
an acknowledgement of our obligations to conform 
to its requirements, must be considered essential to 
the cause of moral virtue. This w'ill induce men to 
do every thing, and suffer every thing, and attempt 
every thing, in discharge of duty ; and enable them 
to attain, as far as is possible for human nature, 
the highest degree of moral excellence. 


Plays w'ere first acted, at Athens, about five 
hundred and sixty years before our era. Comedy 
w'as first attempted ; tragedy was introduced tw’enty 
years later. They w'ere introduced into England 
in 1550, in the time of Henry VIII. They seem 
to have been adopted by the Athenians, as a resting 
time for singers. The reverse has since been the 
object. 

















OF USEFUTi INFORMATION. 


41 



THE SUMMER DUCK. —[Anas Sponsa.] 

This is an American bird, and is generally called 
“ the Wood Duck.” It is found in most parts of 
the United States and in Mexico. It leaves the 
more northern latitudes in winter, but is found in 
the southern parts through the whole year. They 
frequent solitary and muddy creeks and ponds ; 
and feed on water plants and their seeds, as well as 
on insects, reptiles and small fish. They prefer 
fresh water ; and they fiy with great rapidity. It 
is not quite so large as the domestic or tame duck, 
(these indeed, are sometimes tamed) but its feathers 

are of various colors and verv beautiful. Their 

•/ 

eggs are numerous, and they have their nests in the 
same places for many successive years, 'fhe teal 
differs in some respects from the Wood Duck. But 
its habits are very similar. The canvas-back Duck, 
is said to be peculiar to the United States. It is 
most frequently found about the river Potomac; 
and was known to epicures long before it was des¬ 
cribed by naturalists. The species of theare 
about thirty in America, and an equal number in 
Europe; but some of these are common to both 
continents. The common black duck is among 
the latter. 



CUCKOO.—[CucuLus.] 

The Cuckoo is found in most parts of Europe and 
Asia. There is a bird in America frequently so 
called ; but it is of a different genus, yet it has some 
likeness in color and size to the bird of the old 
continent; and like that, is said to lay its eggs in 
the nests of other birds. The bird, with this name. 


in the United States, »ias a long tail, and is of the 
size of the robin or thrush. It frequents the thick 
parts of trees, as if to conceal itself. The Cuckoo 
of the old continent, migrates from more southern 
climes to the north, about the middle of April; 
and their residence usually is not more than two 
months. They do not pair, like other birds, and 
their eggs are deposited in the nests of others ; 
viz. the hedge-sparrow, the titlark and watei-wag¬ 
tail. This is a very remarkable fact in natural 
history. The Cuckoo prepares no nest for itself, 
but commits its eggs to a stranger. And what is still 
more wonderful, the bird in whose nest they are 
deposited, acquiesces in this intrusion; and even 
j takes better care of the eggs and the young of the 
Cuckoo than of its own. It throws out its own 
eggs sometimes to have sufficient room for the eggs 
of the Cuckoo: while the latter it seems to preserve 
with special care. And either the parent bird 
which owns the nest, casts out its own young, or 
permits the young Cuckoos to do it, that the latter 
may have the whole occupancy of the nest. The 
young Cuckoo has been seen throwing the true heir 
from the nest, very young, when it perishes. 

MY LIFE IS LIKE THE SUMMER ROSE. 

BY HON. R. H. WILDE. 

My life is like the Summer rose 
That opens to the morning sky, 

And, ere the shades of evening close. 

Is scattered on the ground to die .* 

Yet on that rose’s humble bed 
The softest dews of night are -lied : 

As if she wept such waste t'^ see— 

But none shall drop a tear for me ! 

My life is like the Autumn leaf 

That trembles in tl e moon’s pale ray. 

Its hold is frail—its jate is brief — 

Restless, and s'on to pass away : 

Yet w hen that le if shall fall and fade, 

T'he parent tree vvil! mourn its shade, 

The wind be vail the leafless tree. 

But none shall breathe a sigh for me ! 

*^Thc daily or Floriila rose, opens, fades and perishes, duritg 
Summer, in less tliaa tw.dve hours. 

ANSWER.- BY A LADY. 

TO “ MY LIFE IS I IKE THE SUMMER ROSE.” 

The dews of nigi t may fall from Heaven 
Upon the withe.’d rone's bed. 

And tears of fond regret l)e given. 

To mourn the vi tues of the dead ! 

Yet morning’s sun the dews will dry. 

And tears will fade from sorrow’s eye, 

Affection's pangs 1.3 lull'd to sleep, 

And even love for^ et to weep. 

The tree may mourn its fallen leaf, 

And Autumn winds bewail its bloom. 

And friends may heave the sigh of grief, 

O’er those who sleep within the tomb : 

Yet soon will spring renew the flowers. 

And time wid bring more smiling hours ; 

In friendsh'p’s heart all grief will die. 

And even .ove forget to sigh. 

The se i may on the desert shore 
Lament each trace it bears away ; 

The .onely heart its grief may pour 
(>’er cherished friendship’s fast decay 
Ycit when all trace is lost and gone, 

'I'lie waves dance bright and gaily on 
Tims soon aflection's bonds are torn, 

And even love forgets to mourn. 

G 

















42 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



THE STATE PRISON, CHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS. 


This State Prison, or Penitentiary, has been es¬ 
tablished nearly thirty years: and on a similar 
principle to that in Philadelphia, founded twenty 
years before. Some alterations in the criminal laws 
of the State were made at that time ; and confine¬ 
ment to hard labour in this prison, was substituted 
for imprisonment in the county jails, where no 
employment was provided for the convicts, and for 
whipping and sitting in the pillory. The number 
of capital crimes are now five, on conviction of 
which, death follows, as the legal punishment. For 
crimes of less enormity, the punishment is confine¬ 
ment in the State Prison, with hard labour. It is 
intended by this establishment, to keep the wicked 
secure from depredating on society, to require labour 
to meet the expenses of the institution, and at the 
same time to allow opportunity and provide means 
for the reformation of the prisoners. The object is 
a combined one—punishment and reform ; or rather, 
the safety of society, and the reformation of the 
guilty. The design is most praiseworthy, and hon¬ 
ourable to the humanity of the present enlightened 
age. In the opinion of those best qualified to judge, 
and most entitled to belief, the institution has 
proved useful, and such as was hoped it would be 
by the founders. The criminal is safe from doing 
mischief to others; he is obliged to labour, and 
thus acquires habits of industry; he is kept in soli¬ 
tary confinement when not at work; and has reli¬ 
gious instruction and advice to aid him in his 
desires to reform. 

For some years, the buildings were not sufficient 
to provide a separate cell for each ; but that defect 
is remedied by new buildings. And order gene¬ 
rally, as well as individual reform, is now much 
better promoted and secured. Few who have been 


discharged, within the last few years, have been 
returned to the prison, or convicted of new' crimes ; 
and there is reason to believe that many afterwards 
became sober, moral, and industrious citizens. The 
profits of the labour of the convicts are greater than 
the expenses, for the two last years, by about seven 
thousand dollars. The government of the convicts 
is firm, and strict, but not severe. The error of a 
severe discipline, and of power in the immediate 
officers to inflict corporal punishment, has been 
seen and abandoned ; and yet extra confinement 
is allow'ed for gross disobedience, or refusal to 
work. The State Prison of Massachusetts was 
never better regulated, nor answered more truly to 
the character of a penitentiary. 

The number of convicts in the prison, in October, 
1834, was two hundred and seventy-seven, twenty- 
five more than a year previous to that time. During 
the year ending in October 1834, the number com¬ 
mitted was one hundred and nineteen, fifteen of 
which had been confined in the prison before. This 
is a much smaller portion than twelve and fifteen 
years ago. And though some of those discharged in 
1832 and 1833, on the expiration of their sentence, 
left the State, and may have committed crimes in 
other parts of the country, still there is reason to 
believe, that now not more than one in tw'elve or 
fifteen are found repeating their crimes; and that 
the residue become reformed, and are sober and 
industrious citizens. About a fourth part of the 
convicts are said to be aliens, and not naturalized. 

The convicts are obliged to labour the greater 
part of the tw'enty-four hours, in which they can 
have the benefit of day-light; except the time spent 
in religious worship and in eating. The number of 
! hours of w ork in a day differ, therefore, in the differ 





































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


43 


ent seasons of the year. They are employed in stone¬ 
cutting, at blacksmith work, cabinet-makers, brush- 
makers, tailoring, shoe-tnaking, upholstering, hat- 
ting-making, and tin-workers. 

The establishment is situated at the w'est, or 
northwest of Charlestown village, near the tide waters ' 
of a bay connected with Charles River, and is ^ 


enclosed by a high solid stone wall; and consists 
of four large stone buildings, besides a chapel and 
an extensive work-shed. The whole number of 
convicts in October 1834, was two hundred and 
seventy-seven. Two hundred and seven are Amer¬ 
icans, and seventy are foreigners. And twenty- 
seven are sentenced to confinement for life. 



THE ISLAND TRISTAN D’ACUNHA. 


This island, which lies rti the South Atlantic 
ocean, about 37® S. Latitude, and 11® 44' W. is 
fifteen miles in circumference. There are two oth¬ 
ers in the group, much smaller; one about nine 
miles, called Inaccessible, and the other about seven 
miles, by the name of Nightingale. These islands 
were first discovered by the Portuguese. The 
island Tristan D’Acunha is but the base of a large 
mountain, on whose top is a volcano, and is gene¬ 


rally covered with snow. The height of the moun¬ 
tain is supposed to be nine hundred or one thou¬ 
sand feet. Fresh water is found on the island; and 
it is frequently visited by ships from Brazil to the East 
Indies; But more so by whale ships from the Uni¬ 
ted States. Seals are abundant on the shores of 
these islands, and great voyages have been made in 
taking them and saving the skin and oil. 


Fig Tree. We lately saw this tree or plant, in 
Boston in a very flourishing and vigorous state ; and 
was loaded with fruit, which has attained the full 
size and growth. It was about five feet high, and 
eight or nine in circumference in the most spread¬ 
ing part. This plant was from a hot-house in the vi¬ 
cinity ; but it is believed they will be safe exposed to 
the open air, for the greatest part of the year. In 
the latitudes 38 and 40, it is supposed, they may 
be cultivated with profit. It is probable that at¬ 
tempts will soon be more generally made in the 
middle and southern parts of the United States to 
raise them. Manv exotics succeed quite well in 
our country. In England and even in the northern 


parts of France, very few of their fruits and flowers 
are indigenous. - 

A NEW WAY TO LEARN A DUNCE TO SPELL.- 

A printer had a boy who was an incurable blun¬ 
derer in spelling, and who gave him great trouble 
by his mistakes. He made many efforts to teach 
him ; and he scolded and threatened in vain ; and 
as a last resort, ordered him to boil a dictionary 
in milk and eat it for his supper. 

Twelve thousand coins and medals of the Roman 
Emperors have been lately found in an old building 
at Nievre, inclosed in an iron box ; and are curious 
from their great variety. 










































41 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ASTRONOMY. 

On page seven, some remarks were made, of 
a preliminary nature, respecting this globe, and 
Jts relation to the other planets and bodies in the 
solar system, and referring also to the physical cir¬ 
cumstances under which the science of astronomy 
must be studied and acquired. It may be proper 
to remark here, that the student of astronomy has 
great facilities in pursuing his inquiries, by the teles¬ 
cope, which has been much improved within a few 
years. Without a good telescope, his labors will 
be difficult and his progress very slow. This 
instrument should be made by one used to the 
business, and on whose accuracy full reliance may 
be justly placed. But with a good telescope, the 
student must be exact in his observations, as to time, 
and guard against deception from a thick atmos¬ 
phere and indistinct vision. One must be able to 
detect errors and mistakes thus arising; and this 
can be done only by some practice, and by nice 
observations. And for this purpose it is necessary 
to use such instruments only as are made by skilful 
mechanists, and of the most perfect kind possible. 
The pendulum clock and balance tvatch are the 
most important: and they are now constructed with 
so much skill that there is scarcely the irregularity 
of a second in twenty-four hours. It is important 
also to check these instruments often, to ascertain 
any errors, by referring to natural events. While 
chronology gives the order of succession of events, 
according to years and days, the application of 
chronometry (or the use of these instruments) ena¬ 
bles us to fix the moments in which phenomena 
occur, with the greatest precision. One such natu¬ 
ral event is the culmination or transit of a star; 
that is, its crossing the meridian : And the largest 
or brightest stars are usually selected for this pur¬ 
pose. The transit instrument is well known to the 
teacher of Astronomy, and need not be described. 
Nor is it deemed necessary to describe the quad¬ 
rant, the zenith, the sector, the theodolite, or the 
azumuth. 

To determine the exact distances between the 
stars by direct observation is of little service, (such 
being their immense distance,) but for nautical pur¬ 
poses, the measurement of their apparent distances 
from the moon, and also of their altitudes is neces¬ 
sary ; and as the sextant, or quadrant, can be held 
in the hand, (and requires no other stand,) its utility 
on ship-board must be very obvious. 

Astronomy cannot be usefully studied, without 
some knowledge of geography. A general descrip¬ 
tion of the earth is therefore first necessary. As 
the motions of the heavenly bodies are noticed from 
the earth, it is essential to know what are the 
motions of our planet, what its form, and what its 
relations to the other planets, and to the stars. 

The figure of the earth is nearly that of a sphere 
or globe, and is usually so considered ; yet it is not 
really and strictly such ; but its form is elliptical, 
(somewhat like that of an orange) having the polar 
d'ameter shorter than the equatorial, by one three 
hundredth part: which is so small a proportion, as 
to be hardly perceivable, except by the nicest 
observations. Now the sections of such a figure by 
a plane are not circles, but ellipses, so that the hori¬ 


zon of a spectator would nowhere, except at the 
poles, be exactly circular, but somewhat ellipt-cal 
The circumference of a circle being a little more 
than three times that of the diameter, (or as 3.141 
to 1.000) we have only to ascertain the lengtii of 
the circumference of a great circle, as a meridian, 
to know the diameter. 

The supposition of an elliptic form of the earth’s 
section through the axis, is recommended by its 
simplicity, and confirmed by com{)aring the numer¬ 
ical results with those of actual measurement; and 
it is satisfactorv to find, that the elliptical figure 
thus practically proved to exist is precisely w hat 
ought theoretically to result from the rotation of 
the earth on its axis. If we were to suppose the 
earth a sphere, and at rest, covered with an ocean 
of equal depth, it would be in a stale of equilibrium, 
and the water would run neither one way nor 
another: Suppose a quantity of the earth’s mate¬ 
rials taken from the polar regions and piled up at 
the equator, so as to produce the difterence of the 
polar and equatorial diameters ol 26 miles, (the real 
difference according to received theory,) a moun¬ 
tain ridge would be thus raised about the equator, 
and the water would run to the poles ; and the 
effect would seem to be two great polar seas. But 
this is not true in nature. The ocean occupies all 
latitudes, without more partiality to the polar than 
to the equatorial. Now', the water occupj^ing an 
elevation above the centre, no less than 13 miles 
greater at the equator than at the poles, and yet 
showing no tendency to leave the former and to run 
towards the latter, it is evident that it is prevented 
by some adequate power. But no such power 
would exist in the case supposed ; therefore the 
spherical form is not the figure of equilibrium. 
And hence it is said, that either the earth is not at 
rest, or is so internally constituted, as to attract 
water to the equatorial parts, and there retain it. 
For the latter supposition, there is no evidence nor 
probability. The other (that the earth is not at 
rest) is in accordance with all the phenomena of 
the apparent diurnal motions of the heavens ; and 
therefore, if it will furnish us with the power in 
question, there is no hesitation in adopting it. 

Every one knows that when a weight is whirled 
round, it acquires a tendency to recede from the 
centre of its motion, which is called the centrifugal 
force. So a pail of water suspended by a cord 
and made to spin round, the surface of the water 
will become concave; and the centrifugal force 
begets a tendency in the w ater to leave the axis and 
press towards the circumference; and it is urged 
against the sides of the pail, till the excess of height 
and increase of pressure downward counterbalances 
the centrifugal force, and a state of equilibrium is 
attained. If we allow the rotation to cease by 
degrees, we shall see the concavity of the water 
regularly diminish as it becomes slow er, the elevated 
outward parts will descend, and the depressed central 
w'ill rise, while all the time a smooth surface is main¬ 
tained, till the rotation is exhausted, when the water 
resumes its horizontal state. 


Striking alliteration in a Scotch proverb—‘When 
the steed’s stow'’n sleek the stable-door.’ 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


45 


BLACK HAWK : OR MAKATAIMESHEKIAKIAK. 

This celebrated Indian Chief, of whose bravery 
much w^as said during the late war, and who has 
sometimes been compared to Philip, the renowned 
Sachem of Mount Hope, was of the Sac tribe; and 
was born in 1767. His ancestor of the fourth gene¬ 
ration before him was born near Montreal, and was 
called Nanamakee, or Thunder; his father’s name 
was Pye^. Black Hawk relates some wonderful 
stories of his great grandfather, mixed up with 
dreams and suppositions and traditions, too ridicu¬ 
lous to be repeated. His remote ancestor, it ap¬ 
pears, was reputed a prophet; and his descendants 
believed in his predictions, as to their future condi¬ 
tion and fortunes. When driven from the vicinity 
of Montreal, the tribe went to Mackinac ; and 
thence to a river near Green Bay, to which they 
gave the name of Sac, and hence the appellation of 
the tribe. Here they made a treaty with the tribe 
called the Foxes, who were in that vicinity. But 
from this settlement they were driven to the Wis¬ 
consin ; and thence they migrated to Rock River : 
of which they received a favorable account, drove 
off the Kaskaskias, and built a village. In this vil¬ 
lage, Black Hawk was born. He says, that he was 
not allowed to paint, nor to wear feathers; yet he 
was distinguished, at an early age, for his courage, 
in attacking and wounding an enemy of his tribe: 
and soon after was placed in the ranks of the 
Braves. Black Hawk signalized himself, a little 
later, in a war against the Osages. When he saw 
his father strike down an Osage chief, who assault¬ 
ed him, he also was fired with courage, and smote 
one of the enemy, and tore off his scalp. These 
scenes of savage cruelty induced a warlike spirit in 
his youthful breast; and for several years he was a 
distinguished warrior in his tribe. He commanded 
parties of his nation, of one hundred and two 
hundred, against the Osages and other tribes; and 
was generally victorious. On one occasion, he 
went against the Cherokees, when his father was the 
Chief of the Sac tribe. The Cherokees were the 
most numerous, but were defeated by the Sacs. In 
this expedition, his father was mortally wounded, 
and Black Hawk took the command. Owing to the 
death of his father, on his return to the village of 
his tribe, “ he blacked his face, fasted and prayed 
to the Great Spirit for five years, and remained in 
a civil capacity, hunting and fishing.” 

But the aggressions of the Osages, again aroused 
his spirit of revenge, and he went against them with 
six hundred warriors of Sacs and Foxes. In this 
expedition they fell on forty lodges, and killed all 
the inhabitants but ttvo squaws: and Black Hawk 
killed seven men and two boys with his own hand. 
In this attack and slaughter, he thought the Great 
Spirit directed him ! He marciied with a party, 
soon after, against the Cherokees, to revenge his 
father’s death ; but he found only five of the tribe 
in the country w'here he went for them ; and he 
says, “ he had not the heart to kill so few.” Again, 
he led a larsre number of his tribe against the Chip- 
pewas, Osages and Kaskaskias ; which proved a 
long contest, and he was engaged in seven regular 
battles. He boasted of slaying thirteen brave war¬ 
riors himself, in these engagements. This was about 


the year 1801. And soon after he made a visit to 
his Spanish father at St. Louis. He says, that he 
gave up his Spanish father with reluctance, as he 
had treated him and his tribe kindly, and he had 
heard bad accounts of the Americans, who were 
come to possess the country. But his prejudices 
wore off, as he became more acquainted with them ; 
and he was much pleased with Lieutenant (after¬ 
wards General) Pike. 

Not long after this period. Black Hawk and his 
tribe became much dissatisfied with the conduct of 
the Americans ; one of his nation killed an Ameri¬ 
can, and was arrested and confined. Four princi¬ 
pal men of the tribe were sent to St. Louis, then 
in the hands of Americans, to obtain the discharge 
of the murderer, by paying for the person killed ; 
such being the way with the Indians for saving the 
life of one who killed another. These deputies 
were absent, on this business, a long time; and 
when they returned they had medals and fine coats; 
and their story was, that they had been encouraged 
to hope for the relief of their Indian brother in con¬ 
finement ; and that they had been urged to dispose 
of large tracts of land to the Americans ; and that 
the prisoner had been executed, though they had 
been led to expect he would be discharged. It also 
appeared that they had been kept intoxicated much 
of the time. Then the Americans passed far up 
the Mississippi and built a fort, without consulting 
the Indians, for protection of some traders, who 
proposed settling to sell spirits and goods to the In¬ 
dians; which w'as very disagreeable to the Indians. 

In 1811, Black Hawk and others, made an attack 
on fort Madison, erected on the frontiers by Amer¬ 
ican officers, but did not succeed in taking it; and 
the Americans made no attempt to attack the In¬ 
dians. The next year, the news of war between 
the United States and England reached the tribe; 
and by the influence of some British officers in that 
region, the Sacs and other tribes near them refused 
to join the Americans. The British agents held 
talks with the Indians, and made them presents. 
“ I had discovered no good trait in the character of 
the Americans,” said Black Hawk, “ who came in¬ 
to our country. They made fair promises, but did 
not fulfil them, but the British made few promises, 
yet we could rely on their word. Why did the 
Great Spirit send the whites among us to drive us 
from our homes; and to bring among us poisonous 
liquors, disease and death ?” • 

During this year, the tribe sent deputies to Wash¬ 
ington city, where they received fair promises, and 
were urged to remain neutral. But they wanted 
credit for goods, which the American traders would 
not let them have without payment at the time, but 
which the British traders furnished, and were wil¬ 
ling to wait for pay till the following year. Most 
of the Sacs and others therefore, soon joined the 
British in the war against the United States. 

Situated as were the tribe of Indians, of which 
Black Hawk was the Chief, it is not surprising that 
they finally engaged in the British service; though 
for some time they remained neutral. They gave as 
a reason also for joining with the English troops, that 
the agents of the American government had de¬ 
ceived them. Black Hawk had the command of 





46 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


five hundred of the Indians who marched to De¬ 
troit. But he soon became flissatisfied, and return¬ 
ed home accompanied by a part of his tribe. In 
several of his expeditions wlien not attacked by 
great numbers, he discovered much pity for the dis¬ 
tressed ; and was often known to afford relief to the 
destitute and aged. He now professed to be averse 
from war, and returned to his family with pleasure, 
when others continued with the British army. But 
when in danger, or when aroused by assaults on his 
tribe or village, he always distinguished himself by 
great courage and resolution. In one of these en¬ 
terprises he found a box full of bottles and packa¬ 
ges, which, he said, contained such things as the 
medicine men kill the ivhite people with ivhen they 
are sick. 

When a fort was built by the Americans, near 
the country of the Sacs, Black Hawk was alarmed, 
and attacked it in the night with a few men, and 
soon after the fort was abandoned. When peace 
returned, the Foxes sought the friendship of the 
Americans ; and the Sacs soon followed their exam¬ 
ple. A treaty was made, but Black Hawk com¬ 
plained afterwards, that he knew not what he 
signed. He said, “ the whites may do bad all their 
lives, and if they are sorry for it when about to die, 
all is well. But with us it is different; we must 
continue to do what we think right through our 
whole lives.” 

Black Hawk seems to have been a man of much 
thought and reflection, and of devout feelings also. 
“We thank the Great Spirit for all the blessings he 
has conferred upon us. For myself, I never take a 
drink of water from the spring, without being mind¬ 
ful of his goodness.” Again, he says, “ he used all 
his efforts to prevent drunkenness, but without 
effect.” When he lost two of his children, he 
gave away all his property, and lived in solitude; 
and for two years fasted, drinking only water, and 
eating sparingly once a day. He complained that 
the whites in his neighborhood ill treated him on 
several occasions, and accused him of doing them 
wrong, without just cause for the charge. The 
military was sent to drive him and his tribe from 
their lands, pretending it had been ceded to the 
United States. But he refused to leave the village, 
and declared he would defend himself to the last. 
But he was afterwards urged by his tribe, not to 
resist the white armed men, but to depart to the far 
west. He left the village with most of the tribe, 
and passed several months in hunting at a distance ; 
but resolved again to take possession of the land of 
his tribe and their fathers. This he was able to do, 
with some hard fighting; but the American troops 
were recruited ; and he found it in vain to contend. 
He then took his final departure, with the survivors 
of his tribe, and bid farewell to the place of his 
fathers’ sepulchres. During this journey the tribe 
suffered extremely, especially the women and chil¬ 
dren ; and being considered enemies to the United 
States, they were often harassed and attacked by 
the soldiers in that part of the country. 

Being unable successfully to resist the force sent 
against them, he surrendered himself; and after 
some weeks confinement, he was permitted to go to 
Washington and visit the President. He was dis- 

O 


appointed in his application for redress or relief. 
He was told his village and land had been purchased 
by the government; and that he must remove far¬ 
ther west or be a beggar. This ill reception 
grieved, rather than surprised him. But he was 
much gratified with his visit to Washington, Balti¬ 
more, Philadelphia, and New York. Some of his 
remarks however, show that he was not pleased with 
all which he saw; and that some of his ^iews of 
right and wrong, justice and injustice, were quite as 
correct as the ideas of those in more refined society, 
who, are apt to judge according-to merely conven¬ 
tional rules, and to follow the laws of fashion, 
or of a worldly policy, instead of what is strictly 
right and just, and agreeable to conscience. It ap¬ 
pears that Black Hawk was much acquainted with 
the prophet, and was under his influence in many 
of his enterprises. He believed the prophet had in¬ 
fluence with the Great Spirit by his prayers; and 
that he could foretell future events. 


PATRIOTIC REPLY OF MR. GADSDEN OF 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 

During the war of the Revolution, Mr. Gadsden 
was taken prisoner by the British and kept in the 
castle of St. Augustine forty-two weeks, in violation 
of the articles of capitulation of Charleston. When 
liberated, he was chosen governor, which he de¬ 
clined ; and this was his patriotic reply, “ I have 
served the public for thirty years in various stations, 
and would now readily make one of a forlorn hope 
in an assault on the enemy in our Capitol, if the 
probable loss of life would reinstate you in posses¬ 
sion of it. What I can do, for my country, I am 
willing to do. My sentiments of the American 
cause from the Stamp Act down to this time have 
never changed. I am still of opinion, it is the cause 
of liberty, and of human nature. But the present 
times require vigor and activity, and I feel the infir¬ 
mities of age, and am conscious I cannot serve you 
to advantage; for the sake of the cause and the 
public, I request you therefore to indulge me the lib¬ 
erty to decline.” 


SAILING CARRIAGE. 

The following account of very rapid travelling, 
is taken from the Massachusetts Magazine, for 
June 1790. 

“ The carriage in which Mr. Slater, who lately 
went over land with despatches to the East Indies, 
traversed the Arabian deserts, went at the rate of 
twenty miles an hour, so that it was supposed from 
Alexandria, it would reach Bassora in a few days. 
It was constructed with broad wheels, and in)pelled 
by sails in the same manner as a ship, and so con¬ 
trived, that it went as close to the wind as any 
cutter, and carried swivels to guard against the 
wandering Arabs. When Mr. Slater first set off 
in this machine, the wind was fair and moderate, 
and he was accompanied many miles by a consider¬ 
able number of persons, mounted on camels and 
fleet horses, whom curiosity attracted ; but in some 
time the wind freshened, the motion became so 
rapid, that they were obliged to give up the pursuit. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


47 


At Alexandria, several ingenious mechanics have 
improved upon this original mode of progression ; 
and it is said that machines are now contriving, 
which will travel even with more expedition, and 
yet with perfect security,” 



THE COMMON, OR WILD PIGEON. 

The genus Columba includes, what are commonly 
called the dove and the pigeon, with all their vari¬ 
eties: And they intermix and amalgamate without 
any apparent reluctance. They are easily domes¬ 
ticated, and are far less mischievous or troublesome 
than other tamed birds. When ill treated, however, 
they quit their old abodes, and seek the haunts of 
the distant forest. The Wild Pigeon is found both 
in the western and eastern continent, and their pe¬ 
culiar habits are generally well known. Both the 
domestic and the wild are proverbially faithful in 
their connubial attachment and condition. They 
procreate almost every month in the year, and their 
increase therefore is remarkably rapid. As to the 
form of the Dove or Pigeon, it is beautiful as any 
bird known, and its colors are attractive though not 
so gaudy as some others. They are very rapid on 
the wing, and are known to pass over a great dis¬ 
tance of country in a short time. From very re¬ 
mote ages, they have been employed to convey in¬ 
telligence on particular occasions. They are so 
used, even now, in some parts of Europe. Very 
recently, some were thus employed as “ swift mes¬ 
sengers,” from Paris to Antwerp. The Pigeons to 
be used for such a purpose, are taken from the 
place, to which the intelligence is intended to be 
sent, and the letter, of as little weight as possible, is 
fastened to the wings in such a way as not to im¬ 
pede their use; and then they are let loose, when 
they return directly and quickly to their home, by 
an unaccountable instinct. 

The Wild Pigeon is a migratory bird, and yet 
they are not so regular nor do they wander so far, 
as some others, which go from the extreme north 
to the far south. They visit different parts of the 
United States, however, at different seasons. They 
are not often found in the New England States, 
except in summer, or the latter part of spring. 
They abound in the month of May; and again in 
August, when they are still more abundant. In 
some parts of New York, Ohio, &c. they are very 


numerous; and a century ago, were in far greater 
numbers in Massachusetts than they now are. 
As food, they are much sought and valued. 


COLUMN ON BEACON HILL. 

In 1790, a plain column of the Doric order, 
placed on a proper pedestal, and well built of stone 
and brick, was erected on Beacon Hill, Boston, at 
the expense of some of its patriotic and public- 
spirited citizens. 'J'he column was sixty feet high, 
the diameter of the column was four feet, and tlie 
pedestal eight feet. When the hill was removed, 
some years ago, for putting dwelling-houses there¬ 
on, the column was taken down. The inscriptions 
were placed in the State House; but are somewhat 
defaced. We give them as they were placed on 
the column when standing. 

Inscription on the South side. 

' To commemorate 

that TRAIN of EVENTS, 

which led 

to the AMERICAN REVOLUTION 
and finally secured 
LIBERTY and INDEPENDENCE, 

to the UNITED STATES, 

This COLUMN is erected 
by the voluntary contribution 

of the CITIZENS 
of BOSTON. 

MDCCXC. 


On the IVest side. 

Stamp Act passed 1765, repealed 1766. 

Board of customs established 1767. 

British Troops fired on the inhabitant* 
of Boston, March 5, 1770. 

Tea Act passed 1773. 

Tea destroyed in Boston, Dec. 16, 1773. 

Port of Boston shut and guarded .Tune 1, 1774. 
General Congress at Philadelphia, Sept. 5. 
Provincial Congress at Concord, Oct. 11. 

Battle at Lexington, April 19. 1775. 

Battle at Bunker hill, June 17. 
WASHINGTON took command of the Army, July 2 
Boston evacuated, March 17, 1776. 
Independence declared by Congress July 4. 
JOHN HANCOCK, President. 


On the JVorth side. 

Capture of Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776. 
Capture of Hessians at Bennington, August 16, 1777. 
Capture of British Army at Saratoga, October 17. 
Alliance with France, Feb. 6, 1778, 
Confederation of the United States, formed, July 9. 
Constitution of Alassachusetts, formed, 1780. 
BOWDOIN, President of Convention. 

Capture of British Army at York, October 19, 1781. 
Preliminaries of Peace, Nov. 30, 1782. 
Definitive Treaty of Peace, Sept, 10, 1783. 
Federal Constitution, formed September 17, 1787, 
and Ratified by the United States, 1787 to 1790. 
New Congress assembled at New York, April 6, 1789. 
WASHINGTON inaugurated Presidant, April 30 
Public Debts Funded, August 4, 1790, 


On the East side. 
AMERICANS! 

While from this eminence, 
scenes of luxuriant fertility, 
of flourishing commerce, 
and the abodes 

of SOCIAL HAPPINESS, 

meet your view. 

Forget not those, 
who, by their exertions, 
have secured to you 
ihcie BLESsixes, 










48 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


RESISTANCE OF LIQUIDS TO SOLID BODIES. 

It is a well known and admitted axiom in physics, 
that in all fluids, there is a resistance to solid bodies 
moving in them. This is true of the air, a much 
lighter or attenuated fluid than water. In the 
latter, the resistance is much greater. The practi¬ 
cal effect of this law or property of nature is impor¬ 
tant, as it respects the motion of vessels in the 
water; and it seems lately to have excited much 
attention. It seems almost a contradiction, and 
yet has been long known to be the fact, that there 
was jess wave, and probably, therefore, less resists 
ance, when a boat was propelled at the rate of ten 
miles an hour, than at five; at least, that less pro¬ 
portional force was required to propel it when its 
motion was rapid than when slow. One reason for 
this may indeed be, that a vessel which is propelled 
very rapidly is raised more out of the water, than 
one which passes more slowly. It has been found 
that a wave, where the water was one foot deep, 
moved 5 feet and a half (nearly) in a second ; and 
that the velocity of waves, of difierent depths of 
water, are as the square roots of the depths ; the 
wave in a canal of four feet depth, will then move 
about eleven feet in a second, or seven and a half 
miles an hour. It is also found that the velocity of 
waves, the motion being similar, is in a certain pro¬ 
portion to the depth of water, and not to the force 
or impulse of the boat.—Some experiments have 
been made to learn the resistance of fluids. A 
reservoir of water was prepared 200 feet long, 100 
wide, and eight and a half deep. A solid body was 
used of the form of a cube, the sides of which w'as 
five feet. It was sunk four feet in water, and was 
moved with different velocities, for ninety-six feet. 
(To one side of the cubic body were attached trian- 
gular prows of various angles, from 12*^ to IGS'^.) 
The experiments showed a resistance at all angles, 
greater than the squares of the sines, and also great¬ 
er than the sines, for angles between 0® and 50® 
but less than the sines, between 50® and 180®. 
The different velocities of the solid, however are not 
stated, which renders it difficult to decide accurate¬ 
ly on the subject. To displace the water, and also 
to replace it with the least disturbance, seems to be 
the great desideratum. Some attention has been 
given to the displacement, but none to the replace¬ 
ment. The water-line of boats and vessels near the 
stern are (now) generally concave, which is detri¬ 
mental to fast sailing ; because the concavity next 
the stern requires a convexity, of a shorter radius 
than would be required if the water-line presented 
a convexity from the stern to the midship section: 
these two curves in contrary directions virtually 
double the inertia of the w'ater; the concavity 
throws it off at right angles to the vessel, and then 
it has to assume a new direction, and pass round 
a curve of shorter radius to approach the stern. 
The concavity of the stern retards the replacement, 
by causing the water to pass along a curve instead 
of a straight line, which is evidently the shortest; and 
because the water will not pass along even a straight 
line, in a direction from the broad part of the vessel 
to the stern, when the velocity is considerable, but 
leaves a cavity near the stern-post and deprives the 
vessel of the benefit of the reaction of the water 


there. A certain convexity in all the water-lines 
near the stern, would, therefore, improve the sail¬ 
ing. It may be said, that such a vessel would steer 
badly ; but we hear no complaint of difficulty in 
steering vessels or boats with sharp or pink sterns. 
All the water-lines should be convex in every part 
of them. ‘ 

Many years since, experiments were made by a 
committee, at the expense of the French Govern¬ 
ment, for the purpose of determining the resistance 
of floating bodies. For this purpose they made use 
of fifteen vessels, two feet wide, two deep, and four 
long, one of them being a parallelepiped, the others 
having prows of a wedge form, the angle running 
from 12® to 180®. The resistance was measured 
by the weight employed after deducting a certain 
quantity for friction and for the accumulation of 
water against the head surface. The results were 
as follows 


Angle of head 
or prow. 

Resistance. 

Angle of head. 

Resistance. 

180® 

1000® 

84® 

5433 

163 

9893 

72 

4800 

156 

9578 

60 

4404 

144 

9084 

48 

4240 

132 

8446 

36 

4142 

120 

7710 

24 

4063 

108 

6925 

12 

3999 

96 

6148 




Experiments were made in 1796 and in 1798 in 
England. In ’96 the bodies subjected to experi¬ 
ment were water soaked but clean from slime or 
dirt; in ’98 the bodies were not soaked. The 
resistance against the last were less than against the 
first as in the following table. 


Nautical milea an hour. | 1 

2 1 3 4 5 6 7 

Friction against one square foot 
of surface, 1796 

Friction against one square foot, 
1798. 

motion power in pounds and decimals. 

0.014 

0.012 

0.047 

0.0'13 

0.095 

0 080 

0.155 

0.144 

0.266 0.309 0.400 
0.209 0.279 0.354 


The plague has been lately making great ravages 
in Egypt and Scythia. Political changes have also 
occurred, and the signs of the times in the latter 
country indicate formidable revolutions, and opposi¬ 
tion to the authority of the Sultan of Constanti¬ 
nople. — 

Temperance.— The king of Sw^eden (formerly 
the French General Bernadotte) is now President 
of a Society for promoting temperance. If any 
member of the Society violates his pledge, his name 
is handed into the church, and prayers are request¬ 
ed for him. 


Improved Yoke. At the agricultural show in Concord, 
N. H., Mr. A. L. Simpson, of Dedham, exhibited an im¬ 
proved yoke for equalizing the labor of the cattle. A Con¬ 
cord paper says of it: — 

“ Instead of attaching the chain to the yoke by a ring, he 
has inserted two chains at equal distances of two or three 
inches from the centre of the yoke, and connected them about 
ten inches therefrom. One of the two chains is held by a 
screw, so that upon’ its being contracted, the stronger of the 
oxen is loaded with something of the weight that would 
otherwise fall upon the weaker. The necessary steps have 
been taken for a patent. The invention was much admired 
hy agriculturists present.” 





































Give me a tpot whereon to rest niy lever, and I will move the world. 


ARCHIMEDES. 


We cannot expect to say any thing, relating to 
the long celebrated mathematician of Syracuse, or his 
knowledge of geometry and the mechanical powers, 
not already known by men of science. The study 
of geometry and mathematics is so important, 
however, as leading to what is useful in practice, 
that it cannot be too often recommended ; and a 
reference to one of the most distinguished proficients 
in the sublime science of antiquity, will not be 


without its interest. Archimedes lived before our 
era, about 290—210. His birth-place was Syra¬ 
cuse, in Sicily; which, in his day, was a powerful 
kingdom, and long resisted the attacks of the Roman 
generals. It is related of Archimedes that he early 
devoted himself to the study of geometry and me¬ 
chanics. H|Uypt was then the land of letters and of 
science, and the lovers of wisdom and knowledge, 
the philosophers of the west, were in the habit of vis- 





















































50 


PICTORIAL LIBRARA^ 


iting that country, for literary improvement: It is 
said he resided several years in this cradle of the 
arts. It is well known that both the Greeks and 
Romans were much indebted to Egypt for the light 
of science, which they afterwards diffused througli 
a great part of Europe. Archimedes is justly en¬ 
titled to the praise of having a strong love of the 
physical sciences and of great devotion in acquiring 
a knowledge of them, though it is probable he was 
indebted to the Egyptians for a knowledge of 
machinery, such as he afterwards used in defence 
of Syracuse when besieged by a Roman army. It is 
matter of history, that long before the time of Ar¬ 
chimedes, the Egyptians had a knowledge of ma¬ 
chinery, by which they were enabled to produce 
astonishing effects, such as raising immense masses 
of stone to great heights; and which were even 
superior to the results of the works of the philoso¬ 
pher of Syracuse. 

Euclid, who was a native of Alexandria in Egypt, 
flourished about 100, or 130 years before Archime¬ 
des : and had some eminent pupils in the study of 
geometry, in the knowledge of which he had made 
great advances. Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of 
Egypt, was one of his most diligent pupils. It is of 
this Prince of whom the following anecdote is rela¬ 
ted :—When weary with long and close calculations 
in order to solve some difficult problem in geome¬ 
try, he asked his teacher, Euclid, “ if he could not 
point out some easier method of investigation and 
solution.” The reply of the philosopher is also 
well known ; “ No, Sire,” said the master; “ there 
is no royal road to geometry.” 

After the return of Archimedes from Egypt, 
he pursued the study of geometry and the mathe¬ 
matics, with brilliant success. But when the dan¬ 
gers of his country called on all its citizens to de¬ 
fend it against the Roman arms, he joined in the 
public service, as a good patriot. He caused vast 
machines to be erected under the walls of Syracuse, 
with which heavy articles were thrown with such 
force on the besiegers, as to astonish the Roman 
troops. They even supposed that there was some 
power more than human exerted, to produce such 
extraordinary effects. All this was performed by a 
ktu)wledge of the mechanical powers. 

Syracuse, however, was finally taken by the Ro¬ 
mans; but in a moment of too confident security, 
and by surprise. Archimedes fell with the rest of 
the citizens; but the Roman generals, who knew 
how to appreciate his character and learning, or¬ 
dered a mot)umcnl to be erected near where he was 
entombed. A s-j)here, inscribed in a cylinder, was 
engraved on the monument. His discoveries in 
geometry were very great. In his book on the 
sphere and cylinder, he has proved the following 
theorem—that the surface, as well as the solidity of 
a sphere, is equal to two-thirds of its circumscribing 
cylinder. And he also showed, that the ratio of 
the diameter of a circle, to the circumference, is as 
7 to 22. The spiral was invented by Conan, his 
friend ; but Archimedes has the merit of making its 
properties fully known. He also demonstrated the 
property and power of the lever, and showed that 
a balance with unequal arms will be in equilibrio, 
if the weights in its opposite scales are reciprocally 
proportional to the arms of the balance. He also 


made discoveries and gave explanations of the prin¬ 
ciples of hydrostatics. It was his knowledge of the 
mechanical powers, particularly of the lever and ful¬ 
crum, which led him to say, “ that if he had a 
place to stand on, he could move the earth.” 


THE FOLLOWING LINES BY LORD BACON ARE PUBLISH¬ 
ED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN HIS LIFE BY MARTIN, 
LATELY ISSUED FROM THE PRESS. 

The world’s a bubble, and the life of man 
Less than a span; 

In his conception wretched, from the womb. 

So to the tomb; 

Curst from the cradle, and brought up to years. 

With cares and fears; 

Who then to frail mortality shall trust, 

But limmes the water, or but writes in dust. 

Yet since with sorrow here we live opprest: 

What life is best? 

Courts are but only superficial schools 
To dandle fools— 

The rural parts are turn’d into a den 
Of savage men. 

And where’s a city from all vice so free. 

But may be termed the worst of all the three ? 

Domestic cares afflict the husband’s bed. 

Or paines his head— 

Those who live single take it for a curse. 

Or do things worse. 

Some would have children, those who have them mourn. 
Or wish them gone. 

What is it then to have or have no wife. 

But single thraldom, or a double strife ? 

Our own affections still at home to please. 

Is a disease; 

To cross the sea to any foreign soil. 

Perils and toil. 

Wars with their noise affright us, when they cease. 

We are worse in peace. 

What then remains ? but that we still should cry 

Not to be born, or being born to die. 


Manufacture of Silk Twist.— I\Tr. Atwood, 
of Mansfield, Connecticut, lias manufactured dur¬ 
ing the season just past nearly 30.000 sticks of twist, 
which sell for ,^‘2,.50 the hundred, equal to ,^‘750. 
Raw silk has been raised by Mr. Church of Bethle¬ 
hem, in the same State, during the year, of the 
most perfect and beautiful filature. Imported raw 
silk is seldom superior to it. The reeling was by a 
lady, who had been unaccustomed to the process. 
It is fit for the manufacture of fabrics of any de¬ 
scription. Proof is thus given that American ladies 
can reel as good silk as those of any other country. 


Dependence on God. —When thou art enlarged 
in duty, supported and most ass'sted to thy Chris¬ 
tian course, remember thy strength lies in God, not 
in thyself. When thou hast thy best suit on, thy 
best suit of spirituality and strength, remember who 
made it, who paid for it, who gave it thee. Thy 
grace, thy comfort, is neither the work of thy own 
hand, nor the price of thy own desert. Be not, 
therefore, proud of that which belongs to another, 
even God. Divine assistance will be suspended, if 
it becomes the nurse of pride.— Giirnall. 

The more widely science is diffused, the better 
will the Author of all things be known, and the less 
will the people be tossed to and fro. by the sleight 
j and cunning of those whose interest it is to deceive 
' them. T.ord Hi'cnc^ham. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


51 







FRIENDS’ MEETING HOUSE, IN PENNSYLVANIA. 


The buildings in which the Quakers or Friends 
hold their religious meetings, are remarkable rather 
for their plainness than their elegance. But they 
are neat and comfortable, if not showy or orna¬ 
mental. This sect arose about the middle of the 
I7th century, or a little earlier; and when they first 
appeared, they broached strange and extravagant 
opinions : In some instances, they carried their oppo¬ 
sition to the forms and modes of worship observed by 
other Cliristians so far as to cause direct interruption 
of their devotions ; and in other respects, their con¬ 
duct was very unjustifiable and disorderly. In their 
cotnmon speech and dress, they were also so singular 
and precise, as to render themselves ridiculous. 
But after a few years they became more regular and 
correct; and such men as William Penn, by their 
prudent and discreet conduct, rendered the Friends 
respcctalde ; and other sects soon forgot their former 
errors. Governor Penn, the founder, and several years 
chief magistrate of the colony of Pennsylvania, was 
a very intelligent, judicious and amiable character. 
Under his wise and mild government, the Friends 
increased, and were long the majority in that colo¬ 
ny. But they h-ave not increased much for fifty 
years past; not by any means in proportion to the 
present population of the country. They have also 
become less precise in their dress and language, 
and differ less from the rest of the community. 
They have some very excellent rules in the govern¬ 
ment and discipline of their members; and are re¬ 
puted a sober, industrious and frugal people. I'hey 
pay more attention than formerly to the education 
of their children ; but do not consider human learn¬ 


ing important in their teachers. Particular inspi¬ 
ration is still claimed by those of them who speak 
publicly. And yet few seem to understand or believe 
in it. The gifted and the forward are the public 
speakers. We think their silent meetings, though 
sometimes perhaps proper for the aged, are not edi¬ 
fying or improving to the young. They, as well as 
other sects, had their day of severe persecutions ; 
but we rejoice to say, that the days of darkness and 
violence have passed, and that we can all, if solier 
and peaceable, (and not broaching sentiments 
tending to disorder, revolution and massacre,) 
worship God according to the dictates of our con¬ 
sciences, without molestation or fear. 


Woollen cloths have been manufactured to a 
much greater extent, in Massachusetts, especially 
in the counties of Worcester and Middlesex, the 
present year than at any former period. The qual¬ 
ity is very superior, and the colours fine and bril¬ 
liant. Five hundred pieces were lately sold in Bos¬ 
ton at public auction ; and the prices obtained, it is 
said, were satisfactory to the manufacturers. I'he 
appearance of the cloths, at the sale, was gratifying 
to the numerous spectators. The manufacture of 
wool promises to be a great business both in the 
northern and middle States. 


The rearing of silk-worms and the manufacture 
of silk are increasing in several parts of England. But 
bv a little entcriuise in eur own country we shall be 
ai)le tf) manufacture silk enough for the wants of 
the whole United States. 















































52 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


TRADE OF NEW ORLEANS. 

From a late New Orleans Bulletin, we publish 
the following estimate, said to be correct, as to the 
value of some of the principal articles of trade, at 
that city, for the year past. 


Cotton.$37,000,000 

Sugar and Molasses.9,000,000 

Tobacco.3,250,000 

Lard, Pork and Bacon.3,500,000 

Flour and Corn.1,750,000 

Lead.1,000,000 

Baggage and Rope.1,300,000 

Whiskey.500,000 


57,300,000 

Other articles not specified,.12,700,000 


$70,000,000 

The amount of the trade coastwise and from 
abroad, including goods which pass through the 
city, is supposed to be equal to the former exports. 

Natural Production. —A Thing without a 
name, partaking both of the properties of a vege¬ 
table and an insect, has been lately discovered at 
Plymouth, North Carolina. When its entomolog¬ 
ical (or animal, insect) nature ceases, its vegetable 
nature commences. And when its vegetable char- 
acter is matured, its character, as an animal or in¬ 
sect, is developed, and it no longer appears as a 
vegetable. In other words, it is alternately an in¬ 
sect and a plant. It is shaped like a wasp, when 
it assumes the msect or anirna haracter; and is 
about one incii lU length. A uen the insect has 
attained its growth, it disappears under the surface 
of the ground, and dies. Soon after, the two hind 
legs begin to sprout or vegetate. The shoots ex¬ 
tend upwards, and the plant reaches the height of 
six in<-hes in a short time. It has branches and 
leaves ike the trefoil. At the extremities of the 
branches nere is a bud which contains neither 
leaves nor Howers, but an insect; which, as it grows, 
falls to the ground, or remains on its parent plant, 
feeding on the leaves till the plant is exhausted, 
when the insect returns to the earth, and the plant 
shoots forth again. 

Progressive Stages of Political Societies. 
First, the unsettled and roving tribes of hunters 
and shepherds, in which landed property is un¬ 
known. Second, the patriarchal state, in which 
the authority of the father of a family, the magis¬ 
trate and the priest is united in one person. Third, 
the theocratical state, in which the authority of the 
father is separated from that of the magistrate, but 
the priests form a separate caste, and are the rulers, 
uniting the civil and religious character in them¬ 
selves. Fourth, the state of castes, in which the 
distinctions of family and state, of priest and ma¬ 
gistrate exist, but the whole population is divided 
into distinct hereditary classes. Fifth, the state of 
privileged orders, in which a part of the population 
has certain hereditary privileges, and the botly of the 
people is divided into classes distinguished by their 
wealth, population, &c. Sixth, that state of polit¬ 
ical society, in which all the members have equal 
rights and privileges, and are subject to equal 
burdc.gs. 


A LETTER OF GOVERNOR PENN, THE FOUN¬ 
DER OF THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 

TO GOVERNOR HINCKLEY, OF PLYMOUTH. 

Respected Friend, —The duty and decency of 
my station as a governor, as well as my own incli¬ 
nation, oblige me to begin and observe a kind and 
friendly correspondence with persons in the like 
capacity under the same imperial authority. '1 his 
single consideration is inducement enough to this 
salute ; and I have no reason to doubt its acceptance, 
because such an intercourse is recommended both 
by the laws of Christianity and those of civil polity : 
which said, give me leave to wish thee and the 
people under thy government all true felicity, and 
to assure thee that with God’s assistance, I shall here¬ 
in endeavour to acquit and behave myself worthy 
of the title and character of thy real friend and 
loving neighbour. Wm. Pkn’« 

Philadelphia, 2c? of 5th Mo. 1683. 

[At the bottom of the letter.] I take the free¬ 
dom to present thee with a book. 

The superscription is as follows—“ For my well 
Respected Friend, the Governor of Plymouth Col¬ 
ony, New England.” 

This very friendly letter shows alike the good 
disposition and the good judgment of the writer, 
especially when it is considered that the Quakers 
had been persecuted by the Puritans ol New 
England. 


RAIL-ROAD TO QUEBEC. 

The people in different parts of the State of 
Maine, are having surveys made for a Rail-road to 
Quebec. The citizens of Portland are engaged in 
examining a route from that city, which is lar west 
of Kennebec River; and it must be a long path. 
Another route has been proposed for a Rail-road to 
Quebec by the way of the Kennebec, and taking ad¬ 
vantage of its waters as far up as a steam-boat can 
ascencl; which by canals, may be to Norridgewock, 
(certainly to Waterville) and then the distance 
by Rail-road would be much less than one from 
Portland. There is more recently another project 
for a road to Quebec, and that is from Bangor or 
Belfast. One from Belfast will be a little longer 
than one from Bangor ; but the land is said to be 
very favourable. The shortest route will be from 
Bangor; and the enterprising citizens of that place 
will probably push the project to a speedy execu¬ 
tion. And a road from Bangor to Quebec would 
lead to Moosehead Lake, of which advantage miglit 
be taken by steam-boats. This is sometimes called 
the Lake George of Maine. 


Meteoric Stones.— An able English writer on 
this subject is in favour of the terrestrial origin of 
meteoric stones. He is of opinion that they are 
thrown out by volcanoes, to a considerable distance, 
and that the rotation of the earth on its axis is the 
cause of their apparent motion. That they come 
from the moon or from a comet, or are formed in 
the upper regions of our atmosphere by certain 
compositions, are considered as unsupported and 
untenable; and some facts given in favour of their 
volcanic origin. 




















OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


63 





ti iMtTtu r 


1*1-* Ml** is 





I 

81 

Bf 

si' 

g 

g| 

H 

11 

mm 

n 

i||i 





STATE HOUSE, OR HALL OF INDEPENDENCE. 


A view is liere presented of the spacious building 
in Philadelphia, formerly occupied as a State-house, 
or place of the sittings of the Legislature of Penn¬ 
sylvania. In a large hall in this building, the 
Declaration of the Independence of the thirteen 
colonies or provinces in North America, of Great 
Britain, on the fourth of July 1776, was solemnly 
made and adopted ; and it was afterwards known 
by the name of ‘‘ the Hall of Independence.” The 
building is in Chestnut Street, a little back from 
the Street, and between Fifth and Sixth Streets. 
The meetings of Congress were held in the front 
room, and east of the entrance. When the Conti¬ 
nental Congress was first held, in September 1774, 
the meetings were in a building called Carpenters’ 
Hall, and now used for the apprentices’ library, and 
standing up a court, some distance from Chestnut 
Street. The Hall of Independence was very ap¬ 
propriately chosen for the meeting of the Conven¬ 
tion of Delegates from the several States, in 1787, 
for amending the Articles of Confederation, or form¬ 
ing a new Constitution for the General Government 
of all the States. This building, then, is justly 
memorable with the patriotic citizens of the United 
States. The men of the past generation who jeo¬ 
parded their property and persons for liberty, and 
who pledged their sacred honour and their lives in 
its support, that their posterity might enjoy the 
blessings of civil freedom, are worthy of grateful ' 


and perpetual recollection. They were not a rad¬ 
ical nor an ambitious race, but as judicious and vir¬ 
tuous as they were ardent and resolute. Their 
object was to secure rational liberty, and their op¬ 
position was to arbitrary power, and no difficulties 
or dangers could divert them from their noble pur¬ 
pose. They counted the cost, and knew it to be 
great; but they were willing to pay it, and trusted 
their children would appreciate their services, and 
be careful to maintain the privileges so preserved 
for them. It was a most portentous crisis in the 
destinies of our country ; but the Declaration of In¬ 
dependence proved to be a wise one, though full of 
peril and danger. The room where the heroic deed 
was ventured on, so full both of hope and of appre¬ 
hension, will be viewed with grateful and honoura¬ 
ble pride, and by feelings of intense interest w hile 
the building remains. And no doubt the patriotic 
citizens of Philadelphia will long preserve it from 
ruin. 

The building is almost equally memorable as the 
place where were held the meetings of the Conven¬ 
tion in 1787, to consult on the kind of government 
proper for the whole United States, and requisite to 
secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty and 
independence already obtained by the country.. 
This also was a very critical period, and the object 
in view of the highest interest; and the sages and 
patriots w'ho composed that convention were among 






































































































































































































































^4 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


the widest and purest in America. The continental 
debt was immense, and when the Old Congress 
called on the several Slates to pay in their quota, 
many refused or declined, on the plea that they 
were obliged to raise large sums to meet their own 
separate debts. The finances of the States and of 
Congress were in a state of confusion and depres¬ 
sion almost beyond conce|^tion. Both the Conti¬ 
nental Congress and the several States had incurred 
debts from the beginning of 1775 to the close of 
1783, and they had borrowed both at home and 
abroad, as long as it was possible, without paying 
even interest; and the credit of both was at the 
lowest point. Numerous complaints and some insur¬ 
rections were the consequences, and Congress had 
not authority to assess or collect monies in any way, 
either by direct tax, or duties on imported goods. 
The States wanted all which could be collected, 
and even more, to pay their own debts. It became 
necessary to clothe Congress with greater authority ; 
aiul the Convention for this purpose was held at 
Philadelphia, in the Hall of Independence, in 1787. 
It was found that the Articles of Confederation 
could not be amended so as fully to remedy the 
evils or defects of the old system ; and a Constitu¬ 
tion was formed, to be submitted to the considera¬ 
tion of the several States for adoption ; which pro¬ 
vided for a federal or general legislature and gov¬ 
ernment, over all the Slates; but its authority to 
extend only to general purposes and objects, as 
particularly pointed out in that instrument, or as 
necessary to attain those purposes. According to 
the Constitution, the Government of the United 
States is a federal and limited, not an unlimited, or 
strictly a consolidated one. The consent of two- 
thirds of the States, (not two-thirds of the whole 
people in the States,) was a condition of the estab¬ 
lishment of the Federal Government; and if any 
State did not consent, it was not bound by it. All 
the leading features of the government, to be estab¬ 
lished by the Constitution, are of a federal, not con¬ 
solidated character; the General Government can 
only rightfully e.xercise power in cases mentioned 
in the Constitution, (or fully implied,) and all power 
not given to the General or Federal Government, 
remains with the States respectively, or the people 
of the several States, (not two-thirds of the whole 
people in the United Slates) and two-thirds of the 
States only, can also alter the Constitution. It is 
the earnest wish of every wise and patriotic citizen, 
that the government of the United States may re¬ 
tain its federal character, instead of becoming 
strictly a consolidated one; that the separate States 
may preserve their full power—for as Fisher Ames 
said, “ they are the pillars on which rest the beau¬ 
tiful federal superstructure.” 


For the information of those who are in want 
of a good History of the United States, we would 
recommend to their notice Murray’s History, 
edited by Watson, as being a work from which 
a correct knowledge, in regard to the history of 
this country, can be obtained. The work is 
illustrated by original designs, from engravings 
by the first artists. 


I CONTENTMENT. 

I What has often surprised me is to hear people 
i lament the evils of this life, and to call the world a 
vale of sorrow. Surely enjoyment and well-being 
is manifestly, throughout the world, the positive 
and natural state of animated beings: And evil 
suffering and organic defects, the negative or partial 
shadow of this general brightness. Is not crea¬ 
tion a continual feast to the healthy eye, the con¬ 
templation of which and of its beauty and sj)lendour, 
fills the heart with delight and adoration ? And 
were it only the daily sight of the enkindling sun 
and glittering stars, the verdure of the trees, the 
gay and delicate beauty of flowers, the joyous song 
of birds, and the luxuriant abundance and rich animal 
enjoyment of all living things, it would give us good 
cause to rejoice in life. But how much still more 
wondrous wealth is unfolded in the treasures of our 
own minds! What mines are laid open by love, 
art, science, the observation and history of our 
race, and in the deepest chambers of the soul, the 
pious, reverential sentiment of God and his universal 
work 1 Truly we were less ungrateful, were we 
less happy; and but too often we stand in need of 
suffering to make us conscious of this. A cheerful, 
grateful disposition is a sort of sixth sense, by which 
we perceive and recognize happiness. He who is 
fully persuaded of its existence, may, like other un¬ 
thinking children, break out into occasional com¬ 
plaints, but will soon return to reason; for the 
deep and intense feeling of the happiness of living, 
lies like a rose-coloured ground in his inmost heart, 
and shines softly through the darkest figures which 
worldly disappointments can draw upon it. 

fValdie's Fort Folio. 


I should like to drink with you, said a person to 
a Quaker friend, as they entered a hotel in New 
York. “ I shall be happy to,” replied the Quaker. 
“ Waiter,” said the gentleman, “ bring two glasses 
of brandy.” They were brought. “ Your health,'- 
said he, pouring down the poison. The Quaker 
bowed, took an empty glass, filled it with cold wa¬ 
ter, and said, “ Friend, thou hast done me the fa¬ 
vour to wish my health,—I return the compliment; 
but I can do it as well and as sincerely with pure 
water, as with a stronger liquor.” 


Till the year 1752, the English began the year 
on the 25th of March. This practice has often 
been the occasion of chronological mistakes. The 
first settlers in the English colonies in America had 
this practice, and many errors of dates may be de¬ 
tected owing to this circumstance. A respectable 
writer of the present age has contended, because 
the date was March 1629, when the expedition was 
preparing for Massachusetts Bay, that the settle¬ 
ment of Charlestown and Boston began in 1629! 


Magnificent Present.— The king of Oude (in 
India) has lately sent to the king of England the 
following articles A bedstead and table of solid 
gold, and two chairs and some other smaller pieces 
of furniture of pure silver. They are highly or¬ 
namented with carved figures. 








[East view of Faneuil Hall, including the southwest comer of Quincy Market.] 




































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































56 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


FANEUIL HALL. 

We have given on the preceding page a good 
view of the old and venerable Faneuil Hall in the 
city of Boston, so memorable for tire eloquent 
speeches and patriotic resolutions of the citizens of 
that place during several years immediately before the 
Revolution. The building was erected in 1742,atthe 
sole expense of Peter Faneuil, Esq., and generously 
given to the town; the basement for a market, 
with a spacious and most beautiful hall, and other 
convenient rooms above, for the accommodation of 
the citizens on all public occasions. The building 
was then one hundred feet by forty; and the hall 
capable of holding two thousand people, or more. 
This fine and convenient building was consumed 
by fire in 1761, excepting the brick walls: But the 
town voted to rebuild it immediately. Mr. Fan¬ 
euil had then been dead several years. In 1805, it 
was enlarged by the addition of another story, 
and of forty feet to the width, thus making it eighty 
feet wide. There is a cupola on the building, from 
which is a fine view of the harbour of Boston. The 
hall is about eighty feet square, and twenty-eight 
feet in height; with galleries on three sides sup¬ 
ported by doric columns. At the west end, the 
wall is ornamented with a good full-length likeness of 
Peter Faneuil, of General Washington, Governor 
John Hancock, General Henry Knox and others; 
and a bust of President John Adams. The lower 
part of the building is no longer used as a market; 
a large and elegant one having been erected by the 
city for that purpose in 1827. But the hall is still 
a jdace of meeting for the citizens on all occasions 
of extraordinary and general interest; and since it 
was enlarged in 1805, it will accommodate five 
thousand people. Among the most important 
meetings within a few years, was that in support of 
the Union, when President Jackson issued a procla¬ 
mation against the nullifying doctrines of the South ; 
and that, still more recently, of all the sober and 
intelligent people of Boston, in support of Constitu¬ 
tional doctrines, against the proceedings of the 
Abolitionists of slavery at the South. On this oc¬ 
casion, H. G. Otis, who had often before raised his 
powerful voice in the hall, in behalf of public order 
and constitutional freedom, took a leading part; 
and was as happy as he was able, in pointing out 
the errors of the Abolitionists, and the dangerous 
tendency of their measures and projects. He was 
very decided, but without bitter invective or angry 
crimination, against the mistaken advocates of the 
immediate abolition of slavery in the southern 
States. He spoke of them as very erroneous in 
their views, and dangerous in their speeches and 
writings, though he admitted they might have been 
pure in their motives. But he said also, and justly we 
think, that the tendency of their proceedings were 
revolutionary, or highly hazardous to the welfare of 
the Union ; and he therefore warned them against 
all further proceedings similar to those recently 
adopted and pursued. And the whole assembly 
(of five thousand probably) responded heartily and 
fuliv to the sentiments he uttered. As in 1770, a 
good spirit, a spirit of enlightened and disinterested 
j)atriotism, has gone forth from Faneuil Hall, kin- 
djecl or confirmed by the eloquence of an Otis, 


which we trust will check the rage of fanaticism, 
and thus save the Union, and preserve it entire and 
harmonious even from the extreme north to the 
distant south. 

There are now very few living who heard the 
eloquent speeches of James Otis, Samuel Adams, 
John Hancock, Josiah Quincy, and other patriots 
of 1765—1775; but many have heard of their ad¬ 
dresses, and find the fire of patriotism and the love 
of liberty unarming their bosom^s, as they recollect 
them. They owe them much, very much; and 
hope to see the same spirit guiding their children : 
a spirit of order as well as of liberty ; an attachment 
to constitutional principles, as well as to the bles¬ 
sings of freedom, which those principles, are intended 
and calculated to secure to us and our posterity. 


THE COMING OF CHRIST IN THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

BY MISS MARTINEAtr. 

Lord Jesus, come! for here 

Our path through wilds is laid; 

We watch as for the day-spring near. 

Amid the breaking shade. 

Lord Jesus, come! for still 

Vice shouts her maniac mirth; 

And famish’d thousands crave their fill 
While teems the fruitful earth. 

Lord Jesus come! for hosts 
Meet on the battle-plain; 

The patriot mourns, the tyrant boasts. 

And tears are shed like rain. 

' Hark! herald voices near 

Proclaim thy happier day; 

Come, Lord, and our hosannas hear! 

We wait to strew thy way. 

The Bible in England, in 1537. — This was a 
day of rejoicing to Archbishop Cranmer; greater 
says he, “ than had there been given him a thousand 
pounds.” Nor to him only ; the people, thirsty for 
the Word, now rushed to the waters of life, and 
drank freely : whosoever had the means bought the 
volume; w here the cost w as too great for an indi¬ 
vidual, neighbours and fellow-apprentices might 
unite purses and buy in common ; a man would be 
seen at the lower end of his church on a Sunday 
reading it aloud, whilst numbers flocked about him 
to listen and learn ; and the one great topic of the 
time, made its way even into taverns and alehouses, 
where it seems to have been often the subject of 
vehement and angry debate. 

The Camera Lucida, or Light Chamber, so caller 
in contradistinction to the Camera Obscura, was 
invented by Dr. Wollaston, in the present century. 
It enables one to delineate distant objects, and is 
also used for copying and reducing drawings. It 
consists of a quadrangular glass prism, with lenses, 
&c., by which the rays from an object are twice 
reflected. -- 

The human mind has unlimited curiosity, and a 
natural disposition for know ledge and science. The 
earliest amusement of youth is imitation of the acts 
of their parents and those much older than them¬ 
selves, and of learning the causes and reasons of 
things. This disposition should be indulged and 
gratified. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


57 


PICKLING MEAT. 

We consider the suggestion in the following par¬ 
agraph worthy of particular consideration. 

Professor Rafinesque strongly denounces the use 
of saltpetre in brine, intended for the preservation 
of flesh to keep for food. That part of the salt¬ 
petre which is absorbed by the meat he says is nitric 
acid, or aquafortis, a deadly poison;—animal flesh 
previous to the addition of the former only possess¬ 
ing a nutritious virtue. This is destroyed by the 
cheniical action of salt and saltpetre; and as the 
professor remarks, the meat becomes as diflerent a 
substance from what it should be, as leather is from 
raw hide before it is subjected to the process of 
tanning. He ascribes to the pernicious effects of 
this chemical change, all the diseases which are com¬ 
mon to mariners and others, who subsist principally 
upon salted meat—such as scurvy, sore gums, de¬ 
cayed teeth, ulcers, &-c.; and advises a total aban¬ 
donment of the use of saltpetre in making pickle 
for beef, pork, &c. The best substitute for which, 
he says, is sugar, a small quantity, rendering the 
meat sweeter, more wholesome, and equally as 
durable. 



THE STAG, OR RED DEER. 


By some writers, this species is considered the 
most beautiful of the Deer kind. It has a fine 
form ; is quick in its motions ; pliable in its limbs ; 
swift of speed; and with bold, branching horns. 
“ The age of the stag is decided by its horns. The 
first year exhibits only a short protuberance, which 
is covered with a hairy skin: the second year, the 
horns are straight and single ; the third year pro¬ 
duces two antlers ; the fourth, three ; the fifth, four; 
and when arrived to the sixth year, the antlers 
amount to six or seven on each side. They shed 
their horns in February or March; and soon after 
the old have fallen off, the new ones appear, 
and grow like the bud or graft of a tree. These 
animals sometimes appear very furious, and engage 
in desperate encounters till one of them is killed or 
put to flight. The female of this species is also 


formidable to the wolf, wild cat, dbc., in protecting 
their young if assaulted. The Red Deer is a native 
of Europe. The species found in North America, 
are the Rein Deer or Caribou, the Canada Deer, 
(sometimes called the American Elk,) and the Vir¬ 
ginia Deer 



CARIBOU, OR REIN DEER. — [Cervus Tarardus.] 

The North American Caribou and the Rein Deer 
of the North of Europe have sometimes been con¬ 
sidered the same species. The resemblance is 
great, but doubts still exist, whether they are pre¬ 
cisely alike. In Europe, they are found only north 
of the Baltic; and in America north of Canada. 
They are found both in Kamtschatka and the 
American coasts opposite, and all through the con¬ 
tinent of the latter, in high northern latitudes. If 
they passed from Asia to America at Behring’s 
Straits, it is argued that some would be found on 
the Aleutian Islands ; but this is not the fact. They 
might however have passed on the ice, north of the 
straits, in latitude 70 or 75. If no difference is de¬ 
tected between the Rein Deer and the Caribou, the 
conclusion would seem to be that the latter passed 
over to this Continent from the extreme northeast 
parts of Asia, (as the American Indians did in a 
remote period,) and that the only difference be¬ 
tween them may be accounted for, by long separa¬ 
tion in a diflerent climate. 

We have already given an account of the Black¬ 
tailed Deer, which is found in the vicinity of the 
Rocky Mountains. The Caribou, or American 
Rein Deer, is a different species, and more interest¬ 
ing than the other. Of the Carib*ou there are also 
another species, called the Barren-Ground Caribou ; 
at least its habits are different, and it is found near 
the Rocky mountains, and between them and Hud¬ 
son’s Bay. The former frequents the woods and 
forests at all times, but the other visit the Arctic 
Sea in summer, and go farther south in winter. 
The horns or antlers of the Rein Deer of North 
America, like those of Europe, spread widely, and 
are of various shapes. The horns of the Barren- 
Ground Caribou are larger than those of the Wood¬ 
land, though the latter is a larger apinml. Both 
















58 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


shed their antlers annually; and in June or July 
also shed their long hair covering for that which is 
shorter and smoother. Their skin is generally the 
winter dress of the Indians inhabiting the Barren- 
Ground Regions, so called ; and their flesh serves 
for food, without which it is not seen how they 
could subsist. The annexed cuts are from drawings, 
by Capt. Back, of the antlers of two old buck 
Caribou, killed on the Barren-Grounds. 



TEMPERANCE. 


The evils of intemperance are so great 5 and still so 
common, after all the light which has been spread 
before the public, for several years past, that we 
consider it due to the community often to refer to 
them, and again and again to bear testimony against 
the beastly indulgence. Some men must have 
“line upon line and precept upon precept.” Every 
one who writes for the public, ought to have the 
common and general good in view, and to throw, 
if it be but a drop, into the stream which is to 
purify and cleanse the walks of life. We would 
recommend the “ American Temperance Intelli¬ 
gencer,” and the “ Temperance Recorder,” pub¬ 
lished in Albany, and the “ Temperance Journal,” 
printed in Boston, to be taken by every town or par¬ 
ish Temperance Society in the country, for circu¬ 
lation among the members. These papers give 
facts, as well as arguments and admonitions, highly 
important to the cause of Temperance. 

It is matter of great satisfaction to the friends of 
good morals, to observe the increase of temperance 
hotels and public inns, for the accommodation of 
travellers, in the country. A very large hotel has 
just now been opened in Boston, which is to be a 
temperance house. It will accommodate 150 or 
160 boarders. We remember a public house for¬ 
merly in Hanover Street, near the new hotel, 
which had a bar-room abounding with strong 
and alcoholic liquors, and which were great temp¬ 
tations to unreasonable indulgence. It was an exv 
cellent house, a regular house, and the visitors and 
inmates sober and respectable. Yet there were the 
means at hand, to such as were disposed, for drink¬ 
ing often and unnecessarily. He is a good map, 


who forbids absolute intoxication and brawls and 
gambling in his house; but he is a better who does 
not have the means of mischief, and who removes 
all temptations to evil. 

We now have the explicit opinion and declara¬ 
tion of all the respectable physicians in the country, 
(and those in England have given the like opinion,) 
“ that alcoholic liquors are not necessary for health 
or strength; that the labouring man is better with¬ 
out them ; and that they are even debilitating, dele¬ 
terious, and gradually destructive of life.” It is 
also true, “,that those who have discontinued the 
use of distilled spirits altogether, have found great 
benefit in such abstinence; better health, more 
strength, and fewer complaints of disease and loss 
of appetite.” All we desire is a sober considera¬ 
tion of these indisputable facts. 



It is well known that the cold weather in Canada 
sets in more early and continues longer than in most 
parts of the United States. The Canadians have 
good travelling on snow about five months ; and 
this leads them to provide for a comfortable mode 
of conveyance in winter. They travel on the 
snow for amusement as well as for business: And 
parties are frequently formed for this purpose. The 
vehicle used for this riding, for pleasure, is called 
a cariole, and a good drawing of one is here given. 
It has a sharp bottom, and glides over the ice and 
hard snow like a skate. It has two seats, and is 
constructed for four persons; and yet it is very light. 


Feathek Beds. —The want of feathers is alto¬ 
gether artificial, arising from a disregard of the 
physical and moral well-being of infants and chil¬ 
dren ; and he who has the good fortune never to 
have been accustomed to a feather bed, will never 
in health need or desire one, nor in sickness, e.xcept 
in cases of great morbid irritation, or excessive sen¬ 
sibility, or some disease in w'hich the pressure of a 
firm or elastic substance might occasion pain. But 
when a rational regard to the preservation of health 
shall pervade the community, feathers will no more 
be used without necessity or medical advice, than 
ardent spirits will be swallowed without the same 
necessary advice. The physician has frequent oc¬ 
casion to see persons who are heated, sweated, en¬ 
feebled, by sleeping on feathers, as if from a fit of 
sickness; enervated, dispirited, relaxed and misera¬ 
ble.— Medical Intelligencer. 


T know myself the being of a day— 

But when the rolling lieavens niy thoughts survey. 
No more I live on earth—a guest I rise 
To heavenly banquets in the starry skies. 

A King. 
















OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


59 



GOLDEN CLUB.— [Orontium A(i,cATicuM.] 


Tnis IS an aquatic plant, or flower, as its botanical 
name imports. One species of this beautiful flower 
is indigenous to the United States, and grows on 
the marshy borders of rivers, ditches, ponds and 


creeks. It requires water, or very low ground 
where the water flows the greater part of the year. 
A species of this plant is found in Japan. The 
water-lily, (nymphea odorata,) is also of this genus. 


GIANTS. 

We read in the sacred volume, “ that there were 
giants in the earth before the flood.” It is a ques¬ 
tion among the learned, whether the persons here 
referred to had the term applied to them because of 
being much taller and larger than men commonly 
were, or because of their great strength and warlike 
habits. Men of violence and cruelty, who were 
dreaded by the weak and defenceless, were some¬ 
times called giants as well as men of blood; giants 
and men of might seem to mean the same. -It is 
probable, however, that those mentioned as giants, 
vere generally men of larger stature than others. 
Whether there were whole nations of men of gigan¬ 
tic growth and size, is doubtful. But it is probable 
that individuals of the largest stature were selected 
to create terror in those whom they attacked. Saul 


was higher than his countrymen by the length of 
his head. The giant of the Philistines was but a 
solitary instance of such exceeding height. In 
modern times several instances have been known 
of a person being seven feet: and a few even more 
than that. A man was exhibited at Rouen in 
France, in 1735, who was eight feet. One of the 
Roman Emperors was of the same height. Freder¬ 
ick I. of Prussia sought for men of great stature 
for his guards: And the most of them were so tall, 
that a Polish prince of the common stature of man 
could barely reach the chin of many of them. 


Hint to the Husbandman and the Me¬ 
chanic. —Consider your calling honourable as well 
as useful: never be ashamed of the apron or frock: 
and devote leisure hours to mental improvement. 






































60 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


BRIDGES, TURNPIKES, RAIL-ROADS. 

Before the Revolution of 1775, there were no 
large bridges in the English colonies in America: 
and turnpikes (much more rail-roads) were not 
heard of. The obstacles to rapid travelling were 
therefore very great. The detention at ferries, 
and the circuit taken to head rivers, caused much 
delay. Three days from Boston to New York was 
quick travel; and two from Boston to Portland. 
All rivers of forty or fifty rods wide were passed in 
boats. The first large bridge in this part of the 
country was that constructed across Charles River, 
from Boston to Charlestown. It was built in 1786, 
and was then the longest in the United States. 
One of about a third of the extent was built a short 
lime before at York in Maine. And it appeared so 
strong and efficient, that the artificer was engaged 
to construct one over Charles River. Most people 
predicted that it would not stand the breaking up 
of the ice in winter and spring. It was generally 
considered merely as an experiment, and the stock 
was not very high at first. But it withstood the 
violence of the winds and the ice; and others 
were erected in a few years in various parts of the 
Union. Since that bridge was erected, now almost 
a half century, many others have been constructed 
even of greater extent, in Massachusetts, in most of 
the eastern States, as well as in the middle and 
southern sections of the country. 

These afford great facilities for travelling, and are 
evidence of the enterprise and wealth of the people. 
Turnpike roads have been made in every section of 
the United States ; steam boats have been invented, 
and rail-roads constructed ; all which constitute an 
amount of improvement which was not even imag¬ 
ined half a century ago, and are indications of more 
improvements, of which no one can calculate the 
extent. The benevolent and the patriotic must be 
anxious that means of a moral power and influence 
for good be provided, to regulate the mighty pop¬ 
ulation which is to cover the land, abounding in 
wealth and luxury, which naturally tend to cor¬ 
rupt society, unless adequate checks and preventives 
are seasonably prepared. 

VOLCANOES. 

The volcanoes mentioned by the most early wri¬ 
ters, are Vesuvius, Etna and Teneriffe. Of those 
0(1 the Continent of America, we can expect no 
%ery ancient account, because the page of history 
as to this country in remote ages, is a blank. We 
now know that there are many in America: and 
their subterranean fires, no doubt, have been throw¬ 
ing out lava from the most distant period. 

The most formidable of these three was Etna; 
especially in former times. This is situated on the 
Island of Sicily, near the coast of Italy. Its base is 
sixty-three miles in circumference. It is nearly ten 
thousand feet high, and is seen, in a clear atmos¬ 
phere, from Malta, a distance of one hundred and 
fifty miles. It is the largest burning mountain in 
Europe. The ascent is nearly thirty miles; and a 
part of it difficult and fatiguing to pass. There is 
an account of irruptions from this volcano for nearly 
seventeen centuries before our era, which is about 
two centuries before the exode of the Israelites from 


Egypt. Its irruptions, within the last hundred and 
sixty years, have been highly destructive. The hot 
ashes run over the walls of the city of Catania, and 
destroyed five thousand of the inhabitants. Roeks, 
fifteen feet in length, were thrown to the distance 
of a mile. 

Mount Vesuvius is about seven miles from the 
populous city of Naples ; and is about four thousand 
ieet in height. There have been repeated irruptions 
within fifty years ; but the most devastating was 
in the year 79 of our era; when the large cities of 
Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried in entire 
ruins, with their inhabitants. 

The Peak of Tenerifl'e is the next highest volca¬ 
nic mountain in Europe, on the islan'^ of that name, 
and one of the group of the Canary Isles. The 
top of the mountain is more than twelve thousand 
feet above the level of the sea. During the last 
century there were several irruptions from this 
volcano; the most destructive of which was in the 
year 1798. 

In America there are also volcanic mountains, to 
which reference has been made in former numbers 
of the Magazine. The most terrific of these is on 
the mountain Cotopaxi in South America. 


TRANSFERENCE OF VITAL POW ER. 

A not uncommon cause of loss of vital powers 
is the young sleeping with the aged. This fact, 
however explained, has been long rei^rked, and it 
is well known to every unprejudiced observer. But 
it has been most unaccountably overlooked in med¬ 
icine. I have, on several occasions, met with the 
counterpart of the following case : I was, a few 
years since, consulted about a pale, sickly and thin 
boy, of about five or six years of age. He appear¬ 
ed to have no specific ailment, but there was a slow 
and remarkable decline of flesh and strength, and of 
the energy of all the functions,—what his mother 
very aptly termed, a gradual blight. After inquir¬ 
ing into the history of the case, it came out that 
he had been a robust and plethoric child up to his 
third year, when his grandmother, a very aged per¬ 
son, took him to sleep with ; that he soon after¬ 
wards lost his good looks ; and he had continued 
to decline ever since, notwithstanding medical treat¬ 
ment. I directed him to sleep apart from his aged 
parent, and prescribed tonics, change of air, &.c.— 
The recovery was rapid. It is not with children 
only that debility is induced by this mode of ab¬ 
stracting vital power. Young females married to 
very old men suffer in a similar manner, though not 
to the same extent. These facts are often well 
known to the aged themselves, who consider the 
indulgence favorable to longevity, and therefore 
often illustrate the selfishness which, in some per¬ 
sons, increase with their years.— Dr. Copeland’s 
Dictionary. 


THERE IS A BOOK. 

There is a book—who runs may read,— 

Which heavenly truth imparts; 

And all the lore its scliolars need, 

Pure minds and pious hearts. 

Christian Regut«r. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


61 



CAPITOL OF NORTH CAROLINA, AT RALEIGH. 


We present a view of the new State House, 
now being built in Raleigh, according to the form 
and plan adopted, though the edifice is far from be¬ 
ing completed. The view is such as is presented 
to one at the southeast corner of the public square, 
which is highly decorated with trees. It will be 
recollected that the former capitol at Raleigh was 
burnt a few years ago. According to the plan and 
design of the present State House, it has been pre¬ 
dicted that it will be the most chaste and beautiful 
building in the southern part of the country, and 
superior in this respect to any State government 
house in the Union. It is constructed entirely of 
beautiful cream-coloured granite, (almost free from 
iron pyrites,) taken from a quarry within the dis¬ 
tance of one mile. Some of the blocks weigh ten 
tons; and those for the outside walls have the face 
worked, and smoothed, or polished. 

The model of the building is from the Temple 
of Minerva at Athens, and commonly called the 
Parthenon. The wings are rustic work ; but the 
greatest beauty of the building (probably) will be 
the capitals and the cornice. It is matter of won¬ 
der, that the rough stone in the vicinity could be 
fluted and fretted and moulded into such beautiful 
forms. The cost is variously estimated at from 
^300,000 to ,<^400,000. Those who were op[)osed 
to the plan of so large and expensive a building, are 
now said to be pleased with its appearance, and 
have ceased complaining of the expense. The 
Capitol contains, in the lower stcry, rooms for the 
Governor, Treasurer, Secretary, and Comptroller. 
In the second story, which is of the height of thirty- 


eight feet and a half, are two large halls for the two 
branches of the Legislature, of fifty-six feet by 
fifty-four each ; and rooms for the Supreme Court, 
the clerks and a library. The wings contain rooms 
for Committees, &.c. The Rotunda goes the whole 
height of the building, and is surmounted by a 
dome and lantern, thirty-six feet in diameter. 

The corner stone was laid on the fourth of July, 
1833; and the work is rapidly progressing; in July 
last, the walls were carried up above the windows 
of the third story, and were to be eight feet higher; 
which is probably done before this time. The su¬ 
perintendent (Mr. D. Paton) is esteemed fully 
competent to the work. He is a gentleman of science 
and taste. 

The streets gradually decline on all sides from 
the square, so that there is a good view of the 
Governor’s house {oxpalace!) and other large new 
buildings, which have a fine effect. 

When the former State House was burnt, the 
statue of Washington, by Canova, was much in¬ 
jured ; but there is still a hope cherished, “ that 
it may be reinstated in the spirit of the original 
model, by some eminent artist.” 

The saw in India is made to cut when it is 
drawn towards the labourer who uses it. The ad¬ 
vantage of this is, that the instrument produces a 
greater effect, as the strength in pulling towards 
one is superior to that of pushing. It is also said 
that it may be used with more velocity. If this is 
true, why has it not been introduced into other 
countries ? 





























































62 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ORIGIN OF IDOLATRY. 

In the time of Abraham , 1950, or 2000 years before 
our era, and 350 years after the deluge, idolatry 
generally prevailed. That it was universal, how¬ 
ever, is not probable. Noah lived to about this 
period. And he surely would not fall into idolatry. 
Nor is it reasonable to suppose, that all his sons or 
grandsons, if any, became idolaters. Their pos¬ 
terity became so probably, in the fourth, or fifth, or 
sixth generation, after the death of Noah, and on 
being dispersed into dillerent countries, where they 
became regardless of the instructions of Noah and 
his sons, and introduced images as emblems of the 
Deity. The most early departure from the worship 
of the Invisible One, however, was in the adoration 
of the sun, moon and stars ; and thence to the wor¬ 
ship of fire, as the most powerful element in nature, 
and also as resembling the sun and stars, then sup¬ 
posed to be fire. There is evidence that astronomy 
was early studied by the Chaldeans, the Indians or 
Hindoos, and Arabians. 

It seems to be a universal sentiment impressed on 
the mind of man by nature itself, that there “ is a 
power above us.” The nature of that Being (or 
Beings) and the mode of his operating is indeed a 
mystery ; and no wonder there are various theories 
and systems on the subject. Most men, we might 
say all men, not greatly advanced in science and 
philosophy,judge altogether according to their senses 
and to appearances. That they should, therefore, 
often and greatly err, is not strange: where they 
saw power, there was God ; and physical laws im¬ 
posed by the Deity on his works, were attributed 
to his immediate influence and operation. Thus 
God was in every thing ; “ was the soul of the 
world.” This was so far true, indeed, as that it 
recognised the hand of God in all things, and that 
he was the creator and sustainer and governor of 
the universe. But it was erroneous, in that it con¬ 
founded him with his laws, and considered the oper¬ 
ations and manifestations of his power, as Deity 
itself. Hence the notion of destiny or kite ; or a 
blind, unintelligent principle acting, and compelled 
to act, as it did, by some unexplained necessity. 
On this theory, God was supposed inseparable from 
and a part of the material world : and that wherever 
there was a display of power, there worship and 
adoration should be given. And the next step was, 
that there was no Deity distinct from the universe 
of matter. His spirituality and even his individual¬ 
ity was thus denied. And the worship of stars, of 
the sun, and moon, and even of reptiles thus pre¬ 
vailed ; and not only fire-worship and idol-worship 
was adopted, but Fetichism,* became the religion 
of all the more illiterate and barbarous nations of 
the earth. The Hindoo system of theology is but 
another name pantheism, or the worship of every 
thing. Such also was and still is the worship of the 
people of Africa. In the Hindoo theory also, there 
are millions of deities. And yet according to Sir 
William Jones, and other learned English writers, 
who have studied the history and theology of India ; 
and we might add, Ptajah Ilamohun Roy, the dis¬ 

* The vvorshi|) of the creaturos and works of God, instead of 
he divine, infinite Being himself 


tinguished native Hindoo of the present age, the 
original belief of the people of that country was in 
the unity of the Godhead. Their most remote 
ancestors, they say, believed in one God, who was 
supreme. But in process of time, that simple and 
rational faith became corrupted, and has long been 
but a mass of errors and absurdities. This account 
or statement is probably correct. It is scarcely 
possible that Noah or his children were idolaters or 
polytheists ; but that his posterity of the fifth, or 
sixth, or at farthest, of the eighth or tenth genera¬ 
tion were such, through ignorance (in their dispers¬ 
ed situation) there is abundant evidence from history 
both common and sacred. And this is far more 
probable as well as rational, than the theory which 
makes men idolatrous and polytheists, originally. 

THE NILE. 

This is one of the largest rivers in Africa; except 
perhaps, the Niger, which has not yet been fully 
explored. The Nile flows through Nubia and 
Egypt. The mouths of this river have much changed 
within 2000 years. But we refer to it here, chiefly 
to notice its periodical overflowings, and the conse¬ 
quent fertility of the soil in its vicinity. Tlie inun¬ 
dations of the Nile are owing to periodical rains 
which fall near its source. The waters usually 
begin to rise in June, and continue to increase, 
three or four inches, every twenty-four hours, till 
the last of September. And then gradually, fall, or 
subside nearly in the same proportion. Sixteen 
cubits’ rise was sufficient to water great part of the 
country; now twenty-two feet are necessary ; which 
shows that the land near the river has been raised 
about six feet, by alluvial deposits. A rise of 26 
feet in 1829, destroyed many houses and villages. 
These inundations, when not unusually high, are a 
great benefit to the country, where there is very 
little rain. The lands which are inundated, and on 
which the mud brought down by the freshets is 
deposited becomes exceedingly fertile, and produces 
abundantly ; and lower Egypt still supports a great 
population. 

THE SEVENTH DAY. 

The sun is set beneath the western wave : 

O’er Eden’s garden soft-vving’d twilight steals; 

Stars, one by one, in golden clusters, pave 

The dark’ning sky; while the lone night-bird peals 

Her liquid harmony, and nature feels, 

O night, thy soothing power, and seeks repose 
Man to the God of darkness now appeals. 

And in the south, night's silver queen arose, 

And o’er the sleeping world her cool, clear beams she throws. 

The Night serenely passed—the seventh day came, 

And rosy dawn steals o’er the eastern sky; 

Nature awakes, and breathes through all her frame 
One sigh of praise and prayer to God Most High. 

Pleased with his works, thus spake Eternity : 

“ This day be hallow’d, set apart for rest. 

Sacred from toil, in holy memory 

Of this new world—a world which we have bless’d- 

The Sabbath we appoint,ybr man to be our Guest.” 

London Magazine. 

The wine of Scripture is called “ the fruit of the 
vine,” and was probably the natural juice of the 
grape, without fermentation, and therefore free from 
Alcohol. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


63 



THE WHITE BEECH TREE. 


There are two species of the Beech Tree, both 
in Europe and in North America, the Red and 
the White; and they are among the tallest and 
most majestic trees of the forests. The names are 
given them on account of the colour of the wood. 
The White most abounds in the middle and west¬ 
ern States, and on a deep and moist soil. In Penn¬ 
sylvania, Maryland and New Jersey it is usually 
found single; but in Kentuckv and Tennessee it 
grows in large masses. According to Michaux, the 
finest trees of the White Beech are on the banks 
of the Ohio: They grow there to the height of one 


hundred feet, and are eleven feet in circumference. 
The Red Beech is more like the Beech of Europe, 
and is found in the northern and eastern parts of 
the United States. The nature and uses of the 
Beech wood are too well known to require a par¬ 
ticular statement. - 

Mr. Locke. —This great philosopher and ra¬ 
tional Christian, when on his death-bed, said to 

Lady-that he had lived long enough, and was 

thankful for the many blessings God had bestowed 
on him; and exhorted her to consider this world 
chiefly as a preparation for another. 



















64 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE HINDOO CASTES. 

The Hindoos are supposed, by some respectable 
writers, to be a more ancieni people than the Egyp¬ 
tians or the Chaldeans, and to be the imniediate 
descendants of Noah. Their earliest tradilion is 
that they came from the north and west, the part of 
Asia probably first occupied by that patriarch, soon 
after the deluge. But what is peculiar to this peo¬ 
ple is their division into castes. There is indeed, 
some dirt'erence of opinion among the learned who 
liave written on the sul)ject. Robertson says, 
“ that the distinction of ranks and separation of 
professions were completely established among them, 
from the most remote agesand he considers it a 
proof, that society was considerably advanced at 
the time ; as in the very early stages of social life arts 
would be few, and so simple, as that every one 
can supply his own wants. The Hindoos are di¬ 
vided into four castes, or orders. The members of 
the first or highest caste are deemed sacred. They 
are the priests, the teachers and philosophers of the 
nation. They are devoted to the study of religion, 
and to the performance of its rites and functions. 
Their infiuence therefore must be very great. The 
second order or caste are intrusted with the gov¬ 
ernment and defence of the State: In peace, they 
are the rulers and magistrates, and in war they 
compose the military power. The third caste is 
composed of merchants and husbandmen ; and the 
fourth of artisans, laborers and servants. None can 
ever (juit his own caste, nor be admitted into an¬ 
other. The station of every individual is unalter¬ 
ably fixed ; his destiny is irrevocable ; and his course 
of life is marked out, from which he must never 
deviate. This division, and these castes or orders are 
required both by the civil authority and by religion. 
Each order is supposed to have been fixed by the 
Divinity in the manner it has so long existed, and 
that to confound them would be impious. But not 
only are the four castes or classes thus distinctly 
and entirely separated ; the members of each caste 
adhere invariably to the profession of their fore¬ 
fathers. From generation to generation, the same 
families have followed, and will always continue 
to follow, one uniform line of life. 

The Hindoos are said to consider this separation 
or division of society highly useful, and even essen¬ 
tial to their welfare and prosperity. And individu¬ 
als of other countries have pretended that there 
were advantages in this establishment. It is most 
probable, however, that the Hindoos are attached 
to castes from the antiquity of the custom. It must 
operate as a hindrance to all human improvements ; 
nor can there be a laudable ambition to excel, 
in such a constitution of society. It is owing, no 
doubt, to this condition of the Hindoos and the Chi¬ 
nese, that no changes have been made among them 
for many centuries ; none indeed since these people 
have been known to Europe. As might be expected, 
this division into castes generates an unfriendly 
and hostile spirit among the members of each, 
which has an unhappy influence on the whole 
population. 

Never hire a man to do a piece of work which 
you can do yourself. 


A SONNET. 

“The ray which beams for ever." 

The sun which now with ceaseless glowing light. 

Pours life upon the smiling fields of earth, 

With cheerful beams as warm and rays as bright. 

As when at first th’ Almighty gave it birth, 

Must sink at lust in an eternal night! 

The moon shall vanish from her native sky. 

Her sparkling train, the stars, retire in gloom. 

When time is swallow’d in eternity— 

Though brilliant eyes lie darkened in the tomb. 

Though dies the queen of night, and lord of day. 
There shines a beam which shall not fade away— 

Thy MIND, O man, is that immortal ray. 

Mechanics' Magazine and Journal. 


Peupetuai. Motion. —A correspondent of the 
Boston Courier sttiies that the long sought princi¬ 
ple of j)erpetual motion has at length been discover¬ 
ed by Andkew’ Morse, Jun., a young mechanic, 
in Bloomfield, Maine. The following is the de¬ 
scription given of the general principle and con¬ 
struction of this self-moving machine. 

“ This machine is propelled by air, acted upon 
by the changes of temperature of the atmosphere. 
It consists of an Air Cistern and Piston—a Recip¬ 
rocating Rack, with its pinion wheels forgiving mo¬ 
tion—a Drum, with its Pullies, from which the 
weight is suspended and guided—Cog-wheels and 
Catch, for maintaining Power—Wheels and Axles, 
required for condensing the air—and Levers for 
changing the direction of the power. 

The operation of this machine is produced—as 
has been already suggested—by means of the con¬ 
traction and expansion of air, effected by the chan¬ 
ges of atmospheric temperature. By this power, 
a weight is kept constantly wound up, so that it 
shall perpetually, and uniformly act upon, and 
keep in motion, any machinery to which it is 
adapted. In short, the machine is entirely regu¬ 
lated by its oion motion.” 

Mr. Morse intends shortly to embark for England 
with a view of claiming the twenty thousand pounds 
offered by the British Government for the construc¬ 
tion of a self-moving machine. 


The Inquisition was established in Roman Catholic 
countries, by Pope Innocent HI., in the twelfth 
century. The immediate cause of these tribunals 
for the support of the papal power was the sect of 
Albigenses, who refused to submit to the dogmas 
of the Romish Church, and looked to the Bible for 
the true doctrines of Christ. The inquisition was 
under the immediate direction of the Pope ; and its 
design was to seek out such as did not submit to 
his decisions and orders, and to pronounce its dread¬ 
ful sentence against their fortunes and their lives, 
without appeal. This outrageous design was but 
too faithfully pursued for four centuries. The vile 
informers were concealed and rewarded. Every 
intelligent and conscientious man was sure to fall 
a victim to the malignant spirit of bigoted monks 
In Spain alone, the victims of the Inquisition 
amounted to three hundred and forty thousand, in 
about three centuries. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


65 


TO FARRIERS. 

If ye aspire to wealth and ease, 

Stock well your farms with mulberry trees; 
The silk-worms will their wealth unfold, 
And coin their foliage into gold. 

Suppose that you have never known. 

And are not curious to be shown 
The simple culture of the worm; 

Your neighbours may the thing perform. 
And then the leaves which you produce. 

In skilful hands become of use. 

The farmer who would make pretence 
To taste, should have a hedge-row fence ; 
No tree that’s known, so quickly grows. 

Or looks so uniform in rows. 

It springs from cuttings or from seeds. 

And overcomes poor soils and weeds ; 

And in four years will make a fence. 

With, of all things, the least expense: 

And when instead of walls or rails. 

The mulberry hedge around prevails; 

The lands produce a mine of wealth. 
Employment, happiness and health. 

The mulberry grows on every soil. 
Requires but little aid or toil. 

And the best silk is always found. 

Produced from leaves of sandy ground; 
While a rich soil will leaves produce. 
Abounding in a watery juice. 

And on which, if worms be fed. 

They make a coarse, and brittle thread. 


The cause of Temperance has many friends and 
advocates in Great Britain. Mr. Buckingham, a 
Member of Parliament, who has lately spent several 
weeks in Yorkshire and Lancashire, in efforts to 
promote the reform, says, that in Preston there 
were 4,000 members of the Temperance Society, 
and in Colne 2,000, being a fourth part of the 
whole population. One of these, five years ago, 
was one of the most drunken places in the country. 
He says, he regards the Temperance reformation, 
as likely to constitute one of the greatest and most 
interesting eras in the history of England or Amer¬ 
ica. — 

To THOSE WHO ARE ADDICTED TO STRONG 
DRINK. —Indulge your appetite, and expect disease 
and ruin.—Abstain, and you will secure health 
and happiness. 


ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC CANAL. 

The central part of the American continent, pre¬ 
sents five points that offer facilities for the execu¬ 
tion of this project, which if ever completed may 
effect a revolution in the commerce of the world. 
These points are the following: 

1. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec (N. lat. 16°— 
18°) in the Mexican states of Vera Cruz and Oax¬ 
aca, between the sources of the Chimalapa, that 
runs into the Pacific ocean, and those of the Passo, 
that empties itself into the Huasacualco, a tributary 
of the Atlantic. It has been estimated that the dis¬ 
tance from New York to the mouth of the Oregon, 
which by the way of Cape Horn is about 16,000 
miles, would be less than half that number of miles 
by this canal, besides the advantage of avoiding the 
stormy navigation of the Cape. The highest point 
of the Isthmus has an elevation of only about two 
thousand feet, and the greatest height of the divi¬ 
ding ridge between the waters of the two oceans 
is about thirteen hundred. 


2. The Isthmus of Nicaragua, (N. lat. 10°— 
12°) in the Republic of Central America, is the 
second point that has attracted attention, and pre¬ 
sents, perhaps, greater facilities for the construction 
of a grand oceanic ship-canal than any others. The 
Lake of Nicaragua, which is navigable for the larg¬ 
est vessels, and communicates with the Atlantic by 
the broad channel of the River San Juan, is sepa¬ 
rated from the Pacific by an interval of only about 
sixteen miles in breadth, and the water-shed is not 
more than twenty feet in height above the level of 
the lake. 




9 











































66 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


3. The Isthmus of Panama, for a mode of trav¬ 
elling and conveyance, seems to be better adapted 
for a rail-road, than a canal. 

4. The Isthmus of Darien, (N. lat. 6® 40'—7°12') 
in the Republic of New Grenada, between the 
river Atrato, and the Cupica, which flows into the 
Pacific. 

5. The Isthmus of Choco (N. lat. 4® 58'—5® 20',) 
between the Atrato, and the River San Juan, 
which empties itself into the Pacific, south of the 
Cupica. It has often been stated that a canal 
united these two last named streams, and we even 
find it laid down on many maps, as the canal of 
Raspadura; but no such work exists. 

Of all these points the most favourable, as we 
have already observed, is the second, or Isthmus of 
Nicaragua, which is almost cut through by the 
River San Juan, and the Lake Nicaragua, whose 
waters are discharged by that river into the ocean. 
We shall, therefore, give some details as to this 
district, without dwelling more fully upon the na¬ 
ture of the other localities above-mentioned. 

The navigation of the River San Juan is some¬ 
what impeded by rapids and shoals, but it is navi¬ 
gated by bungoes or river barges of about two tons 
burden, which go and return between Grenada, on 
the Lake of Nicaragua, and San Juan on the Gulf 
of Mexico, in twelve days. And an English 
schooner of forty tons, was a few years ago com¬ 
mercially employed on the lake, which ascended by 
the river by merely removing her keel. 

The Lake of Nicaragua is about one hundred 
and twenty miles in length by forty in breadth, and 
when this region was in the hands of Spain, a 
marine consisting of a brig of fourteen guns and 
several armed schooners was kept up upon it, a fact 
which sufficiently illustrates its capability of naviga¬ 
tion by large vessels. 

The principal towns on the Lake are Grenada 
and Nicaragua, both of which are on the western 
or Pacific side. Grenada contains eight thousand 
inhabitants; its principal exports are cocoa, indigo, 
Nicaragua wood, and hides. Nicaragua is rather 
larger. San Juan del Sul, the nearest port on the 
Pacific to the town of Nicaragua, is distant eigh¬ 
teen miles; the intervening country is flat, and the 
port, which is not at present inhabited, is perfectly 
secure, with four fathoms water close to the shore. 

Another point of intercommunication on this 
Isthmus is between Leon, on Lake Leon, and 
Realejo, on the Pacific. Lake Leon or Matiares, 
which is about thirty-five miles long and fifteen 
broad, is connected with Lake Nicaragua, but not 
navigably, as there is a fall in the river, which 
unites them; the ground, however, between the 
lakes is quite flat, and a canal can easily be cut be¬ 
tween them. From Leon, a large town on the 
lake, to Realejo, the distance is about sixty miles 
over a level ground. The harbor of Realejo is ca¬ 
pable of giving security to all vessels, even to line 
of battle ships. 


THE EFFECTS OF HEAT ON THE SOLIDITY 
AND EXPANSION OF BODIES. 

The fluid or solid condition of some bodies de¬ 
pends on the degree of heat that is in them; or 


those that are commonly found in nature fluid, 
may be resolved into solid, by the abstraction of 
heat, and on the contrary, others that are solid may 
be made fluid by application of an extra degree of 
heat. Thus water may be made solid, and iron 
and other metals liquified. The size also of solid 
bodies, or the space they fill is enlarged by heat, 
and diminished by cold. This would in part, per¬ 
haps, be efl'ected by the expansion of the air within 
them, of which all substances contain a portion, 
penetrating their pores and forming in fact a part 
of the substance itself. The analysis of all metals 
and minerals shows them to be thus composed. 
But in fluid bodies the application of heat causes 
the air to escape in the form of vapour and thus 
considerably diminishes the bulk of the matter. In 
the freezing of water there is a considerable in¬ 
crease in bulk by the new combination of air which 
is taken up in it, and also by the new form of its 
particles, those of ice being in crystals, and those of 
water in globules. And in the resolution of the 
ice into water it is diminished in bulk by the escape 
of a portion of its matter in vapour. Steam or va¬ 
pour condensed forms water, and the water con¬ 
densed forms ice: the particles of which are less 
in the solid than the liquid, though by the means 
above-mentioned the bulk of the mass is increased 

Water boils at 212® of Fahrenheit, but its expan¬ 
sion between 32® the freezing point and the boiling 
point, is but 000433. 

When steam is first generated from water at 
212®, its force is reckoned at one atmosphere, or a 
pressure of 15 lbs to the square inch, and it in¬ 
creases in a geometrical progression of the tempe¬ 
rature. 

The wonderful expansion of water when it has 
become steam is illustrated in this vvay. A cubic 
inch of water at 40® fills a space of 1694 inches at 
212 ®. 

It is reckoned that a bushel of coals will convert 
14 cubic feet of water into steam, occupying 1330 
times more space, and being capable of lifting 39 
millions of pounds one foot high. 

The expansive force of steam may be instantly 
condensed by the application of cold water. Four 
ounces will reduce 200 cubic feet, to 40 in a single 
second of time. - 

Fly-Boats. —A gentleman who lately took pas¬ 
sage in one of these boats on the Clyde, Scotland, 
says,—“ They are made of sheet iron, seventy feet 
long, five and a half wide, thirty inches deep at the 
largest part. The hull of the boat weighs seven¬ 
teen hundred pounds, and including cabin seats 
and furniture, thirty-three hundred pounds. They 
are drawn about ten miles an hour, by two horses, 
and sometimes have one hundred people on board. 
The boat steers with much ease, owing it is sup¬ 
posed to the keel extending only forty feet. There 
is not the slightest ripple. When moving slowly, 
the boat throws the water by the side, near the cut¬ 
water ; but as the motion increases, the bows ap¬ 
pear to lift out of the water. When the velocity is 
great, the water appears to retire, leaving a cavity 
along the side one or two inches deep. The agita¬ 
tion of the water against the canal sides or banks is 
very slight.” 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


67 


WRITERS OF SACRED HISTORY. 

Moses lived about 1500 years before our Saviour. 
Being educated in the king of Egypt’s family, he 
was taught all which the priests and wise men of 
the country knew ; and his attachment to his own 
nation, the descendants of Abraham, would lead 
him to study their history. He lived about 800 
years after the deluge of Noah, and about 400 later 
than Abraham. The Hebrews were descendants 
of Shem, and the Egyptians and Canaanites from 
Ham. The posterity of the latter soonest settled 
in cities, and thus became inventors of the arts of 
life. The posterity of the other were tillers of the 
earth, or keepers of sheep and cattle, and therefore 
lived more scattered and insulated. The mode of 
life of these was more favorable to virtue and 
religion. The long lives of the early generations 
of men served to hand down events by tradition 
with more accuracy. And what other means they 
had of preserving them, we are not now able to say. 
The Egyptians used hieroglyphics in Moses’ time, 
no doubt. There is no account of alphabetic 
writing before Moses, unless an allusion be made to 
it in Job. But that book was probably written by 
Moses, during the forty years he was in the land of 
Midian. Whether alphabetic writing was known 
by the antedeluvians, and by Noah was communi¬ 
cated to his descendants, can only be a matter of con¬ 
jecture. Great events might be handed down from 
Noah to Abraham by only one intervening person, 
and that was Shem, who lived 500 years after the 
flood. And from Abraham, or from Jacob, to 
Moses, two intervening persons might be sufficient. 
In Midian, the southwest part of Arabia, where 
Moses passed forty years in retirement, the patri¬ 
archal life continued ; and the ancient men with 
whom Moses was there acquainted, no doubt, had a 
correct knowledge of events in that part of the 
world from the time of the flood. 

Moses then, we perceive, would be able to give a 
correct account of the deluge, and of the preserva¬ 
tion of Noah ; of events after that catastrophe ; of 
attempts to build Babel; of the descendants of Noah; 
of the separate migrations and spread of his posterity; 
and of the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His 
account of creation, or of the present formation and 
settlement of the earth, he might have received 
from the ancient men, whom he knew, who iiad 
received it by tradition from Noah, as suggested 
above. 

The book of Genesis, and the cosmogony there 
given, are to be credited to Moses, the great Jewish 
lawyer, and a prophet of Jehovah, more fully in¬ 
spired to make known the divine purposes to men, 
than any other except Jesus of Nazareth, to whom 
God gave his spirit without measure. In this book, 
are given the outlines of creation, and a reference 
to the wicked race of men who lived before the 
deluge ; that overwhelming calamity is also related ; 
and the settlement of the earth afterwards by the 
posterity of Noah. A beautiful sketch is also given 
of the patriarchal manners, and all the simplicity of 
those early ages. 

The books of Exodus, of Leviticus, of Numbers, 
and of Deuteronomy are also to be ascribed lo 
Moses. These are confined to the history of the 


Jews for forty years after they left Egypt, and a 
minute account of the rites and ceremonies of their 
worship, and of the laws given for their social state 
and personal observation. From the time of Moses, 
alphabetic writing was more or less in use among 
the Jews; and from them probably the knowledge 
of letters spread to other places ; to Phoenicia, and 
thence to Greece. The greater part of the book 
of Joshua was probably written by himself. 

The books of Judges, Ruth, Samuel, were no 
doubt written, or compiled by the ancient prophet 
of that name. The two books of Kings, and the 
Chronicles were perhaps put in their present form 
by Ezra, who was a learned man, and a collector 
of Hebrew historical writings and manuscripts. 
Records kept during the times of the kings, from 
David to the captivity of the Jews by the Babylo¬ 
nians, were seen no doubt by Ezra, and extracts 
made and preserved of all that was most important. 
Some of the unimportant chronicles might not have 
been copied or preserved. A few books or records 
referred to, are certainly lost. Ezra was probably 
also the writer of the book of Esther, as well as of 
that bearing his name. And by him, after the 
return from the Babylonian captivity, the older 
books were collected, arranged and copied for 
preservation. Nehemiah wrote the book which 
bears his name; or left materials for it, which were 
perfected by Simon, a pious and learned Jew of a 
little later period. Ezra or Nehemiah, probably the 
former, also collected and arranged the prophetical 
books, excepting Malachi, who wrote at a subse¬ 
quent period, whose book of prophecies might have 
been written by himself, and by Simon before men¬ 
tioned. These books, it is generally supposed, and 
there is no reason to doubt it, were received by the 
Jews and called the scriptures in the time of our 
Saviour. They were “ read in the synagogues every 
sabbath day,” and were appealed to as authority in 
regard to the history of the nation, the rites and 
forms of their religion, and to the advent, charac¬ 
ter, and doctrines of the Messiah, or Christ. Near¬ 
ly three hundred years before Christ, the sacred books 
were rendered into Greek at Alexandria in Egypt: 
And this version was known and used in the time 
of our Lord and his apostles. The Jews being 
settled in various parts of the extensive Roman 
empire : the knowledge of the writings of the Old 
Testament was no doubt acquired by many Gentiles, 
who thus became acquainted with the Jewish 
religion. 

LINES BV BISHOP IIEBER. 

Oar blessed Lord who went to dwell 
In lowly shape and cottage cell, 

Did not refuse a guest to he 
At Canaan's poor festivity : 

Oh ! when our soul from care is free. 

Then, Saviour, may we think on thee. 

And seated at the festal boara. 

In fancy’s eye behold the Lord. 

So may such joy, chastised and pure. 

Beyond the bounds of earth endure ; 

Nor pleasure, in the wounded mind. 

Shall leave a rankling sting behind. 


Never run in debt, without a reasonable hope oi 
paying agreeably to promise. 






69 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



CAPITOL, BOSTON, MASS. 

















































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


69 


CAPITOL OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

This elegant and spacious edifice, situated in 
Boston, on elevated ground adjoining the Common, 
and near the centre of this ancient and flourishing 
city, was erected in 1795. The corner-stone was 
laid on the fourth of July, by the venerable and 
patriotic Samuel Adams, then Chief Magistrate of 
Massachusetts, (assisted by Paul Revere, Master of 
the Grand Lodge of Masons.) He succeeded 
Governor Hancock, who died in October, 1793. 
Governor Adan)s made a short address on the oc¬ 
casion of' laying the corner-stone, and said, “ he 
trusted that within its walls liberty and the rights of 
man would be forever advocated and supported.” 
The lot was purchased by the town of Boston of 
the heirs of Governor Hancock, for which the sum 
of ^4,000 was paid. The building was not finished 
and occupied by the Legislature till January, 1798; 
when tlie members of the General Court walked 
in procession from the Old State House at the head 
of State Street, and the new edifice for the gov¬ 
ernment was dedicated by solemn prayer to Al¬ 
mighty God. The Old State House, so called from 
the time of building the other, was long the place 
in which the General Court of the Province of 
Massachusetts was holden. It has lately been well 
repaired, and is the place of the meetings of the 
city authorities and for public offices. 

The corner-stone of the present Capitol was 
brought to the spot by fifteen white horses, at that 
time the number of States in the Union. The 
building is seen at a great distance in all directions, 
and is the principal object visible when the city 
is first seen by those who visit it. The form is 
oblong, being one hundred and seventy-three feet 
in front, and sixty-one feet deep, or at the end. 
The height of the building, including the dome, is 
one hundred and ten feet; and the foundation is 
about that height above the level of the water of the 
bay. “ It consists externally of a basement story, 
twenty feet high, and a principal story, thirty feet 
high. This, in the centre of the front, is covered 
with an attic sixty feet wide, and twenty feet high, 
which is covered with a pediment. Immediately 
above arises the dome, fifty feet diameter, and thirty 
in height; the whole terminating with an elegant 
circular lantern, which supports a pine cone. The 
basement story is finished in a plain style on the 
wings, with square windows. The centre is ninety- 
four feet in length, and formed of arches which 
project fourteen feet, and make a covered walk be¬ 
low, and support a colonnade of Corinthian columns 
of the same extent above. 

The largest room is in the centre, and in the sec¬ 
ond story ; (the large space below in the basement 
story is directly under this:) it is the Representa¬ 
tives’ Chamber: and will accommodate five hun¬ 
dred members; and sometimes they have been 
more numerous. The Senate Chamber is also in 
the second story and at the east end of the building, 
being sixty feet by fifty. At the west is a large 
room for the meetings of the Governor and the 
Executive Council; with a convenient ante-chamber. 

The view from the top of the State House is 
very extensive and variegated ; perhaps nothing in 
the country is superior to it. To the east appettrs 


the bay and harbour of Boston, interspersed with 
beautiful islands; and in the distance beyond, 
the wide extended ocean. To the north the eye 
is met by Charlestown, with its interesting and 
memorable heights, and the Navy Yard of the 
United States; the towns of Chelsea, Malden 
and Medford and other villages, and the natu¬ 
ral forests mingling in the distant horizon. To the 
west, is a fine view of the Charles River and 
a bay, the ancient town of Cambridge, rendered 
venerable for the University, now almost two hun¬ 
dred years old ; of the flourishing villages of Cam¬ 
bridge Port and East Cambridge, in the latter of 
which is a large glass manufacturing establishment; 
of the highly cultivated towns of Brighton, Brook¬ 
line and Newton; and to the south is Roxbury, 
which seems to be only a continuation of Boston, 
and which is rapidly increasing: Dorchester, a fine, 
rich, agricultural town, with Milton and Quincy be¬ 
yond, and still farther south, the Blue Hills, at the 
distance of eight or nine miles, w'hich seem to bound 
the prospect. The Common, stretching and spread¬ 
ing in front of the Capitol, with its numerous walks 
and flourishing trees, where “ the rich and the poor 
meet together,” and the humblest have the proua 
consciousness that they are free, and in some re¬ 
spects, (if virtuous) on a level with the learned and 
the opulent—adds greatly to the whole scene. 
Near the Capitol, on the west, is the mansion house 
of the eminent patriot, the late John Hancock, now 
exhibiting quite an ancient appearance ; and on the 
east, about the same distance, is situated the dwel¬ 
ling of the late James Bowdoin, another patriot of 
the Revolution, a distinguished scholar and philos¬ 
opher ; and who, by his firmness, in the critical pe¬ 
riod of 1786, contributed most efficiently to the 
preservation of order and tranquillity in the Com¬ 
monwealth. Large sums have been expended in 
repairs on the State House, both within and with¬ 
out, since it was erected, and in improving the 
grounds and fences about it; and it is now in a 
condition of great neatness and elegance. 

Conveyance of Sound. Among the strangers 
from the Continent of Europe lately attracted to 
London, in hope of fame and profit, is Mr. Sudry, 
who visited England for the purpose of bringing 
before the public an ingenious system of conveying 
intelligence by means of the seven primitive musical 
sounds. In his system, these are employed to rep¬ 
resent the twenty-four letters of the alphabet; and, 
of course, to be combined in words of all kinds. 
Those who have seen the invention tested are satis¬ 
fied that in theory it is efficient. Mr. Sudry in¬ 
tends to apply it to telegraphic communications in 
all cases where vision is interrupted ; and the plan 
seems worthy the careful examination of all who 
are conscious in such matters. 


A pamphlet lately published on the Statistics of 
the United States, gives the following items, as to 
longevity, bliqd, deaf and dumb, viz.—of persons 
exceeding 100 years of age, 2,584;- of which 540 
are white, and 2044 are coloured : of blind, 5,444 ; 
3,974 white, and 1,470 coloured : deaf and dumb— 
5,363 white,743 coloured; in the whole, 6,106 





70 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


MECHANICS’ HOURS OF LABOUR. 

By request we give the following from the last 
number of the Boston Mechanic, and Journal 
of Useful Arts and Sciences, conducted by practi¬ 
cal men.” The article is in favour of the “ ten 
hours’ system of labour.” We do not feel alto¬ 
gether competent to give a decided opinion as to 
the wisdom and correctness of the plan ; or as to the 
good policy of the labouring class urging the plan 
with so much zeal as some have done. But this 
article is written in a temperate and proper spirit, 
and not without ability ; and we therefore publish it 
in our Magazine. We hesitate not to say however 
that the consideration of the mechanic having some 
time for reading and study, and of ten hours’ manual 
labour in the twenty-four being as much as is consist¬ 
ent with the physical powers of man, (if health and 
long life are desirable) is entitled to the more ma¬ 
ture inquiry and judgment of the friends of the 
working classes, than seems yet to have been 
given it. 

“ Every thing that tends to the intellectual im¬ 
provement of the popular mind, and especially of 
the labouring classes, should be hailed as a harbinger 
of better days. For though, in the absence of those 
higher principles which enter into the heart, and 
rule the life, mere intellectual attainments cannot 
secure to a people true freedom or real happiness, 
yet no measure of virtuous principle—no degree 
of religious influence—can rescue a nation or a 
community from the fetters of ignorance and des¬ 
potism, or preserve them from their degrading and 
paralyzing effects. We have reason to hope, that 
the discussion of the subject of mechanics’ working 
hours, w hich is now going on, if conducted with 
proper reference to the rights of all parties interested, 
may end in the production of permanent good to 
the labouring community. 

“ There seems to be ample reason for limiting the 
hours of obligated labour among mechanics, to ten. 
Experience has shown, that labour continued from 
day to day, for more than ten hours, is prejudicial 
to health. Those who live to a great age, we be¬ 
lieve, have generally been temperate in all things— 
in food, in drink, in excitements, and in labour. 
That labour may be called temperate which does 
not take more from the system, than the succeeding 
night’s sleep wall perfectly restore. When more 
strength is put forth, during the day, than can be 
restored by our usual sleep, the constitution is in¬ 
jured. And generally, we believe, more than ten 
hours of hard labour will w'ear upon the human 
constitution, and exhibit its effects, if not in disease, 
at least, in premature old age and debility ; although 
robust persons may, in many cases, endure much 
more wathout injury. 

“But not only is the body, but the mind itself, injured 
by excessive bodily labour. For whatever aflects the 
body affects the mind also. Hence, w'ere there no 
other motive for using the bodily strength moderately, 
but the preservation of a healthy and vigorous mind, 
that ought to be sufficient. But there are other 
motives. Not only the mind must be preserved in 
a healthy state, but it must be exercised and culti¬ 
vated, and stored with useful information. Time is 
needed for intellectual cultivation, \vhich js not 


easily obtained when the whole available portion of 
a day is devoted to labour. It is an acknowledged 
fault, that the labouring classes are not educated as 
they should be; and w'e will hazard the remark 
that those who labour longest and most severely, 
have generally a less perfect developement of the 
mental powers than others. The mechanic needs 
these additional hours, for self-education—for ob¬ 
taining useful knowledge of all kinds, and particu¬ 
larly in relation to his trade. It is not conceived 
that every one would avail himself of this opportu¬ 
nity, but it is very certain that many would, if they 
could obtain it. The education of the young me¬ 
chanic during his apprenticeship, is full often little 
attended to, or even quite suspended. He has ac¬ 
quired, at most, the mere rudiments of an educa¬ 
tion, before entering his apprenticeship. He be¬ 
comes acquainted with the world, and if he chances 
to meet with intelligent associates, he may gain con¬ 
siderable off-hand information, during this period of 
his life. But that he should possess himself of 
any of that scientific know ledge which a good me¬ 
chanic, who is master of his trade, ought to have, is 
very improbable. Generally, to boys, and even to 
men. Philosophy, Chemistry, (Ac., have a forbidding 
aspect ; and they frequently imagine, that, as for 
themselves, it would be impossible to learn them. 
But were sufficient time allowed them, to pursue 
these studies, their mistake would be far more likely 
to be discovered, and the advantages of these 
branches of knowledge would be more widely ex¬ 
tended through the community at large. 

“ It must be confessed, we dare not expect great 
results in this generation, except from a few minds 
already travelling forward, in the path of progres¬ 
sive improvement. Minds already matured cannot 
be so strongly influenced, even in the prosecution 
of good ends, as those which are young and tender 
It is to the young, then, who are to arise in our 
places, that w e look w'ith greater confidence. They, 
we trust, will have a better understanding of the 
fact, that their talents are bestowed upon them for 
improvement, as well as their physical strength; 
and that it is as much a sin to neglect the one as 
the other.” - 

Comets and Women.— Some one has said, play¬ 
fully, but rather severely,—Comets, doubtless, an¬ 
swer some wise and good purpose in the creation; 
so do w'omen. Comets are incomprehensible, beau¬ 
tiful, eccentric ; so are women. Comets shine with 
peculiar splendour,but at night appear most brilliant; 

: so do women. Comets confound the most learned, 
w hen they attempt to ascertain their nature ; so do 
women. Comets equally excite the admiration of 
the philosopher and of the clowm of the valley; so 
do women. Comets and women, therefore, are 
closely analogous; but the nature of each being 
inscrutable, all which remains for us to do, is to 
view' with admiration the one, and to love almost 
1 with adoration the other. 


A royal order w'as issued in Spain, in July last, 
j for the suppression of the society of Jesuits. A 
I similar order was issued in 1767, but afterwards 
repealed. We predict, that the Society will never 
' be again rev’ved, even in Spain. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


71 



THE MUSK OX, OR BULL. 


This curious animal is an inhabitant of the Polar 
Regions, and is found in the Barren-lands of North 
America, in about 60*^ and 70° N. latitude, near 
the shores of Hudson’s Bay, west of the Rocky 
Mountains, and Melville Island. Like the caribou, 
they feed on grass, some part of the year, and lich¬ 
ens at others. Its flesh also resembles that of the 
caribou, except, at times, being highly flavoured with 
musk ; and hence no doubt the name by which the 
animal is known. The hair or wool is very similar 
to the covering of the bison, or wild ox of America. 


Some Indian tribes hunt these animals, for their 
flesh and skin. The Musk Ox, or Bull is not so tall as 
the deer, but is far more bulky. Their legs are short, 
and the shoulders are high. The hair is long and 
reaches to the ground. The wool is under, or 
within the hair, and is quite fine. Stuff manufac¬ 
tured of the wool is almost as soft and delicate as 
silk. Its horns are close to the head, and bend 
downwards. It runs fast, and climbs very steep 
precipices. 


CENTRAL AFRICA. 

The interior of Africa was scarcely known to 
the ancients. The Egyptians knew nothing farther 
than Gyrene and Lybia. The Romans were ac¬ 
quainted only with the parts of Africa bordering 
on or near the Mediterranean. And the Cartha- 
genians were too much engaged in commercial en¬ 
terprises, or in war with Rome, to explore the inte¬ 
rior. Since the close of the 15th century (1493) 
the Portuguese, Dutch and English have sailed 
round this quarter of the world, and examined much 
of its seacoasts: but still remained unacquainted 
with the interior. It is only within forty or fifty 
years, that British travellers have dared to penetrate 
these unknown regions. And even now much re¬ 
mains to be explored and visited. It is asserted by 
some writers that it forms one of the finest coun¬ 
tries on the globe ; but this, in part at least, seems 
to require more proof. Some late geographers 
bound Central Africa (though their description 
must necessarily be quite vague) on the north by 
the Great Desert; on the east a very large lake sepa¬ 
rates it from countries almost wholly unknown : its 
southern boundaries are still less defined ; and on 


the west is an extensive territory which separates it 
from the Atlantic coasts. The length of this re¬ 
gion is estimated at 1200 or 1300 miles, and its 
breadth at 500 or 600. The range called the 
Mountains of the Moon traverse Central Africa 
from west to east, and they serve to render the air 
comparatively cool and comfortable. The range 
begins near Sierra Leone, and runs nearly east, a 
great distance. The source of the Niger, so long 
unexplored, and a subject of curiosity and mystery, 
is now known to be about 200 miles east of Sierra 
Leone. Its course is nearly northeast a great 
distance, till it reaches the famous Timbuctoo; 
when it turns to the east and then to the south¬ 
east, then souUi, and then again southwest, when 
it mingles with the Atlantic, in about the eighth de¬ 
gree of north latitude. It has several names in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the country through which it runs, 
and receives numerous large tributary rivers. Its 
whole length is greater than that of the Nile 
The people in Central Africa are said to have made 
some progress in industry and civilization ; but it is 
only in comparison with other parts of that be¬ 
nighted country. 





























72 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


JOICE HETH. 

A coloured female with this name, said to be of 
the uncommon age of 161, is now in this city, 
exhibited, as is generally supposed, less with a view 
to show what is remarkable and singular, as a fact 
connected with longevity, than to the pecuniary 
profits of those who have her in keeping. It is 
pretended, that at the age of about sixty, she was a 
slave in the family of Augustine Washington, the fa¬ 
ther of General Washington, and was the nurse of the 
latter. We say pretended; for notw ithstanding the 
express and positive declarations, that there are 
documents sufficient to prove to all reasonable per¬ 
sons, that her age is that of 161, the evidence is not 
satisfactory to this point. And it is very extraor¬ 
dinary, that no account of this person has been 
given for fifty and sixty years past. There can be 
no doubt, that she is of an extraordinary age. Her 
appearance is a strong indication of this. But, 
that she is 161, or more than 120, or 100, there 
seems to be no full proof. The certificates are not 
of a character to remove all doubts and objections 
on the subject. 

In expressing doubts, that this female is of the 
very great age pretended, we ought perhaps, to say 
that they are entertained by several judicious per¬ 
sons, who are not remarkably incredulous, but who 
exercise a sound discretion before giving an opin¬ 
ion. If indeed, there is a record of the church of 
her admission 116 years ago, and of her age being 
at that time such as now to make her to be 161, 
we do not see but that must be conclusive evidence 
in the case. 


ZOOPHYTES. 

Zoophytes, in natural history, includes polypus, 
coral and sponge. They are fixed to a certain 
spot, and seem to have no motion or travel from 
it; and they grow like vegetables, yet evidently 
have some properties of animals. The polypus is 
the most remarkable of these ; and some are found 
in fresh water and some in salt. It has a capacity 
or power of re-producing the part destroyed ; and 
if cut into pieces in any direction, every part be¬ 
comes a perfect polypus. The coral is considered 
by some naturalists as a plant or vegetable, and by 
others as an animal. The roots of the coral are 
covered with bark. Efflorescing like vegetables, 
the coral is an animal in the form of a plant, with 
a stony stem jointed, united by spongy or horny 
junctures, covered by a soft porous cellular flesh or 
bark, and has mouths beset with oviparous polypes. 
They are said to consist of carbonate of lime and 
animal matter in equal proportions. Captain Cooke 
discovered immense and dangerous rocks or fields 
of coral in the Southern ocean, when he sailed 
over it sixty years ago. Many islands in the Pacific 
are composed wholly of coral. This article has 
been of some value in Europe and America, for 
beads and other toys; but we believe is no longer 
used as medicine. The places for fishing for coral 
are the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and the coasts of Afri¬ 
ca. Sponge may be described as “ fixed, flexible, tor¬ 
pid, elastic, of various forms, composed of fibres, or 
masses of small spines interwoven together, and 
clothed with a gelatinous flesh, full of small mouths 


on its surface, by which it absorbs and emits water 
It adheres to shells, rocks, &c., under cover of 
sea-water. The article used in commerce is found 
in the Mediterranean and in India: but it is lound 
on the seacoasts in other parts ol the earth. Diving 
and fishing for sponge is reckoned one great quali¬ 
fication of youth, in the countries where it is found 

BOSTON IN MARCH, 1776. 

Soon after the British army evacuated Boston in 
March 1776, one of its citizens, who had lelt it in the 
spring of 1775, describes its appearance as lollows ; 

“I returned to Boston, yesterday, from my exile, 
and arrived in this once flourishing, but now soli¬ 
tary town. Once more I tread the streets of Bos¬ 
ton; and with a sad and mourning feeling, view 
the havoc of civil war. Were I to give you a par¬ 
ticular detail of its situation last winter, and its pre¬ 
sent state, it would exceed the limits of my time 
and paper. You will excuse me therefore, il I only 
give you a hasty view of some occurrences which 
the little time I have been here has furnished. The 
face of the town is indeed, very little altered, ex¬ 
cept that the shops are shut, and many old buildings 
have been demolished. When we enter the houses 
there are seen the marks of violence and outrage; 
scarcely any who have not been robbed and plun¬ 
dered by the merciless bandit. Nor have public 
buildings and houses devoted to the worship of 
God escaped the outrage. The Old South Meeting¬ 
house presents a melancholy spectacle. Y he pulpit 
and galleries were taken down, the floor strewed 
with dirt, and made the receptacle of beasts. The 
Old North, that venerable building, fell a sacrifice 
to the importunity of the Tories, and was appropri¬ 
ated to their use, though the officer who ordered 
it to be taken down, is said to have done it with 
reluctance. The steeple of the West Meeting¬ 
house is taken dowm and otherwise damaged. They 
have demolished most ol the pictures in the Court¬ 
house and Faneuil Hall. The latter place hath 
undergone a strange metaniorj)hosis ; it was changed 
into a play-house, and is now in a very disordered 
state. The distresses of the people were very great 
last winter; being without fuel, and })rovisions very 
scarce and dear. The Tories were sanguine that 
the British troops would beat the rebels, until they 
failed in their design of driving them from Dorchester 
Heights. Their countenances then gathered pale¬ 
ness ; and in their distress they applied to those 
whom they had just before aflected to despise. 
Their distractions and distortions could be de¬ 
scribed only by the pencil of Hogarth. They are 
charged with being the instigators of all the mis¬ 
chiefs which happened.” 

The few and scattering remains of the Senecas 
and Cayugas, two of the six Indian tribes in the 
interior of the State of New York, are about re¬ 
moving from their former places of residence to the 
far West, beyond the Mississippi. The most of the 
Cayuga tribe had emigrated from New' York to the 
West, before; but they have lately sent a delega¬ 
tion to those of their tribe remaining behind, and 
to the remnant of the Senecas, to remove and settle 
in the distant W’^est. 







73 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 



CAPTAIN JaHN SMITH. 


John Smith, whose likeness, with the costume of 
a military man of his day, we give in the present 
number of the Magazine, may justly be ranked 
among the early distinguished navigators, on the 
American coasts, from Virginia to L’Acadie, or Nova 
Scotia ; a bold adventurer, and one of the most 
efficient characters to whose perseverance a colony 
was planted and sustained at James’ River, the first 
English settlement on this Continent. Captain 
Smith was born in 1580, and was early distinguished 
for bold adventure and daring exploits. At an 
early age, after some romantic incidents evincing a 
high spirit for enterprise, however hazardous, he 
sailed up the Mediterranean, and visited Alexandria 
in Egypt. Thence he coasted the Levant, and 
assisted in capturing a richly-laden ship belonging 
to Venice. He travelled through Italy, and thence 
into the dominions of the Archduke of Austria, 
There was then, as often since that period, a war 
between the Turks and Austrians, and Smith en¬ 
gaged, as a volunteer, in the service of the latter. 
His conduct for activity was such that he was made 
commander of a troop of horse, consisting of two 
hundred. He encountered several Turks, in single 
combat, on a challenge from each of them, and 
was victorious in every instance. 

On his return to England, he met with Gosnold 
about the year 1606, who had before visited the 
coasts of Northern Virginia, (or New England, as 
afterwards called,) and was persuaded by him to 
join a company for a settlement on James’ River. 
He was accused, with what justice we know not, 
of intending to usurp the authority of the pro¬ 
posed colony, and of meditating the murder of the 
chief men of the company: and he was kept sorpp 


time in confinement on this accusation. He was 
afterwards set at liberty, but had no formal trial on 
the charges made against him; and he rendered 
himself highly useful to the settlement, by his cour¬ 
age in action, and his policy when in the hands of 
the natives. Many adventures are narrated, in 
which Captain Smith was the chief actor, and in 
which he discovered equal judgment and bravery. In 
one of his excursions into the country, he was taken 
prisoner by the Indians, who were lurking in the 
forests. He was carried before Powhattan the 
great Sachem of that territory, and was about to be 
executed, when the Sachem’s daughter interceded 
in his behalf, and procured his liberation. After 
this and other trials and dangers. Captain Smith 
was tried on the charge before mentioned, and 
acquitted. He recovered heavy damages of his 
accusers, and generously gave the amount to the 
colony. 

There were difficulties and divisions among the 
early adventurers to Virginia, which proved very 
disastrous to the interest of the infant colony. 
Captain Smith had personal enemies, though he ren? 
dered the settlement important services on several 
occasions. He is represented as of a warm temper¬ 
ament, and sometimes might have given occasion 
for the opposition which was made to him. Dur¬ 
ing the first year of the colony, many of the leading 
men died of fever. One Ratcliffe was cAosen 
President, but Captain Smith was really the cnief 
support of the company. Sometime after this, 
Smith returned to England ; and in 1614 engaged 
in another expedition for discovery and trade in 
North Virginia. He had two vessels at his com- 
pii^nd, and he examined the coasts and bays from 

10 






74 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Penobscot to Cape Cod. Hunt was commander 
of one of these vessels, and was left on the coast 
by Captain Smith when he sailed for England. 
This was the Captain Hunt who forcibly carried otf 
two of the native Indians from Cape Cod, which 
was the cause of great enmity and trouble from the 
tribes in that vicinity. Captain Smith prepared a 
map of the coasts of North Virginia, then so called, 
and on his return presented it to Prince Charles, 
(afterwards Charles I.) who gave the country the 
name of New England; or rather confirmed the 
name previously suggested by Captain Smith him¬ 
self. In 1616, he received the title of Admiral of 
the country which he had visited and explored ; 
and he fitted out another expedition intended for 
America, when he was taken by the French and 
treated with great severity, on the pretence that he 
was a pirate. He travelled through most parts of 
England and Scotland after these disasters; and 
about 16-20—1, he published an account of his 
voyages and adventures in distant countries. He 
also wrote a History of Virginia, relating to the 
country and to the events which occurred during 
his connection with the colony. Other volumes 
or tractates were published by Captain Smith be¬ 
fore his death, which occurred in 1631; which de¬ 
tailed his adventures in the East, prior to his first 
visit to America. Perhaps full justice has not been 
done to the character of this brave and adventur¬ 
ous navigator and traveller. He was inferior to 
few of the daring men of that and a former age, 
who made discoveries in this western continent, 
at great dangers and perils ; and may justly be 
ranked near to Columbus, the Cabots, Raleigh, Gos- 
nold. Gorges and Hudson. 


TEMPERANCE. 

The cause of Temperance is still zealously advo¬ 
cated by the pious and benevolent through the 
United States. At the call of the Massachusetts 
Society, there was lately a Convention in Boston, 
composed of delegates from town and county so¬ 
cieties in all parts of the State. About four hun¬ 
dred persons attended, and the Assembly was very 
respectable as to talents and character. Several 
resolves were passed in favour of measures for 
checking the evils of intoxication, and for securing 
and promoting more extensively and fully the nu¬ 
merous benefits of Temperance. The Convention, 
though urged by some of the members, did not 
seem prepared to place wine and cider on the same 
footing as distilled liquors ; and while they were 
ready to recommend an abstinence from all intoxi¬ 
cating drinks, they hesitated as to the expediency 
pf requiring such a pledge, or absolute condition, 
and of thus, by implication at least, condemning all 
who use the milder beverage as immoral and un¬ 
christian. A long letter was read from Rev. Dr. 
Miller, of Princeton College, addressed to the Sec¬ 
retary of the Massachusetts Temperance Society, 
in reply to a note inviting him to attend the Con¬ 
vention ; in which he expressed an opinion against 
insisting on the pledge to forego and prohibit wine, 
in the manner the pledge was applied to ardent 
spirits. Dr. Miller is fully of opiniqn that such 4 


rule, or condition of any Temperance Society would 
operate unfavourably to the cause. 

We think the proceedings of the Convention will 
be favourably received by all benevolent and pious 
people, and its influence be auspicious to the cause 
of sobriety and virtue through the community. 


THE CRY OF INNOVATION. 

When Sir William Blackstone (sixty or seventy 
years ago) began to deliver his law lectures before 
the University of Oxford, an attempt was made to 
cry him down as a dangerous innovator. In one 
of his lectures (not published) he thus forcibly and 
eloquently retorted on his bigoted opponents. “ In 
former ages,” said Blackstone, “ when the inquis¬ 
itive and original mind of Bacon led him to inves¬ 
tigate the laws of nature, the theological animus 
conspired against him, and he was accused of hav¬ 
ing intercourse with evil spirits. On one occasion, 
when he was about to exhibit some curious experi¬ 
ments to a few friends, the secret got abroad, and 
the whole city and the colleges were all in an uproar. 
Priests and fellows and students were seen running 
about, and crying out, ‘ no conjurer, no conjurer.’ 
Galileo also was condemned by rnen whose names 
are remembered only as parts of the rubbish on 
which the pedestal of his fame is raised. And in 
our time there are those who seek to raise the cry 
of ‘ no conjurers ’ again, but I think you will soon 
find out that these people are at least no conjurers 
themselves.” 


First Invention of Glass. —According to 
Pliny, glass was invented by accident, in Syria, at 
the mouth of the river Belus. Some merchant ad¬ 
venturers, who were driven there by the fortune of 
the sea, were obliged to reside there for a time, 
and dress their victuals as they might. They made 
a fire on the ground, and some of the plant kali, 
which was found there, was burnt to ashes. The 
sand or stones accidentally mixed with it; and thus 
without any design a vitrification (or conversion in¬ 
to glass) took place; whence the first was taken 
and easily improved. The same writer says, that 
the first manufacture of glass was in Sidon. At a 
later period it was made at Rome ; and afterwards 
at Venice, to a great extent and with large profits. 
England and France have had large establishments 
for the manufacture of this article nearly a hundred 
years past; and now it is made in the United 
States sufficient for the wants of the whole popu¬ 
lation. — 

An edifice for the Mechanics’ Institution, is now 
building in Liverpool, England. The corner stone 
was laid by Lord Brougham; and it is said it will 
be the largest and most commodious structure of 
the kind in the whole kingdom. This Institution 
was formed about ten years ago, and at present 
numbers twelve hundred members. Strange as it 
may seem, there has been a great opposition to this 
Association, but it has increased and is still in¬ 
creasing. — 

Mathematics is a ballast for the mind to fix it; 
not to stall it, nor to keep out other arts. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


75 


LINES.—By T. Power. 

WRITTEN ON BOARD A PACKET SHIP, IN DELAWARE BAY, 
JUNE, 1835 , -ON HIS RETURN TO ENGLAND. 

Adieu Columbia! I have mark’d thee well. 

Nor yet/or ever do I leave thee now; 

And busy thoughts of thee my bosom swell. 

And thronging recollections load my brow— 

I’ve pierced from north to south thy eternal woods; 

Have dream’d on fair St. Lawrence’ sweetest isle; 

I’ve breasted Missisippi’s hundred floods, 

And won on Alleghany's top Aurora’s waking smile. 

And now we part—the ship is flying fast— 

Her pathway deck’d by wreaths of whirling foam. 

And all the swelling sails that bend each mast. 

Obey the flag which flutt’ring points to home. 

Home! home! That tender word let me retrace. 

And bid each letter conjure o’er the sea 
Some cherish’d wish, and every well-loved face. 

To banish thought of those from whom I flee. 

Yet shame I not to bear an o’er full heart. 

Nor blush to turn behind my tearful eyes; 

’T is from no stranger coast I now depart, 

’T is not to strangers left I yield these sighs— 

Welcome and home were mine within the land. 

Whose sons I leave, whose shores fade fast from me; 
And cold must be mine eye, and heart and hand. 

When, fair Columbia! they turn cold to thee. 


WEYER’S CAVE. 

This great natural curiosity is in the State of 
Virginia, and on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, 
about eighteen miles east of the town of Staunton. 
It is not far distant from Charlottesville College and 
Monticello, the former residence of the late Presi¬ 
dent Jefferson. This remarkable cave was not par¬ 
ticularly described by Mr. Jefferson, though he gave 
an account of the natural bridge and some other 
curiosities in his native State. A traveller who 
lately visited Weyer’s cave has given an interesting 
description of it; which he represents to be the 
greatest curiosity in a territory abounding with wild 
and beautiful scenery, and with interesting and sub¬ 
lime views. This cavern is not far from Madison’s 
cave so fully described by Mr. Jefferson, in his 
notes on Virginia. “ It was discovered by a man 
of the name of Weyer, in 1804, who at first sup¬ 
posed it to be the hole of a hedge-hog, but which 
on a little examination he found to be the entrance 
to this spacious cave. Like other caves in that vi¬ 
cinity, it is filled with concretions, formed by the 
falling or dripping of the lime stone (which abounds 
here) in a liquid state from the huge masses of 
rocks. One kind or form of these concretions is 
made by the dripping of the solvent in a hanging 
form like an issue, and another kind by the falling 
of the liquid limestone on the ground, gradually 
forming an upright column. The cave is filled 
with these concretions of all shapes, sizes, forms, 
resemblances and proportions imaginable ; and they 
form a most wonderful sight. 

“ The entrance is by an ante-room, at first ten 
feet high, and narrowing down to an enclosed 
orifice leading to the Dragon’s Room and the De¬ 
vil’s Gallery, where are some very large but rough 
concretions of no great beauty. Next is an im¬ 
mense area of easy access, descending by a flight of 
stairs thirteen feet perpendicular, and called the 
Temple of Solomon. It is filled with concretions 
of most wonderful and beautiful forms: one of 
them resembles a white marble throne, encrusted 


with diamonds. The next room is even yet more 
wonderful. The roof is studded with ten thousand 
limes ten thousand various formed concretions (of 
the pendent kind) of every conceivable shape and 
every possible conception of beauty : some coloured 
like the lip of the rose sea-shell, and others white, 
like the purest drift of newly fallen snow. There 
are thirty-four different rooms or apartments; in 
each of which are numerous individual curiosities. 
Many of these have already received names from 
the visitors; as the Pyramids, Pompey’s Pillar, the 
Laocoon, Niobe, Madonna, the Crane, the Parrot, 
&.C. In some places the concretions form a pillar 
from the top to the bottom of the room, which ap¬ 
pears like an artificial column to support the roof. 
One apartment is called the Music Room, where 
are two large sheets formed by the dripping solvent, 
which, if struck by the hand or foot, give a mellow, 
deep and euphonous sound, something like the beat 
of a drum. Another is called Washington Hall; a 
long apartment, near the middle of the cave, two 
hundred and sixty feet long, twenty broad and thirty 
feet high. It is a perfect level, regular and straight, 
and in the centre is a large pile of calcareous mat¬ 
ter about nine feet in height, greatly resembling a 
statue of Washington in classic costume.” 


ALOE. 

The American Aloe (agave) is a large plant, in 
the vocabulary of the naturalist, but may justly be 
called a tree, as it grows to the height of twenty 
feet; and sometimes, when transplanted and culti¬ 
vated, to nearly double that height. The aloe 
abounds in Mexico, and the southern parts of North 
America. Such is its beauty that it has been much 
cultivated in Europe; especially in Italy, Spain 
and Portugal. Branches issue from every side of 
the tree, and in such a manner as to give it the 
form of a pyramid, composed of fiowers, which 
stand erect and in thick clusters at every joint. 
When it is in full fiower, its appearance is very splen¬ 
did : and a succession of fiowers is produced for 
the space of three months, if the cold does not pre¬ 
vent. Though it is cultivated in Europe, it is very 
seldom known to blossom in that climate. “ The 
flowers of the Aloe have the tube of the corolla 
narrowed in the middle; the stamens are longer 
than the corolla, and the styles longer than the 
stamens. The stem which bears the blossoms rises 
from the centre of the leaves. The juice of the 
leaves is made into cakes and used for washing. 
The fibres of the leaves may be separated into 
threads, which are in various ways useful; but they 
are not very strong or durable.” 

The Aloe plant is also a native of India and of 
the south of Africa; but is not so large. It is 
used for medicinal purposes, and is highly valued 
by the inhabitants. It was sometimes used by the 
ancients in embalming dead bodies. Aloes was 
one of the articles brought by Josephus and Nico- 
demus to embalm the body of Jesus after he was 
taken down from the cross. 


Melancthon, the friend of Luther, the day before 
his death, said to his children,—“ I wish you to 
worship sincerely, to be one wdth Christ in spirit, 
and to live in love with each other.” 








76 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ON MENTAL POWERS OF THE TWO SEXES. 

The question as to the different intellectual capac¬ 
ities and talents of man and woman, has been fre¬ 
quently agitated ; and it seems to be decided, that in 
most respects there is an equality of mental power ; 
and that, in quickness of apprehension and accura¬ 
cy of discrimination, women generally excel. Their 
imagination is not surpassed by the other sex ; nor 
is their judgment less to be depended on, in cases 
where they have had experience and a full opportu¬ 
nity to compare. For in most cases, judgment is 
but another name for taste; and in taste,as well as 
in imagination, women have long been allowed the 
highest meed of praise. But they also make rapid 
progress in studies, which require something more 
than taste and imagination. They are equally 
capable of attention as the other sex ; and their 
memory is also equally retentive. In the study of 
grammar and in acquiring a knowledge of lan¬ 
guages, they succeed altogether as well as men: And 
their compositions on most subjects, may be justly 
pronounced equally pure and elegant, when com¬ 
pared with those of the masculine pen. 

In metaphysics and mathematics, their trophies 
have not been so great. But it may be said perhaps 
that they have not put forth any efforts in these de¬ 
partments. And it may be as well that they should 
not. For other and indispensable duties seldom 
allow them the leisure for such severe application. 
It may be a question, whether their delicate consti¬ 
tutions would be equal to such long and close inves¬ 
tigation as those studies require: There is little doubt, 
that they have mental strength and capacity, suffi¬ 
cient. As in the frame and the duties, so there 
seems also to be a difference in the studies appro¬ 
priate to man and to woman. It is proper, no 
doubt, that the distinction should be kept up in 
their education, and their literary labors. Most 
branches of knowledge and most departments of 
science are common to both ; since both have equal 
capacity for advances in them. But the more 
abstruse and recondite sciences may well be exclu¬ 
sively for the pursuit of man, while most that are 
useful, and all that are necessary, pleasant and im¬ 
proving may be profitably cultivated by woman as 
well as by man. If formerly there were any doubt 
on this subject, the present age has given many 
proofs to remove it. 

It is proper for young ladies to study the princi¬ 
ples of ethics and moral philosophy. For every 
accountable being should be made to understand 
the difference between the right and wrong of 
actions. The conscience or moral sense of every 
one is in some measure a guide and a judge in this 
respect. But like other faculties should be culti¬ 
vated, and may be improved. Our perceptions may 
be rendered accurate, and less likely to mislead us, 
by careful observations, and our discrimination more 
just and useful in settling all questions in morals. 
In the various relation of society and in the chang¬ 
ing circumstances of life, it will be important to de¬ 
cide correctly, to satisfy one’s own mind as well as 
to avoid giving just occasion of offence. 


If knowledge without religion were estimable, 
even Satan would have strong claims to worth. 


RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD. 

The latest and most accurate census of the whole . 
human family gives nearly eight hundred millions; 
or, perhaps, seven hundred and seventy-five millions 
would be more correct. If the religious sects both 
of Brahmanism and Budhism, (which are essentially 
the same) and which occupy the most of Asia and 
its islands, are reckoned together, they make two 
hundred and seventy millions; and are more nu¬ 
merous than any other. The Christian sects form 
the next highest number, being computed at two 
hundred and fifty or sixty millions. Of these, the 
Roman Catholics are the most numerous, being 
about one hundred and thirty millions; the Greek 
Church, half that number; and the Protestants 
nearly the same. The Mahometans are computed 
at one hundred millions ; the Jews, at about four 
millions, and Pagans at one hundred or one hun¬ 
dred and fifty millions. When will the light of the 
glorious gospel ” shine on these ignorant nations 
of the earth ? Human efforts alone cannot be ex¬ 
pected to accomplish the work in many centuries. 
And yet the object is worthy of zealous exertions, 
and it must be the prayer of every sincere Chris¬ 
tian, “ Thy kingdom come.” 

RUSSIAN OBSERVATORY. 

A magnificent and royal building is to be erected 
near St. Petersburgh, Russia, to assist in astronomi¬ 
cal observations and discoveries. According to the 
descriptions which we have seen, it will be a second 
Babel. The edifice is to cover a piece of ground 
eight hundred feet in length, and nearly of the 
same extent in width. The height is to be in pro¬ 
portion to the dimensions of the base, and will pro¬ 
bably exceed three hundred feet. The expense of 
the building is supposed to be £2,000,000; and 
£9,000 annually are appropriated for professors 
and instruments. An astronomical observatory is 
wanted in the United States; and one of half the 
extent and height of that proposed in Russia would 
be amply sufficient. Can Congress do better with 
a portion of its great surplus funds and revenue 
than to apply it to such a noble purpose ? Our 
Republic ought to be distinguished for its patron¬ 
age of science, as well as for its protection of the 
rights of man. 

Silk Manufacture in America. —It is stated 
in the Silk Culturist, published at Hartford, that 
there was a filature, or an establishment for wind¬ 
ing silk from cocoons in Philadelphia, in the year 
1770; and, in 1771, that two thousand three hund¬ 
red pounds were carried there to be reeled. The 
ladies, it is said, gave particular attention to it; and 
about that time, a lady of Lancaster county made 
a piece of Mantuan silk of sixty yards from her own 
cocoons. The queen of England, it is added, gave 
her patronage to the manufacture, by appearing in 
a dress of American silk on a court day. Now, 
all our silks are imported. Grace Fisher, of the 
Society of Friends, also made silk stuffs (at a some¬ 
what later period) some of which was presented by 
Governor Dickenson to the celebrated Mrs. M’Cau- 
ly. A number of ladies in this country, before the 
Revolution, wore dresses of silk manufactured here. 








OF USEFUL 

FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 

Before the adoption of the Federal Constitution 
in 178S, the thirteen North American States were 
independent and sovereign republics, or common¬ 
wealths, They were so after the fourth of July 
1776, when the assembled delegates from each 
of these States or governments declared them in¬ 
dependent of Great Britain. They were each 
entirely sovereign in their respective jurisdiction and 
territory. And they were absolutely separate from 
and independent of, one another, except in so far 
as they chose to act unitedly and in concert, for 
their general or common defence. They had then 
all one enen)y, and were engaged in the same cause ; 
the preservation of civil liberty in opposition to ar¬ 
bitrary power. The Congress under the Confede¬ 
ration during the war and after, could only recom¬ 
mend to, or make requisitions on the separate 
States, which might comply, or not, as they should 
deem just and proper. 

The defects of this system were early seen and 
felt; especially, on the call of Congress, soon after 
peace, upon the several States to make advances 
to discharge the Continental debt, and the States 
declining or omitting a compliance. A proposition 
was made, coming first officially from Governor 
Bowdoin of Massachusetts, for enlarging the powers 
of Congress, so as that body might have full powder 
to regulate trade, and raise a revenue to pay oflf the 
public debt. The recommendation of Governor 
Bowdoin probably led the Virginia Legislature to 
propose a meeting of committees from the several 
States, in Maryland in 1786, to consult on the sub¬ 
ject. That meeting, though not a large one, advised 
to a convention, which was held in Philadelphia in 
1787, and framed the Federal Constitution. 

This Constitution was proposed by the authority 
of separate States, it was formed by delegates of the 
State governments, and afterwards was adopted by 
the majorities in the States. And it was a condi¬ 
tion for the authority to establish the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment under this Constitution, that two-thirds of 
the thirteen States should accept it. When then 
it is said, “ that the people adopted the Constitution, 
and established the Federal Government,” it is only 
so far true, as that a majority in a State assented to 
and adopted it, acting however as members of their 
respective States, and as they are the source of politi¬ 
cal power in a republican government. But, when it 
is asserted, “ that the Constitution w'as adopted, 
and the Federal Government was established, by the 
people, and not by the States,” it is not true in a 
strict and unqualified sense. The people are justly 
acknowledged the source of all political power, in 
the United States, and therefore no government is 
formed except by them or their representatives and 
deputies. But in adopting the Federal Constitution, 
and establishing the Federal Government, the peo¬ 
ple voted and acted by States. They could do no 
otherwise. They were already members of a State 
or civil government; to w hich they owed allegiance, 
and then their sole allegiance. They could not as 
individuals throw off their allegiance to the State, of 
which they were members, and which they were 
bound to obey and support. Nor did the propo¬ 
sition to form a new general government come from 


INFORMATION. 77 

the people, but from the government of the sepa¬ 
rate States. The only regular way in which the 
people could act in the case, and certainly the way in 
which they did act, was through and by the gov¬ 
ernments already established, wliich were sovereign 
and independent. 

When the Constitution was thus prepared and 
formed, it was indeed submitted to the people of 
each separate State. But they were to act by 
States; and unless the majority of a State adopted 
the proposed frame of Federal Government, the 
votes given in its favor counted nothing,—they 
were entirely lost. It was the majority of States, 
and not of the people, considered separately from 
the States, which was required in order to the estab¬ 
lishment of the Federal Government. If a sufficient 
number of the people in Massachusetts, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina, had 
been in favor of the Constitution in 1787, so as to 
constitute two-thirds of the whole number in all the 
thirteen States, still it would not have been accept¬ 
ed, nor the Federal Government established under 
it. There must be two-thirds of the States, or 
majorities in two-thirds of the States, to meet and 
fulfil the condition proposed for adopting it. The 
voice of a minority in a State could not be heard; 
it could have no effect. The minority of a sove¬ 
reign and independent State, in 1788, could not 
divest themselves of their allegiance to their State, 
and put themselves under the Federal Government. 
The attempt would have been rebellion or revo¬ 
lution. 

This is not only matter of fact, which cannot be 
denied ; but the view is fully sustained by the gene¬ 
ral tenor and provisions of the Constitution, which 
is designed for a federal government. So it was 
early considered ; and so it ought still to be con¬ 
sidered. And if it is a federal, then it is not a con¬ 
solidated government, in the strict and full mean 
ing of the term. If it were a complete consolidated 
government, then it would necessarily be without 
limits, and without control by, or accountability to 
the States. But this it surely is not, if the Consti¬ 
tution be taken in its plain and natural meaning; 
if it is considered that it is a compact between seve¬ 
ral independent States, for certain and specified 
objects, fully set forth and defined; and that all 
power not given by the several States to Congress, 
remains with the respective States, or wdth the peo¬ 
ple of the States, acting by and through the author¬ 
ity of their States. 

For certain purposes, the General Government 
may perhaps be said to be a national or consolida¬ 
ted one; that is, its power is supreme and uncon¬ 
trolled, in the cases enumerated in the Constitution, 
which the States made, and by which they delegat¬ 
ed authority, for great national purposes, as therein 
particularly mentioned. 

By the Constitution, Congress is authorized, or 
commissioned, as Mr. King said, to act and to 
legislate for certain purposes and objects, as set forth 
in that document. And the authority of the Gene¬ 
ral or Federal Government is complete in those 
cases. But whenever it oversteps the bounds 
marked out, and undertakes to make and execute 
laws, in cases where power is not given to it, it acts 





78 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


without due authority, and its orders or enactments 
are not binding on the States, nor on the people of 
the States. The only security the people have 
from oppression, or arbitrary and unconstitutional 
laws, is in the State authority. To this they must 
look, and to this they have and will look, for re¬ 
dress. And it is the duty of a State government 
to stand betwen the people and the improper acts 
of the Federal Government. 

The States then, and not the people individually, 
are the constituents of the federal rulers and gov¬ 
ernment. And they have a right to judge whether 
their agents exceed their authority or not. Still the 
acts and wishes of the States will be such as the 
majority of the people of a State shall direct or ex¬ 
press. Let us take a case. In the war of 1812, 
the President of the United Stales called for the 
militia of Massachusetts to turn out, and to be 
placed under an officer of the United States’ army, 
and to be marched and stationed where he might 
please. But the Governor and authority of the 
State declined, saying that the General Government 
had no right to the militia except in cases expressly 
pointed out in the Constitution, and that such a 
case did not then exist. Here the government of 
the State of Massachusetts undertook to say, you 
have exceeded the power given in the Constitution: 
your law, or order, is not just, and we are not bound 
to comply with it.* 

If the authority of the national government is 
complete as to all cases, wherein it may choose and 
claim to decide, then it is not for the government 
or people of a State to refuse, or to deliberate. It 
should obey. But where then would be the secu¬ 
rity for the rights and liberty of the people ? And 
what if the Executive of the United States had at¬ 
tempted to coerce Massachusetts into a compliance 
with its commands, at whose door would it be right 
and just to lay all the violence and misery which 
might have ensued ? And now, if there should be 
war with France, and the Executive of the United 
States should order the militia of Massachusetts for 
the defence of New Orleans, would they probably 
march, or would they consider the order constitu¬ 
tional? Suppose an anti-commercial administra¬ 
tion should pass an embargo act for an indefinite 
time, and keep it on for two, and three and four 
years, would it be acquiesced in, as an exercise of 
constitutional power, or within the meaning and 
intent of the compact made by the States for gene¬ 
ral purposes, for the good of the country, or the 
protection of commerce ? 

* “ The early apprehensions of some of the friends of the Con¬ 
stitution, which arose from an imagined imbecility in its structure, 
have subsided : and the severe trials it has sustained, sufficiently 
demonstrate its tone and vigor. The proofs of its strength, 
however, have been intermingled with admonitions of its tendency 
to accumulate power by refinement and construction. And should 
the time ever arrive when the sovereignty of the States shall be 
merged in the General Government, the catastrophe will probably 
be effected by the extension of constructive prerogatives. What¬ 
ever difficulties may occur in drawing the line between those 
rights which have been surrendered to the General Government 
and those retained by the several States, it must he remem¬ 
bered, that, on any question of doubtful import, touching the dis¬ 
tribution of power, a favorable construction is due to the individ¬ 
ual States, under a provision, as sacred as it is explicit and 
decisive, “ that all powers not expre.ssly delegated, are reserved 
o the States,” respectively, and to the people.”— Gov. Brooks. 


Several other provisions of the Constitution go to 
show, that the government created by it was in¬ 
tended to be of a federal character, rather than 
national or consolidated. Each State, however 
small, has an equal representation or voice in the 
Senate; which is a part of the Legislature, and 
partakes also in some respects of the power of the 
Executive. The appointments by the President are 
incomplete till the Senate gives its assent and ap¬ 
probation. The President has his Cabinet, chosen 
from what State he pleases. But they are no part 
of the Legislature, nor of the Executive even, as 
known in the Constitution. The Senate have a 
voice in appointments to office; and this body 
represents States and not the people, distinct from 
the government and sovereignty of the States. 
Delaware and Rhode Island have as many votes in 
that body as New York or Pennsylvania. The 
electors of the President are partly federal and 
partly national, or according to population, each 
State having the number of electors equal to its 
Representatives and Senators. But if no choice be 
made by the Electors, the election is decided in the 
House of Representatives ; and how ? by a vote of 
every State, great or small. It is also plainly agree¬ 
able to the Constitution, that the Legislatures of the 
several States should appoint them if they see fit, 
or appoint a different manner for their election. 

The States are also divided into Districts, but 
within their respective territories, for the choice of 
Representatives to Congress. The Districts are 
not made through the whole Union, regardless of 
State lines; nor can a fraction in one State be 
joined to a fraction in another State, to make a 
District for the election of a member. In fact, the 
States are kept distinct, and are recognised as 
separate and independent States by the Constitu¬ 
tion ; acting as such, and which, for certain objects 
and purposes common to all, have given power to 
the General Government; but without intending to 
form a consolidated or unlimited one. 

It is a prevailing opinion, that the National or 
Federal Executive is claiming too much authority ; 
and that it is necessary to keep him within the lim¬ 
its of the power clearly granted to the President. 
There is the same reason, in principle, for keeping 
the Federal Legislature and each branch of it, with¬ 
in the limits of authority given to it by the Consti¬ 
tution. It may be said, that a body of men, like 
the Senate or House of Representatives, would not 
probably abuse power, or exceed their just author¬ 
ity. But have we not seen undue excitement, party 
feeling, and rash decisions in bodies of men, as 
well as in an individual ? The Federal Legislature 
has a rule and a limit for its action, as well as the 
President. It cannot, without usurpation, exert 
authority and power not clearly delegated by those 
who instituted the General Government. It can¬ 
not legislate on subjects and topics not specifically 
enumerated or allowed. When an instrument like 
that of the Federal Constitution is prepared, the 
power specified, and the purposes and objects enu¬ 
merated, are all about which the public agents can 
legislate or act. The power not delegated is re¬ 
tained, even if there had been no particular restric¬ 
tive clause. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


79 


The provision relating to amendments to the 
Constitution affords proof also, that a Federal and 
not a consolidated government was created by 
it; that the State, and not the people without re¬ 
gard to the States, were considered the framers of 
and parties to the compact. Amendments are to 
be added, when two-thirds of the States, approve 
and adopt them, not when two-thirds of the whole 
population demand or require it. It is the people 
ultimately, indeed, who must adopt or reject any 
amendments proposed; but they can only act 
in their respective States, and through the several 
authorities thereof. The citizens of one State can¬ 
not act with those of another State; nor is the 
opinion, whether there is a proper majority for an 
amendment, dependent on the vote of the whole 
people, but on the number of States, in which 
majorities are in favor of it. 

These remarks, I trust, will not justify the charge 
of being an advocate for the doctrine of Nullifica¬ 
tion ; especially, to the extent urged lately in South 
Carolina ; but I have no objection to be considered 
opposed to the doctrine of Consolidation, as stated 
and contended for by some politicians of the present 
times. In the former case, there would be no sta¬ 
bility in the Union ; and in the latter, no just recog¬ 
nition of State rights. But what is the proper 
remedy or measure, when a State refuses to submit 
to a law of Congress, or an order of the Federal 
Executive? Or when Congress passes laws which 
they are not authorized by the Constitution to enact; 
or the President gives directions, which is beyond 
his legitimate constitutional authority ? There may 
be cases of both. It is not probable that a case 
will often occur, of a State refusing obedience to 
a constitutional law or command. The danger is 
chiefly to be apprehended from the exercise or as¬ 
sumption of power in the Federal Government 
over the States or the people, which has not been 
delegated to it. Power has a tendency to an in¬ 
crease of its extent and supremacy. The power 
of the General Government is great, and it is con¬ 
tinually grasping and aiming at more, under the 
plea of expediency or of the public good. In 
monarchies, the prerogative of the prince is often 
exercised, without law and beyond law. But if it 
is not exercised with a sound discretion, and when 
the good of the subjects require it, there will be 
uneasiness, and danger of overt acts of disobedience. 
In our republican governments, very little is left to 
the discretion of rulers. Judges must decide ac¬ 
cording to law, and rulers and legislators must be 
governed and controlled by the Constitution. And 
the legislative bodies are as much bound by its pro¬ 
visions, as the Executive. His prerogative must be 
limited by the exigency of the case. Where it is 
evidently necessary for good, for protection and 
safety, it may be endured and justified ; but if it be 
oppressive, unjust, or of doubtful tendency, it will 
not be approved or submitted to by a people jealous 
of their rights. 

It should ever be borne in mind, that rulers, or 
public agents are amenable to the people, and their 
power limited by the Constitution. In party times, 
the majority will care less for it, than for their tri¬ 
umph: no matter w hat the party is, or what they 


profess. Nor can the liberties of the people be 
secure, but by adhering to great primary principles 
of republicanism. The General Government has 
power enough delegated to it by the States. The 
States must take care that encroachments are not 
made on them. The people in the several States 
must maintain their reserved rights, and all the 
authority not clearly delegated, as the only means 
of preserving equal liberty. When the rights of 
the States are prostrated, the people will have no 
security for republican freedom. 

The Constitution also may be amended and 
altered by the Legislatures (that is by the govern¬ 
ment) of the States. But the people are not to 
vote in the case. 

Note. —Mr. Adams, in his annual Message to Congress in 
December, 1828, says,—“The United States of America, and 
the people of every State of w’hich they are composed, are each 
of them sovereign powers. The Legislative authority of the 
whole is exercised by Congress, under authority granted them in 
the common Constitution. The legislative power of each State is 
exercised by assemblies deriving their authority from the Consti¬ 
tution of the State. Each is sovereign within its awn province. 
The distribution of power between them, presupposes that these 
authorities will move in harmony with each other. The members 
of the State and General Governments are alt under oath to sup¬ 
port both, and allegiance is due to one and to the other. The 
case of a conflict between these two powers has not been supposed, 

NOR HAS ANY PROVISION BEEN MADE FOR IT, IN OUR 

institutions; as a virtuous nation of ancient times existed for 
more than five centuries without a law for the punishment of 
parricide.’’ 

EARLY HOME. 

There are few minds so callous as to revisit the 
scenes of their childhood, without experiencing some 
emotion. And whether these are in the crowded 
city, amidst all the coarse and ordinary objects of 
vulgar life, or in the lonely valley, with its green 
hills and its gliding streams, the same feelings swell 
the heart, as the thoughts of the past rush over it: 
for they speak to us of the careless days of our 
childhood, of the gay dreams of our youth, of the 
transient pleasures of our prime, of the faded joys 
of our old age. They speak to us of parents now 
sleeping in the dust, of playfellows in a far distant 
land, of companions altered or alienated, of friends 
become as strangers, of love changed into indifi'er- 
ence. They speak to us also, it may be, of time 
mispent, of talents misapplied, of warnings neglect¬ 
ed, of blessings despised, of peace departed. 

They may speak to us, perhaps, of God’s holy 
law slighted, of his precepts contemned, of himself 
forsaken ; of hearts, alas ! not purified and renewed 
by that grace which they never sought for; but like 
the wasted volcano, parched and blasted in their 
own unholy fires. Fairer scenes all may have view¬ 
ed than those on which their eyes first opened ; but 
in them we behold only the inanimate objects of 
nature, which, however they may charm the senses, 
or fill the imagination, yet want that deep and 
powerful interest, which seems entwined with our 
existence, and which gives a local habitation and a 
name so powerful a mastery over us. 

The following case recorded in a London periodi¬ 
cal, for July 5th, we think not entirely singular ; but 
it is a very extraordinary and uncommon one.—‘ The 
wife of a laboring man near Broomsgrove had four 
female children, at one birth, in June last.’ 





so 


PICTORIAL IJBRARY 



ANCIENT BUILDINGS IN BOSTON. 


The building, a view of which is here given, is 
probably the most ancient now standing in the city 
of Boston. It is situated in the vicinity of Faneuil 
Hall, so long and justly celebrated for the meetings 
of this patriotic town, immediately before the Revo¬ 
lution of 1775; and where the friends of constitu¬ 
tional liberty often raised their voices in remon¬ 
strances agamst the arbitrary power exercised by the 
British ministry. The building is at the corner of Ann 
Street and the open square adjoining Faneuil Hall; 
and is chiefly remarkable for its age and antiquated 
form. It was erected one hundred and fifty- 
five years ago; and from its appearance was pro¬ 
bably built for a dwellinghouse with a store in 
front. Many buildings were so designed and ap¬ 


propriated one hundred and fifty, and one hundred 
years ago. The timber of the house is oak, and 
where it has been kept dry, is now hard and sound. 
The outside is covered with plastering, or what is 
commonly called rough-cast. The building is only 
thirty-two feet by eighteen, and is two stories high. 
The tide waters formerly flowed on the south and 
even oh the southwest side of the house ; but so 
much land has been artificially made below it, that 
now it is seventy rods from the nearest water of the 
harbour. A law was made just before this house was 
erected, requiring that all buildings near the market 
and centre of the town should be of brick, or be 
plastered on the outside, as this ancient edifice is. 



The triangular building, or warehouse.— 
As we have referred to ancient buildings in Boston, 
it has been thought proper to speak of the Trian¬ 
gular Warehouse and the Julien House, so called ; as 
affording specimens of the form of edifices a century 
ago. The triangular building recently taken down, 
was situated at a short distance from Faneuil Hall, 
and at the northeast of the vacant space around it. 
It made a corner of an avenue from Market Square 
to Ann Street. The land was granted to Gover¬ 
nor Bellingham about 1640. The building was 


forty-eight feet by fi.^'ty. It was of brick, and cov¬ 
ered with slate. The lower story was arched with 
several doors and windows. There was a tower in 
the centre and at each end of the building. The 
tradition is, that this building was anciently a cus¬ 
tom-house ; another account is, that it was built 
by London merchants in 1700, for a place to store 
the goods sent by them to Boston for the New 
England market. It was long a place of consid¬ 
erable business, and the public scales were formerly 
kept there. 





















































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


81 



The Julien House was one of the ancient 
buildings in Boston, but has been lately removed. 
This house was situated at the corner of Congress 
and Milk Streets. In a great fire in 1759, this 
building was saved, though all others near it were 
consumed. Fifty or sixty years ago, several such 
buildings were standing in the city ; but they were 


very old and have been taken down, and brick or 
stone buildings erected in tlicir place, in the modern 
style and form. This house was many years a 
celebrated place of refreshments kept by a French¬ 
man ; but there was nothing very remarkable about 
it, except its antique form. 


SURVIVORS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

It is now more than sixty years since the war of 
the Revolution began, and yet a good number re¬ 
main of those who took an active part in the con¬ 
test from the commencement. At the Centennial 
celebration at Concord, on the 12th of September, 
there were present twelve persons who were under 
arms on the 19th of April, 1775, and who belonged 
to the military companies which repelled the British 
troops, who marched to Concord on that day to 
seize upon the stores deposited there by the Pro¬ 
vincial Congress. The most of them were above 
eighty years old, and yet appeared in good health. 

The clergyman of Concord, who was a chaplain 
in the Revolutionary Army, and is eighty-four, is 
still living and in good health. He led in the pub¬ 
lic devotions of the day with propriety and ability. 
We add, here, that a few days after, we met in Bos¬ 
ton another Revolutionary personage of about eighty, 
who possesses great bodily as well as mental activ¬ 
ity; and who was an aid to Major General Lincoln, 
and afterwards, near the close of the war, one of the 
aids of the Commander in Chief. This is Hon. 
Judge Baylies, of Bristol County. 


THE JEVV^S. 

In a late address of Professor Tholuck before the 
British Society for the Conversion of the Jews, he 
asserted, “ that more proselytes had been made 
from among the Jews, during the last twenty years, 
than in any similar period since the first ages of 
the Christian Church. Both in Germany and in 
Poland, there has been surprising success. In the 
University of Breslau, there are now three profes¬ 
sors who were native Jews, and educated in the 
faith of Judaism. At Halle, there are now five 
professors, who were formerly Jews.” The Profes¬ 
sor farther says, that he has perfeet confidence in 


their sincerity. He speaks of other instances, and 
that of learned Jews, who have recently embraced 
the Christian faith. He has himself been instru¬ 
mental in bringing some Jews to the “acknowl¬ 
edgement of the truth as it is in Jesus;” and he 
expresses a belief that proper efforts may lead oth¬ 
ers of that nation to receive Jesus of Nazareth as 
the true Messiah. 


Isinglass is a preparation, formerly^ made only from 
the great sturgeon; but is now obtained from the en¬ 
trails of most other fishes. When good, it consists 
almost wholly of pure gelatine, or glue, which is 
nutritious. It is free from taste and smell, and is 
soluble in warm water. Beinsr nothing more than 
the membraneous parts of fishes, it can probably be 
made from the fish on the coasts in this country. 
The sounds or air-bladders of fresh water fish are 
generally preserved for this purpose. And it is 
best made in the warm season. It is sometimes 
used as a medicine ; but boiled in milk it forms a 
nutritious jelly, and is the substance of blanc mange 
It is also used for refining coffee, and vinous liquors, 
and cider. 


The Morus Alba, or White Italian Mul¬ 
berry.— “ In order to make assurance doubly sure, 
we would recommend to persons who may have 
sown the seed of this tree, the present season, to 
cover their “plant beds as soon as winter sets in, 
either with straw or long stable manure, to be con¬ 
fined by a slight covering of smaJj brush wood, 
which should be permitted to remain on the beds 
until about the middle of April, when it should 
be gradually removed, so as not to expose the 
plants too suddenly to the changes of the weather 
at that unsettled season of the year. This precau 
tion will not be necessary after the first winter.^” 

U 
































































82 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE EXERCISE OF RIDING. 

Next to the important subjects of education and 
temperance, which concern the developement of 
the intellectual faculties, and the preservation of 
good morals, the enjoyment of health, by a proper 
degree and kind of bodily exercise, justly demands 
attention. A portion of time for the purpose of 
bodily exercise or labour has been proved by 
experience to be necessary; and learned physi¬ 
cians are now more decided in pressing its util¬ 
ity, than formerly. The importance of such ex¬ 
ercise is most evident in society composed of 
literary and opulent men. The labouring classes 
in the community do not need admonitions in 
favour of exercise. Their daily and constant oc¬ 
cupation affords sufficient labour for health, and for 
the perfection of their bodily faculties. But it is 
not so with the rich and the studious. They are 
not compelled to manual labour; and they often 
suffer from want of exercise to expand and invig¬ 
orate their physical powers. For these, and for 
females, who do little else than read and sew, ex¬ 
ercise is necessary, and it should be made a specific 
object to take sufficient, to keep off both disease 
and ennui, and to prepare for the highest degree of 
health and enjoyment, of which our nature is sus¬ 
ceptible. In men, this exercise may consist in the 
use of the mechanic’s tools, in riding, walking and 
athletic sports. In woman, walking is a useful and 
healthy exercise; and we would also mention the 
wheel, did we not fear the charge of being an anti¬ 
quated and ignorant barbarian. The women it is 
said w'alk much more in England than in this coun¬ 
try. And no doubt they have belter health on this 
account. But for those who have lost their health, 
or have become somewhat debilitated from the long 
neglect of a proper measure of exercise, riding on 
horse-back is probably the best employment which 
can be resorted to. And, though some ladies have 
been accustomed to the exercise from youth, a few 
hints may be useful to the many, not habituated to 
the practice. For riding is an art; and whoever 
would do it with ease and elegance must take the 
trouble or care to learn. Merely to guide the horse 
and keep one’s seat is not enough. 

In mounting, let the trail of the habit or gown be 
gathered up, the whip held in the right hand, (Fig. 1.) 

1 



and tne hat or bonnet well fastened, that no effort be 
required to prevent it blowing off. For the whole 
attention will be needed to manage the horse, and 
to sit safely and properly in the saddle. The groom 
should assist in holding the horse and enabling the 
lady to mount. She receives the reins from him 
(Fig. 2.) just on the rise of the hQfse’s shoulder, 


2 



with her right hand over the saddle or the off, or 
right side, placing her fore finger between the 
reins; and when the groom gives up his hold, she 
draws back her hand gently, and sufl'ers the reins to 
pass gently through her fingers, and lakes hold of 
the near crutch of the pommel, still holding the whip 
and reins, and placing herself close to the near 
side of the saddle, with her back rather towards it. 
The reins should be held straight or gently tight till 
the lady mounts, in which she is assisted by the 
groom. She places her left foot in his hand, who 
stoops to receive it; and she lays her left hand on 
his shoulder, and rises (Fig. 3.) by such help into 

3 



the saddle. In this manner, the lady is mounted 
w'ilh little difficulty. Before placing her knee over 
the pommel, which some ladies are apt to do, her 
left foot should be put in the stirrup, by aid of the 
groom, and she move her hand to the off crutch of 
the pommel, still holding the whip and reins as be¬ 
fore, (Fig 4 a.) She will now raise herself on the 



stirrup by aid of her right hand, while with her left, 
she draws forward her habit to its proper place, 
or the groom may assist in this. Then placing her 
right knee in the pommel, she is duly seated for a 
ride. (Fig. 4 6.) The bottom of the habit may be 
fastened by a brooch or pins, if necessary. If the 
habit needs altering, the lady raises herself very lit¬ 
tle in the stirrup, and pulls herself gently forward by 




















OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


83 


her right hand, which has still hold of the off crutch 
of the pommel, and easily disposes of it with her 
left hand, without stopping the horse. 

Holding the reins, for those not much used to 
riding, requires attention. The right hand is re- 
nioved from the pommel, the reins are separated, 
one held in each, passing between the third and 
fourth fingers, the ends brought over the right fin¬ 
ger, and the thumb closed on them to keep them 
in their places, and the hands shut, a little dis¬ 
tance apart, and on a level, about three inches 
from the breast. By slightly advancing the hands, 
or relaxing a little the hold of the reins, the horse (if 
properly trained) will go forward. The left hand 
of the lady should be raised, to turn to the near or 
left side, and the right hand, to turn to the oppo¬ 
site direction. By a slight raising and drawing 
both hands towards the breast, the horse will stop. 
When one rein is used or drawn, to turn the horse, 
the other should be gently slackened. After a lit¬ 
tle experience, the lady should hold the reins in her 
left hand—some separate them by the third and 
fourth fingers, and some, by the fourth and little 
finger; but most, use the latter only for this object. 
The reins are held flat on each other in the hand 
near the middle joint of the fore finger, and the 
thumb placed on them, that their ends fall down in 
front of the knuckles. The elbow should not be 
squeezed close to the side, nor thrust out in an 
awkward position, but carried easily at a moderate 
distance from the body. If the lady wishes the 
horse to advance, she brings her thumb towards 
her, till the knuckles are uppermost; the reins may 
be thus slackened, to permit the horse to go for¬ 
ward. When he is in motion, the lady’s hand 
should return to the first position gradually, or 
slightly advanced, and the thumb turned upwards. 
To stop a horse, or back him, the knuckles should 
be reversed, and the wrist rounded as much as 
possible. 

To preserve the balance and maintain the seat, 
the body must be kept in a proper situation, or posi¬ 
tion : (Fig. 5.) Ladies, not used to riding, are apt 
to hang by the crutch, and their bodies are in- 

5 



dined to the left, (Fig. 6 b.) and the head leaning 
to the right by an inelegant bend of the neck, and 
the right shoulder elevated, instead of being grace¬ 
fully seated in the centre of the saddle, with the 
head erect and the shoulders even: (Fig. 6 a.) 
The lady’s position should be easy to herself and to 
her horse, and her movements harmonize with the 
gait of the animal. She should sit in such a posi¬ 
tion that the weight of her body may rest on the 


centre of the saddle, with her shoulders even ; she 
should not bear weight on the stirrup, nor hang by 
the pommel over the near side. She should not 
lean forward, but partially, backwards. The whip 
should be held between two fingers and the thumb; 
with the end downwards, but so as not to irritate 
the horse. 

a Q b 



The balance is conducive to ease, elegance and 
security; and consists in a knowledge what direc¬ 
tion any motion of the horse will produce, and a 
ready adaptation of the whole frame to the proper 
position, before the horse has completed a change 
of action or attitude. And this is necessary to pre¬ 
vent an inelegant inclination forward or backward, 
to the right or to the left, as well as an awkward 
position when the horse stops, or quickens his pace 
or turns a corner. In no case, should the rider 
seek to assist herself in preserving a balance, by 
pulling at the reins. 

Aids in riding, are those motions of the body, 
the hands, the legs and the whip, which serve to 
show the rider’s wishes; so also are the movements 
of the rider, which would prevent the horse from 
disuniting himself, or running into danger. The 
aids of the hand are the most important; and the 
rein is similar to the helm of a vessel; most of the 
rider’s movements being designed to assist the bridle- 
hand. If a horse rear, it is useless merely to give 
a slack rein ; the lady must also lean forward, to 
prevent falling. (Fig. 9.) When the rider wishes 

9 



the horse to advance, and slackens the rein, she 
should also incline the body forward. If she wash¬ 
es the horse to stop, she should not only pull the 
reins towards her, but should throw back her body 
gently. 

Defences. The first and most important is to 
avoid vicious horses, and those not sufficiently 
trained, those which would require much whipping 


















84 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


or such as are headstrong and hard-mouthed. (Fig. 
10.) A lady will have enough to do, with a well- 

10 



disciplined horse, and one without faults. Other 
defences are similar to aids, and require caution, 
good judgment, together with ones position, move¬ 
ments, holding of reins, &c. When the horse is 
frightened or inclines to a too rapid speed, he should 
be gently checked, and or spoken to kindly 

and with soft tuords, instead of using violent ac¬ 
tions of any kind. Indeed a lady should not often, 
if ever, venture on a horse which was not easily 
governed ; and which needed heavy blows, or con¬ 
stant exercise of great strength to restrain. When 
in company, most horses are apt to run; and espe¬ 


cially, if the speed of part of the company is great, 
there is danger that all will become animated and 
restive. This error or danger should be prevented, 
by carefully avoiding all such unusual velocity. 
Two or four persons in a party are the safest, and 
even then, there should be care to avoid a race. 
As to leaping fences and ditches, we cannot think 
directions are necessary for women in this country. 
They will not probably imitate the ladies of Europe, 
by mixing in the race or in hunting. They will 
learn to ride chiefly for health. For mere convey¬ 
ance and travel, the facilities of stage-coaches and 
rail-roads are so great,' that no females will take 
very long journeys on horseback. As to dismount¬ 
ing, there cannot be much art or difficulty in per¬ 
forming that part of horseman(or woman)ship. 
And we believe our fair country-women are active 
and intelligent enough to dismount from the saddle 
without particular instructions: and yet there is a 
graceful and proper way of doing every thing. 

We add, without particular explanation or direc¬ 
tion, the following views of other positions and situ¬ 
ations in riding. Walking, No. 11.—Trotting, 12.— 
Cantering, 13.—Stopping, 14.—Leaping, 15 and 
16.—Dismounting with assistance, 17.—Dismount¬ 
ing alone, 18. 











































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


85 


RUINS OF BALBEC. 

[Extracts from Travels in the East, by M. de Lemartine.] 

“ I had traversed,” says M. de Lemartine, “ the 
summits of the Lebanon, covered with eternal 
snows—I had descended its sides, crowned with a 
diadem of cedars—and reached the naked and ster¬ 
ile desert of Heliopolis—when suddenly, in the dis¬ 
tant horizon before us, and on the last slopes of the 
black mountains of the Anti-Lebanon, an immense 
group of yellow ruins, gilded by the setting sun, 
detached itself from the shadow of the hills, spark¬ 
ling with all the rays of the evening! Our guides 
pointed at it with the finger, and cried out Balbec ! 
Balbec! It was, in truth, the wonder of the desert, 
the fabulous Balbec, coming in radiance out of its 
unknown sepulchre, to tell of ages lost to the mem¬ 
ory of history. We pushed our fatigued horses for¬ 
ward at a quickening pace. Our eyes continued 
fixed on the gigantic walls, and on the shining and 
colossal columns, which seemed to expand and di¬ 
late as we approached them. A profound silence 
was preserved by the whole caravan. Each indi¬ 
vidual seemed to fear that the sound of a voice 
would destroy the impression of the spectacle before 
him. The Arabs themselves kept silent. At last 
we reached the first trunks of columns, the first 
blocks of marble ; which earthquakes have shaken 
as far as a league from the monuments themselves, 
like dried leaves tossed and whirled by a hurricane 
far from the tree that bore them. The large deep 
quarries which split into profound valleys the black 
sides of the Anti-Lebanon, already opened their 
abysses under the feet of our horses. These vast 
basins of stone, which exhibit the marks of other 
hills of stone having been drawn from them, retain 
still some gigantic blocks, half detached from their 
base, which seem to be waiting for the arms of a 
race of giants to remove them from their place. 
One of these blocks is sixty-two feet long, twenty-four 
broad, and sixteen deep. We pursued our route 
between the desert on the left, the undulations of 
the Anti-Lebanon on the right, and across some 
little fields cultivated by the Arab pastors, and the 
bed of an immense torrent which winds among the 
ruins, and is bordered by some beautiful walnut 
trees. The Acropolis, or artificial hill, which bears 
all the great monuments of Heliopolis, appeared 
here and there between the branches or above 
the heads of the great trees. Finally we got 
a complete view of it, and the whole caravan stop¬ 
ped as by an electric instinct. No pen, no pencil 
can describe the impression which this single glance 
gives to the eye and to the mind. Under our feet— 
in the bed of the torrent—in the middle of the 
fields—around the trunks of the trees, were strewed 
blocks of red and gray granite, of blood coloured 
porphyry, of white stone as brilliant as the marble of 
Paris, with fragments of columns, sculptured capi¬ 
tals, architraves, cornices, entablatures and pedes¬ 
tals ; the scattered, and it seems palpitating mem¬ 
bers of statues fallen upon their faces to the earth ; 
and all this confused, hurled together, sundered and 
disseminated on all sides, as if the wrecks of a great 
empire had been vomited forth by a volcano. 
Hardly could we discover a path amidst these sweep¬ 
ings of the arts with which the earth was covered. 


I'he hoofs of our horses slipped against and broke 
at every step the polished cornices of the columns, 
or trod upon the bosom of snow of some female 
statue. The water of the river of Balbec alone was 
distinct among these beds of fragments, and wash¬ 
ed with its murmuring spray the broken marbles 
which impeded its course.” 

Note. —Baalbec, or Balbec, is situated in Syria, 
(or Coele Syria) north of Palestine, about fifty miles 
east of the Mediterranean. This was its more an¬ 
cient name, which signifies City of the Sun, (or 
Baal.) Its name in Greek is Heliopolis, of the 
same signification as the former, and by which it 
was known from the time of Alexander. It is nearly 
equidistant between Jerusalem and Antioch, north of 
Sidon, and northwest of Damascus, about fifty miles. 
As mentioned in the paragraph above, it is in the vi¬ 
cinity of Mount Libanus, or Lebanon, and situated 
in a spacious valley. The ruins of the public build¬ 
ings, especially of the Temple of Baal, or the Sun, 
are matter of great curiosity and wonder; and show 
that the temple was one of the most magnificent 
edifices of ancient times. It was founded, (or rath 
er enlarged and ornamented,) in 140, by An 
toninus Pius, a Roman emperor. The Arabians 
called Balbec, “ the wonder of Syria.” Those 
who visited the place eighty years ago, before the 
earthquake, which threw down most of the pillars 
and columns, and when the courts were compaia- 
tively unencumbered with ruins, as at present, speak 
of the columns with more admiration. One court 
was one hundred and eighty feet square, another 
three hundred and fifty feet by three hundred and 
thirty-five. There were then long ranges of pillars 
and columns almost the whole side of a square ; 
and some of them fluted. Balbec was on the an¬ 
cient route from Sidon to Palmyra, and then:e to 
the Euphrates and to India; and was therefore a 
great depot for goods from the east. 

It is probable that Baalbec, or Heliopolis, is the 
place where Solomon built a spacious house men¬ 
tioned in sacred history. It is said, “ that he built 
the house of the forest of Lebanon, one hundred 
cubits in length, fifty cubits in width, and thirty 
cubits in height, on four rows of cedar pillars.” It 
is further related, “ that the number of men em¬ 
ployed by Solomon, in getting cedar from J^ebanon 
for the temple at Jerusalem, was seventy thousand 
which bear burdens, and eighty thousand hewers 
in the mountains.” He was there himself much of 
the time, and built the house before-mentioned. 
All this must have gone to decay before the Roman 
emperor built on the spot; but the site A'as as at¬ 
tractive to him as to the wise king of Israel. 


The Canal from New Haven through Farmington 
to Northampton, and west of Connecticut river, 
has just been completed. The first boat passed the 
Canal in July, and reached Northampton, where it 
joins that river. It is eighty-five miles in length; 
thirty-four feet wide, and the water four feet deep. 
The extent of the canal in Massachusetts is twenty- 
six miles, and in Connecticut fifty-nine. The ex¬ 
pense has been about a million of dollars. 




86 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ADVANTAGES OF AFFLICTION. 

BY THOMAS MOORE. 

O thou, who dry’st the mourner’s tear, 

How dark this world would be. 

If, when deceived and wounded here, 

VVe could not fly to thee! 

The friends, who in our sunshine live. 

When winter comes, are flown; 

And he who has but tears to give. 

Must weep those tears alone. 

But thou wilt heal that broken heart. 

Which, like the plants, that throw 

Their fragrance from the wounded part. 
Breathes sweetness out of wo. 

When joy no longer soothes or cheers. 

And e’en the hope, that threw 

A moment’s sparkle o’er our tears. 

Is dimmed and vanquished too— 

Oh, who would bear life’s stormy doom. 

Did not thy wing of love 

Come brightly waAing through the gloom 
Our peace-branch from above! 

Then, sorrow, touched by thee, grows bright. 
With more enraptured ray. 

As darkness shows us worlds of light 
We never saw by day. 


THE SABBATH. 

Luther, speaking of the moral benefit of the Sab¬ 
bath, and of keeping it merely for expediency, says, 
“ Keep it holy, for the sake of both the body and 
the soul: But, if anywhere the day is made holy 
for the mere day’s sake; if any one insists on its 
observance as the Jews did, then I advise you to 
work on it, to ride on it, to play on it, and to do 
any thing which shall reprove this encroachment on 
the Christian spirit and liberty.” “ I sincerely 
wish,” says Coleridge, “ to preserve a quiet Sunday. 
I would prevent all compulsory labour, and put 
down theatres, operas, &c., for this reason, that if 
the rich be allowed amusements, the poor will be 
induced to work or play, which would prove highly 
injurious both to themselves and to society.” 

The above opinion, of Coleridge will be more 
generally approved by the people of this country, 
than that of Luther. Luther was contending for 
Christian liberty, and perhaps run to an extreme, or 
used some improper expressions, in support of the 
cause, and in opposition to spiritual tyranny, which 
in his day had long oppressed and debased the 
minds of moral and rational and accountable beings. 
Except in cases of necessity or mercy, we think 
the seventh day should be devoted to rest from la¬ 
bour, and to purposes of religious instruction and 
worship. There was formerly perhaps, too much 
strictness or precision in this country in keeping the 
Sabbath. It was made for man, and not man for 
the Sabbath. To the Christian it is the Lord’s day, 
and should be observed in conformity to the spirit 
of the holy gospel, in religious meditation, worship, 
and teaching, not excluding the exercise of the 
social as well as benevolent feelings. It should 
not be spent wholly or chiefly in recreation ; but it 
would be equally averse from the genius of Chris¬ 
tianity to make it a day of gloom, and austerity, or 
so understand it as to render it irksome and dis¬ 
gusting to innocent youth. 


KNOWLEDGE. 

There can be no objection to learning. Knowl¬ 
edge is a benefit, not an evil; except by a perver¬ 
sion and abuse of it. And it is an evil, when 
every one who gets a bare smattering of learning, 
becomes a writer and thinks he need not labour. All 
canot be teachers, and a man has no right to neg¬ 
lect labour, because he can read and write, and 
has read a few books besides his spelling-book and 
Bible. Learning is an evil, when every one who 
has scarcely the elements, undertakes to be an in- 
structer and writer; and sets himself above labour. 
This indeed, ought not to be objected to knowl¬ 
edge and learning. For it is owing to the vanity and 
error of individuals. Knowledge may be the oc¬ 
casion of evil, but it is not necessarily so. It is 
individual perversion that thus makes it an evil. 
And why should a little learning lead a man to 
think he must not work ? If by his superior knowl¬ 
edge he has found out some plan of saving labour 
partially, let him communicate it. But now every 
young man who can read a little, cannot conde¬ 
scend to work; and pretends, forsooth, that he is 
called upon to be the instructer of his age. 


For the Americiin Magazine. 

Mr. Editor, —I perceive your Magazine breathes 
a moral and religious spirit, but not sectarian. I 
ask an explanation of the following passage of 
Scripture.—“ Drink no longer water only, but use 
a little wine for thy stomach’s sake, and thy often 
infirmities.” Clement. 

As the request has been made, we venture on a 
reply, not however in a dogmatical or positive 
manner, as it is our purpose to avoid all questions 
of strife, and all bitter or censorious remarks. We 
presume the question has been proposed, with re¬ 
ference to the subject of drinking wine, and wheth¬ 
er it should be condemned or allowed by the friends 
of Temperance. 

Distilled spirits were not in use among the an¬ 
cients, and yet there were drunkards; and drunk¬ 
enness is declared a sin in Scripture, without 
reference to the particular cause. Now, it is ar¬ 
gued, that as drunkenness is produced by wine, 
(as well as by distilled liquors,) and is a sin, no 
Christian should allow himself the use of the former 
anymore than of the latter; And again, that as 
there is danger that the use of wine, as a common 
drink, will lead to intemperate habits, there should 
be an entire prohibition of it. 

To this it has been replied, that the holy Scrip¬ 
tures do not prohibit the use of wine ; but rather as 
they often speak of wine, without condemning it, ex¬ 
cept in the excess of it, it may be justly concluded, 
that it is not, in the moderate use of it, a sin, or an 
immorality. All drunkenness certainly is condemned 
often and severely. And they who tarry long at 
the wine, and often go to seek mixed wines, are 
ranked among other wicked men. But mark the 
distinction; They who tarry long at the wine; 
and who seek after mixed wine; which was a beve¬ 
rage consisting chiefly of wine, but to which spices 
were added to render it more palatable and more 
inebriating. Solomon, who condemns long sitting at 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


87 


the wine, also couples the drunkard and the glut¬ 
ton together. Whence it is concluded, that it was 
only the intemperate or excessive use of wine which 
he meant to condemn; and that he is no more to 
be understood as wholly prohibiting wine than com¬ 
mon food. We frequently find that drunkenness 
is forbidden in the sacred writings, and by the holy 
prophets and apostles; but the prohibition or con¬ 
demnation is not against the use of wine entirely. 
There is a silence as to this point. Yet not entire 
silence, but rather an approbation of the moderate 
use of it. The miracle of our Lord at the marriage 
in Cana, may be justly referred to. If the use of 
wine was improper, he would not have produced it 
by a miracle for people to drink on any occasion. 
And St. Paul, though he is full and explicit in de¬ 
nouncing drunkenness, advised Timothy to drink a 
little wine for his health’. And the reasoning of the 
apostle, in another place, against those who pro¬ 
hibited the use of meats, and in favour of a grateful 
partaking of all the good things which God in his 
providence has provided—this, it is contended, by 
strong implication sanctions the moderate and tem¬ 
perate use of wine. 

In the opinion of physicians, there is a broad 
distinction between wine and distilled liquors. The 
latter are never necessary or favourable to the health 
and strength of man ; but they give no such opin¬ 
ion against wine; and some of the most eminent do 
advise as St. Paul did, that a little old, pure wine is 
wholesome for some infirmities. 

Those who urge the total discontinuance of wine 
plead, that the example of those who take it even 
temperately, may induce the poor to drink ardent 
spirits. But may not the poor as well plead for a 
mode of living, such as the rich adopt, in justifica¬ 
tion for extravagance and for living far beyond their 
ability. If a man takes a glass of wine or cider, it 
is no just excuse for another to drink ardent spirits, 
which is always injurious. And yet it seems that 
something is due to this consideration. If our ex¬ 
ample is perverted, we should abstain, or show the 
error of the argument. And as Christians, we are 
bound to do nothing that will cause our brother to 
offend.— Editor. 


STEAM-BOATS. 

Steam-boats on the Ohio, Missouri, and Missis¬ 
sippi, are said now to amount to one hundred and 
thirty-five. The first steamer which was moved on 
the waters of either of those rivers was built at 
Pittsburg in 1811. It was matter of great interest 
and wonder; and it was predicted that should these 
boats succeed, as was believed, they would add 
much to the business and wealth of the western 
country. The navigation of those waters was great¬ 
ly retarded and obstructed, especially in attempts 
to ascend the rivers. When the boat arrived at 
Louisville in Kentucky, seven hundred miles from 
Pittsburg, in less than three days, the admiration 
and joy of the people were universal. There are 
now between one hundred and thirty and one hun¬ 
dred and forty steamers on the Mississippi and its 
lar‘-e tributary streams, and twenty are now build¬ 
ing at and near Pittsburg. The advantages of this 


Steam-boat navigation to the inhabitants* of the 
great western valley are incalculable. The pop¬ 
ulation and wealth of the States lying on the Mis¬ 
sissippi and-its branches have probably doubled in 
ten years; and the Steam-boat navigation is one 
great cause of this rapid increase. Their surplus 
products can be sent to market by the way of New 
Orleans; and the farmer realizes fifty per cent, ad¬ 
vance or more, on what he has to sell. 


HUMILITY 

BY MONTGOMERY. 

The bird which soars on highest wing. 

Builds on the ground her lowly nest; 

And she which doth most sweetly sing. 

Sings in the shade when all things rest — 

In lark and nightingale we see 
What honour hath humility. 

When Mary chose the better part. 

She meekly sat at Jesus’ feet; 

And Lydia’s gently opened heart 
Was made for God’s own temple meet— 
Fairest and best adorned is she 
Whose clothing is humility. 

The saint who wears heaven’s brightest crown. 
In deepest adoration bends; 

The weight of glory bows him down. 

Then most, when most his soul ascends; 
Nearest the throne itself must be 
The footstool of humility. 


Dr. Channing’s Discourse on the Wants of 
THE Poor. —The late English Reviews speak in 
strong terms of eulogy on Dr. Channing’s sermon 
before the Fraternity of Churches in Boston, refer¬ 
ring to the morally degraded condition of the ignorant 
poor, and urging the duty of providing for their moral 
and religious education. They seem disposed justly 
to appreciate the performance, and the ability and 
benevolence of its author. Copious quotations are 
made from it, and the opinion of Dr. Channing on 
the subject is approved and urged upon the consid¬ 
eration of the benevolent and pious portion of the 
community. The only effectual remedy or preven¬ 
tive of pauperism, and the degradation of the poor, 
is a moral and religious education. How this is to 
be provided for, is a most important question. 


Hyacinth, a precious stone, owes its name pro¬ 
bably to its resemblance to a purple flower of the 
same appellation ; but it agrees more nearly, in ap¬ 
pearance, with the ancient than with the modern 
hyacinth. The kind usually called oriental, is 
brought from Ceylon, and is equally hard as the 
amethyst. The other kind is found in Portugal and 
Bohemia. The ancients used it for amulets and 
talismans. A very small portion of it is the oxide 
of iron : a larger part of silex ; but far the greater 
portion, about three-fourths, is zinconia, a semi¬ 
transparent mineral, found also in Ceylon. 


Soda-water is chiefly w’ater strongly charged 
with carbonic acid, (which is generated from min¬ 
erals,) and has also a slight portion of carbonate of 
soda in solution. It is used as a beverage, and is 
considered anti-acid and lilhontripic; and is made 
in different ways. 








88 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


FAITH. 

There is a flower, a holy one, 

That blossoms on my path, 

No need of dew or daily sun, 

Or falling showers it hath; 

It blooms as brightly in the storm. 

As on the cloudless day. 

And rears unharmed its humble form. 
When others fade away. 

That plant is Faith; its holy leaves 
Reviving odours shed 
Upon the lowly place of grief. 

Or mansions of the dead. 

God is its sun: his living light 
In happy hours he lends. 

And silently in sorrow’s night 
Religion’s dew descends. 

Plant of my soul, be fading things 
By other hands carest. 

But through life's weary wanderings. 
I’ll bear thee to my breast; 

And when the icy powers shall chill 
The fountains of my breath. 

Thy loveliness shall cheer me still. 
E’en in the hour of death. 


Protestantism is prevailing in different parts of 
France, and proselytes to its faith and forms are 
increasing. Within a few years past a number of 
Protestant missionaries have been employed in that 
vast kingdom, and with a good degree of success. 
They are now permitted to preach to the people, 
and are in no danger of persecution. Soon after 
the glorious Reformation from Papacy, the number 
of Protestants in France was great, and by the 
Edict of Nantz, in 1598, they were guaranteed the 
free exercise of their religion, in dissenting from the 
authority of the Romish Church: but in 1685 that 
edict was repealed by Louis XIV. and a dreadful 
massacre and long persecutions followed, which 
swept away more than half a million. The spirit 
of the age does not favour persecutions on account 
of religious opinions. For the last forty years, the 
French have manifested much indifference to reli¬ 
gion ; they have been inclined to skepticism, and 
their opposition or disgust of Catholicity has been 
general. There is a prospect that the present or 
next generation will be more sincerely religious, and 
that Protestantism will be the creed of the majority. 


LitiuoRiCE.—The shrub is a native of Syria, and 
of the southern parts of Europe ; and is cultivated 
in Great Britain. The root is perennial; but the 
stalks are annual, and rise four or five feet in height. 
It may be propagated by fibres, which issue from 
the root, near the surface ; and the whole root will 
bear transplantation. An extract from the root is 
ordered by the London College of Physicians ; but 
it is not prepared in this country. The common 
liquorice of the shops is brought from Spain and 
Italy. And that which is black, shining, brittle and 
easily dissolved in the mouth, is best esteemed. It 
is now little used as a medicine; but it is said to be 
used by brewers, and the manufacturers of port 
wine, in large quantities. 


The miser is as much in want of that which he 
has, as of that which he has not. 


The doctrine of Light, which was generally re¬ 
ceived before Newton’s theory, is again advocated 
by some philosophers in Europe. According to 
Newton, light is matter, though almost inconceiva¬ 
bly attenuated and subtle, emitted from the sun 
and other luminous bodies. The opinion before 
Newton, and now again advanced, is that light is 
caused by the undulatory motion of particles of 
matter. Some experiments have been made to 
illustrate this doctrine, but they do not satisfy those 
in favour of the theory of Newton. The question 
seems to excite a good deal of interest among men 
of science. 


The British Administration are opposed in their 
plans of reform by the House of Lords, but the 
House of Commons give their support to the liberal 
views of the Ministry. The Lords and Bishops are 
evidently aiming to put down the present Whig 
Ministers ; who will probably be able to continue in 
office only by persuading the King to create a batch 
of new peers. 


ELOQUENCE. 

“ Here sweet eloquence does always smile, 

In such a choice, yet unaffected style. 

As must both knowledge and delight impart, 

The force of reason, with the flowers of art.” 

Buckinghamshike. 

Eloquence may sometimes effect its object by 
means of splendid images and sublime expressions, 
but that alone which springs from the heart takes 
the certain road to success. The flattering results 
which have on so many occasions attended the 
exercise of this brilliant talent by the female sex, 
must be rather attributed to the energetic zeal 
with which, from their goodness of heart, they 
have entered into the lists in defence of virtue, 
than to any studied use of language, as was the 
custom with the public speakers of their times. 
The consciousness of being engaged in a virtuous 
cause has often given rise to the most enthusiastic 
and splendid eloquence on the part of woman, 
who, weak and helpless by nature, have thus 
become endued with strength, not only to urge, 
but to accomplish, the most arduous enterprises. 
There is no doubt that 

" If the mind with clear conception glow. 

The willing words in just expressions flow j” 

and warmth of feeling in woman has amply com¬ 
pensated for any inferiority, if such there were, in 
their talents, to those of the opposite sex. We 
ought to set much weight on these superior in¬ 
stances of mental capacity, and endeavor not to 
degenerate from such worthy examples; such 
patterns of merit should not be thrown away upon 
us, for they teach us, that if the too free use of 
speech is attributed as a failing to our sex, the 
proper use of that speech may be rendered not 
only a private, but a public benefit; as there is a 
time to be silent, so it does sometimes happen that 
there is a time when it becomes a duty to speak ; 
and eloquence, actuated by sincere and virtuous 
motives, must ever claim universal respect and 
admiration. 











FULTOxN AND STEAM ENGINES. 


The power of Steam has been long known ; and 
the use of it for ])ractical purposes has also been 
perceived for many years: Nay, further, it was pre¬ 
dicted half a century ago, and at a still remoter 
period, that it would probably be found more useful 
than it had ever been then shown to be. But the 
great improvements in propelling vessels on the 
water, of which it has lately been made the agent, 
were reserved for the inventive genius and resolute 
perseverance of Robert Fulton of New York, who 
applied it successfully for that purpose, thirty-two 


years ago. We are aware, that others had con¬ 
ceived the idea of producing the motion of vehicles 
both on land and water, bv the use of steam. Its 
power could not have escaped the notice of inge¬ 
nious men in past ages; and there are proofs that 
some experiments were made, several centuries ago, 
indicating the astonishing ell'ects of steam, when 
skilfully directed. But this opinion and these ex¬ 
periments can not justly de[)rive Mr. Fulton of the 
praise, which his persevering and successful efforts 
have called forth in his behalf. 

12 
































90 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


As the mariners’ compass was the commence¬ 
ment of very important advances in navigation; 
and as the art of printing proved of incalculable 
benefit to the progress of knowledge and learning ; 
so the full discovery of the power of steam and the 
uses to which Fulton showed it might be applied, 
and to which he did actually apply it, have formed 
a new era in navigation, very important to the pros¬ 
perity of nations and the convenience of individuals. 
Navigation by steam excels tlial by sails in two re¬ 
spects, which give to it great superiority over the 
former mode of passing on the water; one is velocity, 
and the other a direct course to the destined place, 
despite of opposing winds. In rivers, bays, and 
narrow seas, these advantages are very great. 

Robert Fulton was a native of Pennsylvania, and 
was born in 1765. He had only a common educa¬ 
tion ; but at an early age discovered a peculiar fond¬ 
ness for mechanical employments. He also had a 
taste for drawing with the pencil. From the age of 
seventeen till twenty-one, he was employed in 
painting landscapes and portraits. He was after¬ 
wards sometime with the celebrated Mr. West, the 
portrait painter, and made painting his chief em¬ 
ployment. He then gave his attention again to the 
mechanic arts, when he became acquainted with 
the Duke of Bridgewater, and was engaged in a 
project for improving inland navigation. As early 
as l79-‘3, he conceived the idea of propelling vessels 
by steam : but that he was the first to suggest or 
form a plan of steam-boats is not correct: and yet, 
it is possible he had not heard of the plan formed 
by others. Hon. Nathan Read of Massachusetts, 
entertained the idea, and actually exhibited a suc¬ 
cessful experiment of this kind, across a bay near 
Salem in 1785.* But unfortunately Mr. Read did 
not meet with due encouragement, and failed to 
prosecute his plan. 

The subject of canals engaged the attention of 
Mr. Fulton for some years; and he also professed 
himself a civil engineer. His first experiment of 
propelling a boat by steam was on the river Seine 
in France, in 1803; it was with one of small size, 
and succeeded so fully according to his theory and 
expectations, that he returned to America, soon af¬ 
ter, and prosecuted the business with great zeal. A 
large boat was built under his direction, which be¬ 
gan to navigate the Hudson in 1807. Its speed, 
however, was only five miles an hour. In 1809, 
he received a patent for his invention. 

Steam, as is well known, is produced by the ac¬ 
tion of heal on water, which is made to expand and 
to assume a gaseous state. It is attenuated and 
light, like air; and like it may be compressed by 
external force, and will also resist the force applied 
to it for that purpose. If a spoonful of water be 
put in a large glass globe, holding several gallons, 
and the air exhausted, and then heat applied to the 
globe, the water will disappear and the globe ap¬ 
pear to be empty ; yet it is filled with the water, in 
a state of vapour or steam. And by increasing the 

* Mr. Read was sometime teacher of Mathematics and "Natural 
Philosophy in Harvard University, and afterwards member of 
Cangrese. John Fitch of Philadelphia, in 1786, constructed a 
ooat with paddles, which run on the Delaware, by force of steam: 
But was not aided in his plan, and died in 1793. 


heat, the expansive force of the steam is increased, 
even to the bursting or shattering of the globe. Wa¬ 
ter is converted into vapour or steam at all tempera¬ 
tures, even at 32®; but at low temperatures there is 
but little elasticity, and it increases as the tempera¬ 
ture increases, till at 212®, it is equal to that of the 
atmosphere. In this slate it occupies 1689 times 
the bulk of the water from which it was formed, 
and its density is 0.625, air being 1. Attempts 
have been made to represent the increase of the 
elasticity of steam at increasing temperature; but 
they are not considered accurate at very high 
temperatures. At 419® of temperature the elas¬ 
ticity of steam is 1050 greater than air, and exerts 
a force eijual to 14,700 lbs. on every square inch of 
the vessel in which it is confined, which few vessels 
can withstand. Now it is obvious that the specific 
gravity of the vapour of water is proportional to its 
elasticity : If then we know this specific gravity at 
a given temperature, we may, with our knowledge, 
determine the specific gravity at any other. And 
thus it appears, that at the temperature of 419®, 
water converted into steam expands only 37 times; 
but such steam, coming into the air, would expand 
35 times. This would greatly increase its specific 
heat, and therefore lessen its temperature. It is 
computed that, at a temperature of 500® (or a little 
more) the steam of water would not much exceed 
double the bulk of the water from which it was 
generated: And the elasticity of such steam would 
be prodigious. When issued into the atmosphere, 
it would undergo an expansion of 650 times its 
original bulk. But it is not known at what tem¬ 
perature water would become vapour without an 
increase of volume.—The conversion of water into 
steam has been proved to be owing to the same 
cause as the conversion of solids into liquids; to 
wit, the combination of a certain amount of caloric 
with water, without increase of temperature—for 
water is converted into vapour at all temperatures, 
even at 32®, or lower—which is thus proved :—when 
a vessel of water is put over fire, the water becomes 
hotter till it reaches 212®, but the temperature is 
not afterwards increased,- yet heat must be con¬ 
stantly entering the vessel of water from the fire;— 
but as the water does not become any hotter, the 
heat (thus added) must combine with that part 
which flies oflTin the form of steam : But the tem¬ 
perature of the steam is only 212®; ergo, the added 
heat does not increase its temperature. The con¬ 
clusion then seems to be, that the change of water 
into steam is owing to the combination of this 
heat, since it produces no other change. 

The steam engine is the most useful and power¬ 
ful employment of steam, invented in modern times. 
It has been traced to the Marquis of Worcester in 
England, though he did not interest the public in 
the invention, nor apply it to any practical purpose. 
A Captain Savary, in 1696, revived the invention 
and took out a patent: and in his machine, steam 
was applied to force water up a pipe. But the 
quantity of fuel used and the waste of steam was so 
great, that it was not attempted to apply it, as in¬ 
tended, to drain water out of mines. In 1705, 
some improvements were made in the machine 
Mr. Watt of Glasgow, made further improvements^ 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


91 


at a later period.—He discovered that water, when 
confined in a close vessel, and heated beyond the 
boiling point, would, when the steam was allowed 
to escape, cool rapidly down to the boiling tempera¬ 
ture—and this suggested the idea that the amount 
of steam issuing from a vessel was simply in pro¬ 
portion to the amount of heat applied, and that the 
only way to economize in fuel was to economize in 
steam. In 1763, he provided for condensing steam 
in a separate vessel, which was a vast improvement, 
as it saved nearly half the quantity of fuel. Mr. 
Watt made some other improvements in steam en¬ 
gines, and proposed at one time to apply it to pro¬ 
pel vessels on the water, but did not fulfil his pur¬ 
pose. After him, others entertained a similar pro¬ 
ject, but did not pursue it to the end intended: 
And it seems to have been reserved for Mr. Fulton 
to prefer the best and only claim to an available 
execution of a project often contemplated, and to a 
practical and fortunate acco.mplishment of a scheme 
long cherished, but not perfected. 

We have before referred to this subject, and to 
the machinery for propelling vehicles on rail-roads 
as well as vessels on water, by steam ; and so much 
has been published on the subject, that we cannot 
presume to give any thing new, and should feel 
that an apology were due for attempting it. But 
this general view of the subject seemed not inap¬ 
propriate to the character of our publication, which 
makes it our duty to refer to and to record so splen¬ 
did and useful'an improvement of the present age 
as the Steam Boat, which is connected with the 
more recent invention of machinery for generating, 
directing and controlling this powerful natural agent. 
It is known to every one, who has attended to the 
subject, that various improvements have been re¬ 
cently made in machinery for propelling vessels on 
the water, and cars on rail-roads, by the power of 
steam; and these discoveries have been promptly 
laid before the public for the benefit of society and 
the information of mechanists. And the properties 
of steam are such, that it is believed still further 
improvements will be made in machines for the use 
and direction of it, consistent with the safety of 
those employed in managing them, and of those 
who prefer these modes of conveyance. 

Perhaps there is but one great object now to be 
attained in the use or employment of steam-engines; 
and that is a preventive against the bursting of the 
boiler, which is a part of the machinery. We speak 
not of unfaithfulness in first making the boiler, nor 
of the carelessness of agents ; though to these causes 
frequent accidents, no doubt, may be traced. But 
machinery is wanted, by which to provide a process 
for keeping the boiler in such a temperature, by a 
constant, gradual supply of water, as to prevent ex¬ 
plosion, so destructive of human life. Such an im¬ 
provement, we believe, is about being attempted, 
w’ith a prospect of efficiency and success. 


A rich native of Madras, lately deceased, has be¬ 
queathed a large sum, to further the education of 
his countrymen. And the English government 
there are making preparations to open a school with 
three teachers. 


PUBLIC LIBRARY IN PHILADELPHIA. 

This Library, one of thn largest, though not the 
oldest, in the United Sta'es, originated with Dr. 
Franklin, in 1731. His associates were Thomas 
Hopkinson, Thomas Cadu illader, Anthony Nicho¬ 
las, Robert Grace, and oth irs. James Logan, es¬ 
teemed by the committee, “ to be a gentleman of 
universal learning,” was r< quested to make out a 
catalogue of suitable boo cs, to be purchased in 
London ; which was done in 173'2. Franklin, J. 
Brientnal and P. Sing, were presented with the 
freedom of the company ; lirientnal for his services 
as Secretary ; Sing, for en^ raving the seal of the 
company; and Franklin for printing the notices. 
The books were kept som* time in Mr. Grace’s 
chamber, and Franklin was chosen librarian. In 
1740, the library was removed to an upper room in 
the State House, the use of wh ch was granted to 
the company by the Legislature • in 1742, the as¬ 
sociation was incorporated by the Proprietors of the 
Colony, then in England. Chari, s Thompson be¬ 
came a member and Director in 17r2 ; and in 1763, 
the celebrated John Dickinson was elected one of 
the board. In 1769, another librai'’ company was 
united w’ith it; in 1771, still ano her; and the 
books were removed to a room in th ; second story 
in Carpenter’s Hall; (the place wht 'e the Conti¬ 
nental Congress assembled in Septi niber, 1774;) 
and the library was opened daily, fron two o’clock 
till seven. The members of Congress were allow¬ 
ed the use of the books at all times, and without 
expense. The number of volumes is now 42,000. 

STANZAS, 

WRITTEN Ilf A COPY OF THE BIBLE PRESE ITED TO MT 
DAUGHTER.-BY MRS. CORNWALL BARR'I WILSON. 

When in future distant years 
Thou shall look upon this page. 

Through the crystal vale of tears 
That dim our eyes in after-age ; 

Think it was a mother’s hand. 

Though her smile no more thou’lt see. 

Pointing toward that ‘ better land,’ 
oave this sacred gift to thee ! 

Lightly thou esteem’st it now 
For thy heart is young and wild. 

And upon thy girlhood's brow. 

Nought but sunny Hope hath smiled ’ 

But when disappointments come. 

And the world begins to steal 
All thy spirit’s early bloom, 

Then its value thou wilt feel ! 

Not alone in hours of woe 

‘ Search the Scriptures,’ but while joy 
Doth life’s blissful cup o'ertlow. 

Be it oft thy sweet employ ; 

So, remembering in thy youth 

Him whose spirit lights each page. 

Thou shall have abundant proof 
He will not forget thine age! 

India overland Mail. —The first Indio Mail, by 
w’ay of Alexandria, (Egypt,) and the Red S. a, whicK 
was dispatched from Falmouth on the 3d o*" March, 
in the African steamer, arrived at Bomba) on the 
22d of April, in fifty days from England. 1 he pas¬ 
sage by this route may now be performed as fol¬ 
lows, viz : Seventeen days from Falmouth to Malta ; 
five from Malta to Alexandria, and twenty-eight from 
Alexandria to Bombay, by the Red Sea, including 
stoppages. The rout by Aleppo and the Euphrates 
presents more formidable difficulties. 








PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



fSt. Paul’s Church, corner of South Ferry and Dalliua Streets, Albany, N. Y.] 














































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































■0 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


93 


ST. PAUL’S CHURCH, ALBANY. 

This very spacious and elegant edifice, conse¬ 
crated to the worship of God, and instruction in 
the doctrines and duties of the gospel, is situated at 
llie corner of South Ferry and Dallius Streets. It 
was finished and dedicated in August 1S29, in fifteen 
months from the commencement of tne work. The 
services on the occasion were performed by Bishop 
Hobart. The dimensions of this handsome build¬ 
ing are as follows, viz: its length, eighty-four feet; 
width, sixty-two; height of the walls to the cornice, 
thirty-two feet; w'ith semi-octagonal vestibule, 
projecting sixteen feet, and rising to the front pedi¬ 
ment of the main roof. The building is of rough, 
unwrought stone, (from three and a half to two feet 
in thickness.) and of the Gothic style, the design 
being from an ancient temple of that order. The 
original plan embraces the erection of a stone tower 
in the rear, of twenty-two feet square, elevated two 
sections above the belfry ; to be surmounted with 
turrets, to correspond with those on the main build¬ 
ing. There are five windows on each side, and two 
in front, supported by centre ruds, diverging at the 
head, so as to form three distinct Gothic arches to 
the casements and frames of each window. The 
mullions are diagonally disposed, and contain glass 
of five and a quarter inches square. The angles 
of the walls, and the partition w'all at the landing 
of the gallery stairs, are supported by buttresses of 
two feet square; having in each three abatements, 
capped with cut stone, and surmounted with quad¬ 
rangular Gothic pinnacles. The nave is finished 
with a deep Gothic frieze and cornice, and the par¬ 
apet carried up in the form of battlements. 

On the right and left of the entrance way, are 
niches prepared for statuary. The front door is 
ten feet wide, on each side of which are columns 
supporting, the arch of a window above the impost 
of the door. The naves of the vestibule roof are 
finished with cornice and chainwork, and the angles 
surmounted with pinnacles. 

The interior finish is also Gothic, painted in imi¬ 
tation of oak. Below, there are one hundred and 
thirty-eight pews, and sixty-six in the gallery. The 
pulpit, screen and altar were designed and drawn 
by Mr. George Vernon, and built by Mr. J. Bige¬ 
low. The screen is twenty-four feet wide, supported 
by four octagonal Gothic columns, in panel work, 
and rising about eighteen feet from the chancel 
floor. The columns are finished at the top with 
pinnacles, ornamented and encircled with carved 
leaves and vines; in the centre of the screen, and 
immediately over the pulpit, there rises a ped¬ 
iment, supported by clustered columns and an arch ; 
the pediment also surmounted with a richly orna¬ 
mented pinnacle extending to the ceiling, and 
standing in relief, in a niche prepared to receive it. 
The top of the screen and basis of the pinnacles are 
finished with castellated battlements, and the panel 
work in quatre foils. 

The church is supplied with a large and splendid 
organ, from the factory of Henry Erbin, in New 
York. This edifice, which was erected and fin¬ 
ished under the superintendence and direction of 
Mr. W. W: Dougherty, was built for the congre¬ 
gation of which the Rev. Richard Bury was then 


rector. Mr. Bury was succeeded by W. L. Keyes, 
and Mr. Keyes by Rev. J. H. Price, formerly of 
Boston. 


THOUGHTS IN A BALCONY AT DAYBREAK- 

A BALL. WITHIN. 

Morn in the east! How coldly fair 
It breaks upon my fevered eye! 

How chides the calm and dewy air! 

How chides the pure and pearly sky! 

The stars melt in a brighter fire, 

The dew in sunshine leaves the flowers; 

They, from their watch, in light retire. 

While we in sadness pass from ours. 

I turn from the rebuking morn, 

The cold gray sky and fading star, 

And listen to the harp and horn. 

And see the waltzers near and far— 

The lamps and flowers are bright as yet. 

And lips beneath more bright than they; 

How can a scene so fair beget 

The mournful thoughts we bear away! 

’Tis something that thou art not here, 

Sweet lover of my lightest word! 

’Tis something that my mother's tear 
By these forgetful hours is stirr’d! 

But I have long a loiterer been 

In haunts where joy is said to be; 

But though with peace I enter in. 

The nymph comes never forth with mt! 

N. P. WILLIB. 


CALCULATION OF HUMAN LIFE. 

The expectation or calculation of human life, ac¬ 
cording to human probability, and past observation 
on the age of man, is given in the following table, 
prepared by one who had attended to the subject. 


Age. 

Expect. 

Age. 

Expect. 

Age. 

Expect. 

Age. 

Expect. 

1 

27 

21 

28 

41 

19 

61 

12 

2 

32 

22 

27 

42 

18 

62 

11 

S 

34 

23 

27 

43 

18 

63 

11 

4 

35 

24 

26 

44 

18 

64 

10 

5 

36 

25 

26 

45 

17 

65 

10 

6 

36 

26 

25 

46 

17 

66 

10 

7 

35 

27 

25 

47 

17 

67 

9 

8 

35 

28 

24 

48 

16 

63 

9 

9 

35 

29 

24 

49 

16 

69 

9 

10 

34 

30 

23 

50 

16 

70 

8 

11 

34 

31 

23 

51 

15 

71 

3 

12 

33 

32 

22 

52 

15 

72 

8 

13 

33 

33 

22 

53 

14 

73 

7 

14 

32 

34 

21 

54 

14 

74 

7 

15 

31 

35 

21 

55 

14 

75 

7 

16 

31 

36 

21 

56 

13 

76 

6 

17 

30 

37 

20 

57 

13 

77 

6 

18 

30 

38 

20 

58 

13 

78 

6 

19 

29 

39 

19 

59 

12 

79 

5 

20 

29 

40 

19 

60 

12 

80 

5 


]\JoTE.—Fractions of years are not noticed. This 
table was formed from observation on age in Eu¬ 
rope. In the United States, the expectation might 
be stated at a higher number of years generally. 

So late as 1630, Dr. Leighton, a learned Scotch¬ 
man, who was opposed to Episcopacy, published a 
book, entitled, ‘ An Appeal to Parliament, or a Plea 
against Prelacyfor which, by the influence of 
Bishop Laud, he was sentenced, in the Star Chani- 
ber, to be wdiipt, be branded in his forehead, his 
nose slit, and his ears cut off; dll which was duly 
inflicted on him! 
























94 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


UNION AMONG CHRISTIANS. 

Every sincere believer in the gospel must be de¬ 
sirous of the extension of this divine religion, in 
the world and of removing the objections which are 
made to it. In what way can this be so effectually 
done, as by union among those who have professed 
it? A spirit of charity and kindness manifested by 
different sects, ^if different sects cannot be pre¬ 
vented,) toward one another, would do more than 
any measure or argument without it. It would 
speak to the heart of tne unbeliever; and few, indeed, 
would be able to resist the appeal. Other argu¬ 
ments might be occasions 'y used, to remove objec¬ 
tions or resolve difficulties, relating to history, phi¬ 
lology, or ancient customs, tc. The arguments 
from history, prophecies and rLiracles, are not to be 
disregarded; for, if properly staled, they will pro¬ 
duce conviction on the understanding. But they 
do not reach the heart. And there is no true be¬ 
lief of the gospel but by the heart; tlils belief only 
will produce the fruits of righteousness, and purify 
and regulate the affections. So the doc.nnes and 
moral precepts of the gospel recommend them¬ 
selves to those of unperverted minds, who care¬ 
fully attend to them. But all these will be in 
vain, if professing Christians are divided, alienated, 
hostile and censorious. No argument can be re 
quired to show this. We are so formed and con¬ 
stituted, as to our moral nature, that the influence 
most auspicious to Christianity on unbelievers, is 
that arising from a conviction of our sincerity, and 
evidence that the gospel has power over those who 
profess it: and that they agree in its leading and 
important purpose ; which is to make men better. 
And who does not know that charity and kindness 
are the greatest of its purposes ? Who does not 
know, “ that he who loveth not his brother, whom 
he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not 
seen.” Where there is strife and division, and bit¬ 
terness and denunciation, the spirit of Christ is cer¬ 
tainly wanting. 

But it is difficult to decide what are fundamental 
or essential doctrines of the gospel. And why is it 
difficult ? Is it owing to the Bible, or to man, who 
would be wise above what is written ? There 
would, probably, be no difficulty in procuring the 
assent of all denominations to the Apostles’ Creed, 
commonly so called, though not proved to have 
been formed by them, yet certainly known and 
used at an early period of the church. What 
authority have men to add to that early apostolic 
creed; especially, what right to pronounce their 
additions or explanations essential, and of the same 
force and authority as the apostolic doctrines? A 
faith in unessential doctrines, must be unessential. 
Besides, it is abundantly evident that there are hum¬ 
ble, pious, benevolent and virtuous persons in all 
sects. There is still another important considera¬ 
tion ; when those of different views and creeds con¬ 
fer together, in the spirit of Christian love for the 
truth, they find the difference not very great be¬ 
tween them ; that in the spirit and design of the 
gospel they entirely agree ; and that their difference 
is chiefly, if not wholly, about mysterious and specu¬ 
lative doctrines. 

We think, then, there is a pow'erful obligation on 
all Christians to endeavour to unite on some com¬ 


mon ground, so as to recognize and treat each other 
as Christians. We are desirous such an object 
should be attained. And should be happy if any 
thing we can suggest might tend to it. 

This is no new thought. Some of the best men 
in the church, for a long time, have been of this 
opinion; and have given expression to their opin¬ 
ion. But they have .spoken almost in vain. The 
Christian world is still divided; sadly divided : but 
divided on speculative rather than on practical 
doctrines : and are condemning one another, not 
for unholy lives, or want of zeal, but for not sub¬ 
scribing to a long creed, formed by fallible and olten 
party men. The efi'ect of this conduct now is, 
and ever has been, and ever will be, injurious to tlie 
holy cause of the gospel. Why will we not see 
this, and endeavour to prevent the continuance of 
such a stumbling-block and rock of oflence to the 
pagan and infidel world ? 

The Apostles’ Creed states that there is one God, 
and that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah, 
the Saviour of men ; in some sense, the Son of 
God ; sanctified and sent into the world by God to 
enlighten, reform and save it. It also states the 
doctrine of the resurrection, of a future judgment, 
and of eternal life. These, then, are the essential 
doctrines of Christianity. There are others grow¬ 
ing out of these, or connected with them of impor- 
l. nee. But any doctrines not connected w ith and 
included in them, cannot be necessary to constitute 
a Cl'i"istian, nor essential to sincere piety and virtue. 

W^e think this great object, union of spirit and 
affection would be promoted by frequent meetings 
of Christians of difl'erent opinions. They all meet 
and act together, as members of Bible Societies, 
and of Temp 'ranee Societies. If they would try 
as sincerely to agree, (or to agree to difler,) as 
some few heretOi 're have strove to divide and to 
separate, and to magnify difi'erences of opinion, 
much good we think would come of it. Are we 
asked what is the true bond of union, or the com¬ 
mon ground on which different sects should meet; 
we reply, that it is this: ‘ The Bible is the author¬ 
ity, and the only authority n matters of faith, be¬ 
cause it is the word of God. ’ All who admit this 
are Christians, and ought to be rt ceived as Christians. 

We have been highly gratified to learn, that at 
the celebration in Geneva, of the completion of 
three hundred years from the begini.’ng of the Re¬ 
formation from Papacy by Luther, there was a 
large meeting of delegates, or memb. rs of dif¬ 
ferent churches and denominations. W th a few 
exceptions, those present, and there were '^'rinita- 
rians and Unitarians, Episcopalians and Congrega- 
tionalists. Calvinists and Arrninians, manifested a 
truly Christian spirit, rejoicing in the light and gra e 
of the gospel, appealing to the holy Bible as the 
only standard of religious truth, and readily recog¬ 
nising all as Christians, who receive the scriptures 
as the word of God, or written by holy men under 
the guidance of divine inspiration. B. 


Wants. — Wisdom wants more pupils; truth, 
more real friends ; virtue more admirers ; honesty, 
more practitioners ; religion, to have less said of its 
mysteries, and more done of its duties. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


95 


HONESTY THE BEST POLICY. 

This was the opinion kindly given by a master 
to his faitliful servant John, alter labouring for him 
some lime, and about to return to his family ; which 
he had left in great poverty the year before.—On 
arriving at his cabin, he found his wife and cliildren 
rejoicing over a purse full of gold, which the eldest 
boy had picked up on the road that morning. 
Whilst he was away, they had endured all the mis¬ 
eries which the wretched families of those who go 
over to seek work in England are exposed to. 
With precarious food, without a bed to lie down 
on, or a roof to shelter them, they had wandered 
through the country, seeking food from door to 
door of a starving population ; and when a single 
potato was bestowed, showering down blessings and 
thanks on the giver, not in the set phrases of the 
mendicant, but in a burst of eloquence loo fervid 
not to gush direct from the heart. Those only who 
have seen a family of such beggars as I describe, 
can fancy the joy with which the poor woman wel¬ 
comed her husband back, and informed him of the 
purse full of gold. 

“And where did Mick, my boy, find it?” in¬ 
quired John Carson. 

“ It was the young squire, for certain, who drop¬ 
ped it,” said his wife; “ for he rode down the 
road this morning, and was leaping his horse in the 
very gap where Micky picked it up ; but sure, John, 
he has money enough besides, and never the half¬ 
penny have I to buy my poor childer a bit to eat 
this blessed night.” 

“ Never mind that,” said John ; “ do as I bid 
you, and take up the purse at once to the big house, 
and ask for the young squire. I have two cakes 
which I brought every step of the way with me 
from England, and they will do for the children’s 
supper. I ought surely to remember, as good right 
I have, what my master told me for my twelve 
months’ wages, seeing I never, as yet, found what 
he said to be wrong.” 

“ And what did he say ?” inquired his wife. 

“ That honesty is the best policy,” answered John. 

‘ ’Tis very well; and ’tis mighty easy for them 
to say so that have never been sore tempted, by 
distress and famine, to say otherwise; but your 
bidding is enough for me, John.” 

Straightways she went to the big house, and in¬ 
quired for the young squire; but she was denied 
the liberty to speak to him. 

“ You must tell me your business, honest wo¬ 
man,” said a servant, with a head all powdered and 
frizzled like a cauliflower, and who had on a coat 
covered with gold and silver lace and buttons, and 
every thing in the world. 

“ If you knew but all,” said she, “ I am an hon¬ 
est woman, for I’ve brought a purse full of gold to 
the young master, that my little boy picked up by 
the roadside; for surely it is his, as nobody else 
could have so much money.” 

“ Let me see it,” said the servant. “ Ay, its all 
right—I’ll take care of it—you need not trouble 
yourself any more about the matter;” and so say¬ 
ing, he slammed the door in her face. When she 
returned, her husband produced the two cakes 


which his master gave him on parting; and break¬ 
ing one to divide between his children, how was he 
astonished at finding six golden guineas in it; and 
when he took the other and broke it, he found as 
many more. He then remembered the words of 
his generous master, who desired him to give one 
of the cakes to his wife, and not to eat the other 
himself until that time; and this was the way his 
master took to conceal.his wages, lest he should 
have been robbed, or have lost the money on the 
road. 

The following day, as John was standing near 
his cabin-door, and turning over in his own mind 
what he should do with his money, the young squire 
came riding down the road. John pulled ofl' his 
hat, for he had not forgot his manners through the 
means of his travelling to foreign parts, and then 
made so bold as to inquire if his honour had got the 
j)urse he lost. 

“ Why, it is true enu’jgh, my good fellow,” said 
the squire, “ I did lose my purse yesterday, and I 
hope you were lucky enough to find it; for if that 
is your cabin, you seem to be very poor, and shall 
keep it as a reward for your honesty.” 

“ Then the servant up at the big house never 
gave it to your honour last night, after taking it 
from Nance—she’s my wife, your honour—and 
telling her it was all right ?” 

“ Oh, I must look into this business,” said the 
squire. 

“ Did you say your wife, my poor man, gave my 
purse to a servant—to what servant?” 

“ I can’t tell his name rightly,” said John, “be¬ 
cause I don’t know it; but never trust Nance’s 
eyes again if she can’t point him out to your honour, 
if so your honour is desirous of knowing.” 

“ Then do you and Nance, as you call her, come 
up to the hall this evening, and I’ll inquire into the 
matter, I promise you.” So saying, the squire 
rode off. 

John and his wife went up accordingly in the 
evening, and he gave a small rap with the big 
knocker at the great door. The door was opened 
by a grand servant, who, without hearing what the 
poor people had to say, exclaimed, “ Oh, go!— 
go—what business can you have here ?” and shut 
the door. 

John’s wife burst out crying—“ There,” said she, 
sobbing as if her heart would break, “ I knew that 
would be the end of it.” 

But John had not been in merry England merely 
to get his twelve guineas packed in two cakes. 
“ No,” said he, firmly, “ right is right, and I’ll see 
the end of it.” So he sat himself down on the 
step of the door, determined not to go until he saw 
the young squire; and, as it happened, it was not 
long before he came out. 

“ I have been expecting you sotne tipie, John,” 
said he; “ come in and bring your wife in;” and 
he made them go before him into the house. Im¬ 
mediately he directed all the servants to come up 
stairs ; and such an army of them as there was! It 
was a real sight to see them. 

“ Which of you,” said the young squire, with¬ 
out piukifig furthe^: >yords, “ which of you all did 





96 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


this honest woman give my purse too ?”—but there 
was no answer. “ Well, I suppose she must be 
mistaken, unless she can tell herself.” 

John’s wife at once pointed her finger towards 
the head footman ; “ there he is,” said she, “ if all 
the world were to the fore—clargyman, magistrate, 
judge, jury, and all—there he is, and I’m ready to 
take my bible-oath to him—there he is who told me 
it was all right when he took the purse, and slammed 
the door in my face, without as much as thank ye 
for it.” 

The conscious footman turned pale. 

“ What is this I hear ?” said his master. “ If this 
woman gave you my purse, William, why did you 
not give it to me ?” 

The servant stammered out a denial; but his 
master insisted on his being searched, and the purse 
was found in his pocket. 

“ John,” said the gentleman, turning round, 
“ you shall be no loser by this affair. Here are ten 
guineas for you; go home now, but I will not for¬ 
get your wife’s honesty.” 

Within a month, John Carson was settled in a 
nice new-slated house, which the squire had fur¬ 
nished and made ready for him. What with his 
wages, and the reward he got from the judge, and 
the ten guineas for returning the purse, he was well 
to do in the world, and was soon able to stock a 
small farm, where he lived respected all his days. 
On his death-bed, he gave his children the very 
three advices which his master had given him on 
parting:— 

Never to take a bye-road when they could follow 
the highway. 

Never to lodge in the house where an old man 
was married to a young woman. 

And, above all, to remember that honesty is the 
best policy. 

THE MIDDLE, OR DARK AGES 

The period, most commonly distinguished as the 
dark ages, extends from about A. D. 450, to 1450, 
though it might not be incorrect to continue it fifty 
years later. At the beginning of the Christian era, 
Rome was in its glory. That was the period of its 
greatest prosperity. Its character for literature was 
then also the highest. For several ages, its citizens 
had been familiar with the learning of Greece, and 
had drank deep at Hellenistic fountains. But after 
the Vandal inroads of the barbarous nations from 
the north, in the 5th and 6th centuries, they became 
degenerated both in manliness of character and lite¬ 
rary attainments. And this lamentable declension 
was of long duration. Even the pure and rational 
religion of Christianity, in the hands of an illiterate 
and debased people, became in a great measure a 
shelter for superstition, and an apology for immo¬ 
rality. Neither the laity nor the clergy possessed 
its spirit, nor observed its precepts, Religion de¬ 
generated into a merely external and ceremonial 
worship; and the Christian world was distinguished 
in little more than name from pagans and idolaters. 
Learning felt the withering influence of the times; 
it was considered unnecessary. The Pope and 
his priests claimed to be infallible teachers and 
guides, The people were discouraged frotii ber 


coming learned ; and for the clergy even, it was 
enough to dictate in all matters of religion, with¬ 
out being at the trouble of explaining their doc¬ 
trines and commands, or proving them agreeable 
to the gospel of Christ, or the instructions of his 
inspired apostles. Instead of making advances in 
literature and science, the inhabitants of Europe 
were thus made to retrograde, for a long period of 
nearly a thousand years. There were nothing like 
public schools for the lower classes; and very few 
even of the nobility could write their name, or read 
a chapter in the sacred volume. This indeed, was 
a sealed book; the laity were not required, nor 
even permitted to examine. The husbandmen and 
the mechanics were ignorant of every thing but 
what was necessary to enable them to perform the 
labor of their vocation. And this they did from 
habit and custom, as the ox trod the furrow or the 
horse moved round in a mill. The people could 
work without learning, and thev knew little more 
than the horse or the ass which they drove in the 
path or the field. And those of nobler birth direct¬ 
ed all their energies to learn the art of war, and to 
prepare themselves to kill and destroy their fellow- 
men. The clergy had the manuscripts and books 
of other ages in their possession ; but the key to 
unlock these stores, they neither allowed others to 
take, nor often used it themselves for the purposes 
of gaining knowledge to be communicated to others. 

These were ages of thick and gross darkness. 
The light of learning suffered a long and almost total 
eclipse. No intellectual efforts were put forth to 
break through the heavy clouds which brooded over 
the world of mind. Brute force governed society ; 
and animal passions, unrestrained, corrupted the 
whole body of the people. But at length, the 
abuses and corruptions were so numerous and so 
irrational, that in the beginning of the 16th century, 
Erasmus and Luther asserted the rights of human 
nature, and opened an avenue for the light of truth 
to shine once more upon the benighted regions of 
continental Europe. It was indeed a feeble light 
at first, but the dawn was soon followed by a bright¬ 
er day. At a little earlier period, in the 15th century, 
the art of printing had been discovered, which 
proved an incalculable advantage to the interests of 
learning; and the mariner’s compass was also in 
vented, which served to extend commercial enter¬ 
prises, whose influence was alike auspicious to 
civilization and literature. 

In the darkest periods of ignorance and bigotry, 
there were, however, some “ lesser lights ” in a part 
of the hemisphere, which prevented universal dark¬ 
ness and corruption. - 

Spectacles. —Their position on the head is very 
important. They should be worn so that the 
glasses may come as near to the eyes as possible, 
without interfering with the eye lashes; and so 
placed as that the glasses be parallel to the paper, 
when held in an easy position. To accomplish this, 
the sides of the spectacles should bear upon the 
swell of the head, about midway between the top and 
the ears; the eyes will then look directly through the 
glasses to the paper. When the sides of the spec¬ 
tacles are placed in contact with the ears, there is 
not 50 good a view of the object. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


97 



[The Desert of Sinai, with the Rock said by the Arabs to be that which Moses struck.] 


THE ROCK STRUCK BY MOSES FOR WATER. 


The rock which was smitten by Moses, and 
whence the water afterwards flowed for the relief 
of the tliihsty Israelites under his command, is situ¬ 
ated in the desert or wilderness of Sinai. This 
desert is in the peninsula, made by two branches 
or bays of the Red Sea, extending into Arabia 
Petrea. “ This is, in truth, a great and terrible wil¬ 
derness, where there is (little or) no water.” The 
rock, which tradition has pointed out as the one 
whence the water gushed out, when struck by Mo¬ 
ses, and gave relief to the people complaining of 
their privations and sufferings, and comparing the 
abundance they had enjoyed in Egypt under bond¬ 
age, is not far from Sinai or Horeb ; but is near¬ 
est the latter. It has been somewhat differently 
described by the numerous travellers who have 
given an account of it. One represents it as six 
yards square, and another to be fifteen feet long, 
ten wide, and twelve in height. It appears in a 
tottering state, and the base is smaller than the 
body of the rock near the top. It is rough and un¬ 
even on the sides, indicating a disrupture from the 
mountain by some volcanic power or uncommon 
agitation of the earth. 

This event was soon after the publication of the 
law by Moses from Sinai; and it is represented as 
miraculous, equally as the passage of the Red Sea, 
and the supply of quails and manna. There have 
been attempts by some learned men to show that 
the extraordinary events connected with the exode 
of the Hebrews from Egypt, and with their journey 
of forty years in the wilderness, were not miracu¬ 
lous. We do not see, however, but one may as 
well deny the miracles of Christ, and indeed all 


miracles whatever. And yet we are not to multiply 
miracles unnecessarily. 'I’he writer of the Psalms 
has celebrated the occurrence as a miracle; and 
Moses, wlio gave an account of it, speaks of it 
as such. A great question was tej be decided before 
the nations of the earth, at that period, when 
almost the whole world was given to idolatry; 
whether the God of Moses, the God of Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob, was the true and only God ; and 
it was therefore a proper occasion for the particular 
interference of Him who made heaven and earth, 
and had the control of nature and the elements. 
The judgments on Pharaoh and his people, and the 
subsequent protection of the Hebrews, and the 
giving of the law by Moses, are all the works 
of Him who created and governs the world, and 
who (so far as reason or |)hilosophy is able to 
show) can suspend the laws by which matter is reg¬ 
ulated for great moral purposes. Why should it be 
“ thought incredible for God to raise the dead?” 
He who first made man a living and intellectual be¬ 
ing, who formed him with so wonderful a body, 
and a spiritual property capable of indefinite im¬ 
provement, “ who stamped its lustre on an insect’s 
wing, and wheels his throne upon the rolling 
worlds ;” he surely, can raise the dead to life, he can 
calm the stormy winds, he can cause the earth¬ 
quake to engulf the solid land, and the fire of the 
volcano to overwhelm the fairest cities. 


London is first mentioned as a Roman settlement, 
or garrison, in the reign of Nero, A. D. 61. But 
before that period, it was a place of residence far 
tradeifs or merchants from Germany and Gaul 

13 




























































98 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


BOSTON ACADEMY OF MUSIC. 

A society or company with this name has been 
formed in Boston within a few years past, whose 
object “ is to raise music, as a branch of education 
to the rank which they think it entitled to hold, to 
diffuse a knowledge of its principles among all 
classes in society, to show its advantages, to remove 
the prejudices which prevent attention to it, and 
to correct the abuses to which it is liable.” The 
efforts of the Society are not exclusively devoted 
to instruction and improvement in sacred music, 
though this will be the great and even the principal 
design. “ From its frequent recurrence, and its prac¬ 
tical influence on the devotions of the sanctuary, as 
well as from the defective manner in which it is 
often performed, they consider church music the 
most important department of the art, and in which 
improvement is very desirable. But vocal music of 
all kinds which tends to diffuse a chastened cheer¬ 
fulness in the domestic and social circle comes 
within the scope of their design.” There are oc¬ 
casions, they observe, “ when the introduction of 
music would be both agreeable and improving, but 
when sacred music would be obviously unsuitable. 
There are moments when the gaiety of our hearts 
rises so high as to overflow the bounds of gravity, 
and we find ourselves involuntarily giving utterance, 
in singing, to the joy which reigns within. At so¬ 
cial meetings, in the season of childhood, under 
various circumstances of life, feelings of joy and in¬ 
nocence though not positively of a religious char¬ 
acter, may be indulged, which are proper to be 
expressed in music, but which naturally lead to that 
mode of expression.” The object of the Academy 
is not limited to any single department of the art; 
but extends to all branches of it, in which any one 
may wish or need instruction. 

The officers and members of the Society are 
highly respectable—men of letters, of taste, of good 
morals, and of religious characters. The public 
meetings are to be held in the old Federal Street 
Theatre, which has been fitted up in an appropri¬ 
ate style for the purpose. The large room or hall 
devoted to the Academy, was formerly a place of 
resort for lectures on religion and the rights of 
man, as pretended, but really for purposes of irre- 
ligion, skepticism, radicalism—and if we were to 
add, for recommending licentiousness, it might not 
be far from the truth. We rejoice at the change, 
and we hope no other place in Boston will be found 
for the retailers of error and skepticism to deceive, 
and corrupt the people. 

A public address was delivered at the Odeon, 
(as the Academy’s room is now called) in August, 
by Mr. Eliot, the President; and was very favour¬ 
ably received by a select and discriminating au¬ 
dience. The Academy has the best wishes of the 
friends of religion and good order, for its perma¬ 
nent success. 


HISTORY OF LOWELL. 

Lowell in Massachusetts has increased so rapidly 
within a few years, and is so much celebrated for its 
extensive manufacturing establishments, that we 
give the following account of it taken from a late 
paper published in that town; presuming it will be 


acceptable to our friends and customers especially 
at the south and west. 

About fifteen years ago the now territory of 
Lowell, being about four square miles, and bearing 
upon it about fifteen thousand inhabitants, was 
owned by a few honest farmers, who obtained sub¬ 
sistence for themselves and families by the cultiva¬ 
tion of this comparatively barren spot, and the fish 
they caught in the Merrimac and Concord Rivers. 
It comprised the northeasterly part of Chelmsford, 
and bounded easterly by the Concord River, which 
separated it from Tewkesbury, and northerly by the 
Merrimac, that divided it from Dracut; and from the 
fact of its situation at the confluence of these riv¬ 
ers, was called Chelmsford Neck, and originally by 
the Indians, Wamaset. 

Thus for centuries it lay, with the vast resources, 
which we now see developed, slumbering in its bo¬ 
som, unsuspected and unknown. But the spirit of 
enterprise and improvement came, and its touch, 
like that of the magic wand, has turned this seem¬ 
ing wilderness, not simply into a fruitful field, but 
into a busy, enterprising and prosperous city. 

In 1819, Kirk Boot, Esq. a wealthy merchant of 
Boston, in the habit of a hunter, explored this 
place. He discovered its resources, and immedi¬ 
ately, in company with several other rich merchants 
of that city, purchased the land and water privi¬ 
leges. They were incorporated by the name of the 
“ Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Merrimac 
River;” and commenced operations by digging a 
canal from the Merrimac River, near the Pawtucket 
Falls, easterly about one mile and a half, where it 
emptied into the Concord River. This canal is sixty 
feet wide, and carries in depth eight feet of water. 
This is their grand canal; lateral branches are cut, 
which carry the water to the several manufacturing 
mills, and then discharge it into the Merrimac or 
Concord Rivers. They then erected a large brick 
machine shop, and commenced building machinery. 
This company sell out the privileges to manufac¬ 
turing companies, dig the canals, erect the mills, 
build the machinery, and put the whole in opera¬ 
tion ; they do it cheaper than any body else would 
do it; and these are the only terms on which they 
sell the privileges. The company has a capital of 
^'600,000, and employs constantly, about two hun¬ 
dred workmen in their machine shop. A part of 
their lands they have sold ©ut to individuals at an 
enormous advance on the original price. Land for 
which they paid ^20 or ^30 per acre, they have 
sold for one dollar per square foot. They still have 
a considerable portion of it on hand and unsold. 
Mr. Boot is their agent. 

Lowell contains (as we have before remarked) 
about fifteen thousand inhabitants, and was incorpo¬ 
rated in 1824 into a town distinct from Chelmsford, 
and received its name from Francis C. Lowell, Esq., 
who early introduced manufactures into this coun¬ 
try. There are now about twenty-five factories in 
operation, and there yet remain unoccupied privi¬ 
leges for nearly as many more. When these shall 
be taken up, as they in all probability will, they 
will probably afford means of subsistence to anothei 
fifteen thousand inhabitants, making in the whole 
thirty thousand. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


90 


A new canal is now being dug, which will fur¬ 
nish sites for about a dozen mills of the size already 
built. A company has recently been incorporated 
by the name of Boot Cotton Mills, which have 
purchased four of these sites, and upon them are 
immediately to erect four large brick mills. The 
rail-road from this place to Boston is now complete. 
It will be, we apprehend, of mutual advantage to 
both places, and especially to Lowell. It is said to 
be more permanently built than any other in the 
country. There are to be two tracks. It will greatly 
facilitate the immense transportation between these 
places. A steamboat owned by Messrs. Bradley 
&. Simpson, has commenced running between Low¬ 
ell and Nashua, a distance of fourteen miles further 
inland. It is to co-operate with the rail-road. A 
spacious market house, one hundred and sixty-six 
feet long, is to be built this season—^40,000 have 
been appropriated for the purpose. But the town 
is still deficient in public buildings. A town house, 
school houses, and poor house, are all we recollect. 
The streets are not paved, but will be ere long. 
And on the whole, notwithstanding its present im¬ 
perfections and deficiencies, which time, we trust, 
will remedy, it yet presents, as we believe, much to 
interest the curious traveller. 


TELESCOPES. 

In the Cyclopedia of Useful Knowledge there is 
an account of a telescope constructed by Mr. Wid- 
difield. of Boston. We will present an account of 
two reflecting telescopes, recently made by Amasa 
Holcomb of Hampden county, Massachusetts, which 
have been examined by the Committee on the Arts 
and Sciences, appointed by the Franklin Institute 
in Philadelphia. They are constructed on the plan 
of Herschel. The largest has a focal length of nine 
feet and a half, the diameter of the speculum being 
eight inches and a half, and having five astronomical 
eye-pieces, with one terrestrial eye-piece for show¬ 
ing objects erect. The lowest power is fifty-seven, 
the highest nine hundred. The smallest has a focal 
length of seven feet and nine inches ; the diameter 
of the speculum is six and a half inches, and 
has one terrestrial and four astronomical eye-pieces : 
The lowest power is sixty, the highest six hundred. 
The result of the examination of these instruments 
was highly creditable to Mr. Holcomb; and the com¬ 
mittee think must be gratifying to all who desire the 
advancement of astronomical science in our country. 
The instruments gave satisfactory views of the moon, 
with a sufficiency of light. They are an improve¬ 
ment on those offered by Mr. Holcomb in 1834. 
The following remarks relate to the larger telescope 
above-mentioned, of nearly ten feet focal length, 
eight inches aperture, with a positive eye-glass 
giving a power of about nine hundred ; the surface 
of the field of view being twice as large as that of 
a Gregorian, and a third greater than that of an 
Achromatic telescope. The view of the moon with 
its rugged surface, its ridges of mountains, and the 
endless variety of indentations on its surface, was 
interesting beyond description, and exceeded any 
thing, (the Committee say,) which they ever wit¬ 
nessed before, in the use of any other telescope. 

Saturn’s Ring, though not in a favourable posi¬ 


tion, was seen manifestly double, for the first time 
in this country, as far as the information of the 
Committee extends. 

The Companion of Polaris appeared as a star of 
the fourth or fifth magnitude, to the unassisted eye. 

The double stars. Castor, Draconis, 4 and 5Ly- 
rae, and 44 Bootes, were distinctly separated, and 
the dark space between them made evident. The 
last mentioned, consisting of two stars of the fifth 
magnitude, distance 3", made a fine appearance; 
they were soft, and well defined, and there were no 
scattering rays of light, as was the case with Castor, 
in both instruments. 

A class of closer double stars, of which 6 Cor- 
onae, distant 1" .2., and Bootes, distant 1" .4., may 
serve as examples, was acknowledged by the artist, 
last year to be too difficult for his telescope. This 
has furnished a stimulus for his exertions, and the 
complete division of the latter, as witnessed by the 
Committee on the present occasion, has been the 
reward of his disinterested labours. The discs of the 
two stars in Bootes appeared to be tangent to each 
other. The Committee have no evidence that the 
same has been effected by any other telescope in 
the country. 

For the purpose of finding the limit to the pow'er 
of Mr. Holcomb’s telescope, the Committee called 
his attention to a class of still closer stars; among 
them were mentioned, Cancri, 2 Bootes," Coronas, 
36 Andromedae, and Arietis, the last of which is 
only divisible by two telescopes now in use, viz., the 
Dorpat telescope, and the twenty foot reflector of 
Sir John Herschel. These stars, distant from 
O'' .6, to 1" .0., are made to appear with their discs 
tangent to each other in those celebrated instru¬ 
ments, as appears by their notes appended to the 
observations contained in their printed catalogues. 
It is almost needless to add, that Mr. Holcomb ac¬ 
knowledged these stars to be too difficult for any 
telescopes he has yet made. 

It may seem presumptuous to compare the small 
instrument of Holcomb with the chefs d’oeuvre of 
British and German genius; but, thanks to the ad¬ 
mirable labours of the Herschels, of Struve, and of 
South, observers are enabled, through their printed 
catalogues, to compare together the optical capaci¬ 
ties of their telescopes in distant regions. Accord¬ 
ingly, it appears from an examination of these cat¬ 
alogues, and of Holcomb’s instruments, that what 
the best telescopes in Europe can do upon stars 
distant 0" .6., can be done upon stars distant 1" .4. 
by instruments which are the work of an unassisted, 
and almost neglected American optician. 

Judging from the progress made in his art by 
Mr. Holcomb during the past year, the Committee 
look forward, with confident expectation, to the not 
far distant period, when, should his health be spared, 
the country will be in possession of a twenty foot 
reflector, of native workmanship, rivalling the best 
European instruments, and that, too, without the 
patronage of any corporate institution, should all 
of them be willing to waive the opportunity of 
sharing with him the merit of such an enterprise. 

The Committee have been led to enlarge upon 
this subject, from a knowledge that one of our na¬ 
tional institutions has, within a few years, imported 




100 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


into the country, at an expense of ^‘2,500, a tele¬ 
scope which, though excellent in its kind, is inferior 
to that exhibited by Mr. Holcomb, which was made 
and mounted to order for an individual in Georgia, 
at less than the eighth part of the above-mentioned 
sum. It is not probable that a twenty foot instru¬ 
ment from Mr. Holcomb would cost eight times as 
much as one of the length of ten feet. 

The mode of mounting this instrument appears 
to be original, and nothing can exceed it in simplic¬ 
ity, or steadiness. Indeed, with a power of 900, 
no inconvenience was perceived from resting with 
one hand on the frame, and another on the tube, 
although the same could not be done with the 
mounting used by Mr. Holcomb last year, or with 
that of common achromatics with a power of 200, 
without serious inconvenience. 

In conclusion, the Committee beg leave to recom¬ 
mend Mr. Holcomb to the Board of Managers of 
the Franklin Institute, as a candidate for a premium 
and medal from the Scott’s legacy fund, for his 
new mode of mounting reflecting telescopes. 


THE COMET’S INFLUENCE. 

A correspondent asks, how’ we are to account for 
the unusual quantity of rain the present season ; 
and inquires “ if the comet is near enough to our 
earth, to raise more vapours than common, and thus 
produce greater abundance of rain.” He says, “ as 
the moon is allowed to have an influence in raising 
the waters of the ocean by its attractive power, it 
is not unreasonable to conclude, that the comet, 
though far more distant than the moon, yet on ac¬ 
count of its very superior magnitude, may have an 
influence on our atmosphere.” We shall not pre¬ 
sume to decide in such a case as this; nor do we 
feel prepared to hazard even an opinion without 
hesitation. We doubt however, whether the comet, 
at the immense distance it has been from our earth, 
through the summer, would exert any influence in 
raising vapours and producing a wet season. It is 
to be considered also, that the nature and materiel 
of comets are not yet sufficiently known, to enable 
any one to pronounce positively, that the body is 
like the earth or moon, and has the power of at¬ 
traction on this globe which the moon is admitted 
to have. When the comet is in that point of its 
orbit nearest the earth or the sun, that it should ex¬ 
ert some influence on our atn)osphere is not im¬ 
probable. But to what extent, or how near it must 
approach to produce such influence, are questions 
which we pretend not to answer. 


Spider Silk. —A Frenchman, of the name of 
Bon, has given an account of procuring and prepar¬ 
ing silk of the webs of spiders. He says the spider 
makes a silk as beautiful and strong as the silk¬ 
worm. He says that by collecting a quantity of 
their bags, a silk may be made which will take all 
kinds of dyes, and may be made into all kinds of 
stuffs. Mr. Bon has had socks and gloves made of 
it. But it has been found impossible to rear spiders, 
as they destroy each other, when they have not 
flies for prey. 



THE SLING, OR FUNDITOR BALEARIS. 

One of the athletic exercises of the ancients was 
slinging stones; which was done with great skill 
and force. We present a figure of one in the atti¬ 
tude, and in the ancient costume of such as per¬ 
formed feats of this sort. Pliny speaks of them 
in his Natural History. Other writers on the 
gymnastic arts and exercises refer to them also. 
After long practice they were able to sling a stone 
with great directness and effect. And the sling 
was used in war as well as for exercise. This prac¬ 
tice was known also among the Jews in the time of 
David and even before his day. The people of the 
tribe of Benjaniin, it is recorded, could throw a stone 
with a sling as true as the expert sportsman can 
with his gun. These exercises consisted also in 
throwing the discus, or quoit; in running, riding, 
wrestling and swimming. In the latter, the young 
men w’ere very ambitious to excel, and spent much 
time in becoming expert in the art. It was a great 
reproach of one to say, “ he can neither swim nor 
write.” Pliny attributes the origin of the sling 
to the Phoenicians. It was also much in use 
in very early times among the rude inhabitants 
of Majorca, an island in the Mediterranean, near 
the coasts of Spain. Hence the name Balearis. 
The sling was used chiefly in war, but the young 
men were trained to it long before they were called 
to fight against a foreign enemy. Mothers placed 
a piece of bread on a distant height; and the boy 
was to have no supper, and no food, till he struck 
the bread with a stone from his sling. 

A late writer says, “ A Greek would have formed 
a god to be placed under the arch of Niagara Falls; 
an American is satisfied with erecting a paper mill 
above it.” 












UF USEFUL LNFOKMATION. 


101 



FORT INDEPENDENCE. 


Fort Independence is on a small low island in the 
harbour of Boston, nearly three miles east southeast 
from the city, and about one mile from Dorchester 
Point, (formerly so called, but now in South Boston.) 
It is about the same distance from Fort Warren, on 
Governor’s Island, which lies to the northeast. The 
main channel from the sea to the city is between 
Fort Independence and Fort Warren. The latter 
is of modern date, and belongs to the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment. The former also belongs to the United 
States, having been ceded by Massachusetts soon 
after the General Government was established. It 
was formerly called Castle Island, or Castle Wil¬ 
liam ; as the fortress was so named in honour of 
King William III., near the close of the 17th cen¬ 
tury. In the various wars between England and 
France, about the middle of the last century, when 
Boston was in danger of a visit from French fleets, 
Castle Island was fortified and manned for the pro¬ 
tection of the metropolis. After it was ceded to 
the Federal Government, great expenses were be¬ 
stowed on it, to render it a sufficient defence 
against an approaching enemy. It was many 
years in a good state for preventing any vessels pas¬ 
sing up to the city; the cannon were large and nu¬ 
merous, and the ships must necessarily pass near 
it. But it was always considered too low for great 
effect: Fort Warren, nearly opposite to it, is on 
much higher ground. It has lately been dismantled 
and the troops removed, in order for a thorough 
repair. Congress has already appropriated ,^25,000 
for the purpose, which is probably only one-third 
the amount necessary to complete the works. 

As early as 1634, “the Governor, Assistants,and 
several of the clergy, and some other citizens met 
at the island, and agreed to have a fortification 
there to secure the town ; and to give five pounds , 


each for that purpose. The deputy Governor, Mr. 
Ludlow, was chosen overseer of the work. At 
the next General Court, it was agreed to fortify the 
island at the public expense. In 1644, six of the 
nearest towns took it upon them to repair it at their 
own cost and charges.” In 1673, it was burnt, and 
a new one built with stone, under the direction of an 
able engineer. When the British troops were at 
Boston a few years before the war of the Revolu¬ 
tion, Governor Hutchinson delivered the key and 
the sole uncontrolled command of the fortress to 
the British officer then on the station ; which caused 
great alarm and indignation to the Boston patriots, 
who always contended, that the military should be 
subject to the civil authority. 


THE SILVER HAIR. 

[From the Zodiac.] 

Grief has not furrowed o’er my cheek, 
Nor yet the lines of care 
Nor age, the fatal signet set— 

Then why this silver hair ? 

To me not all the valued lore, 

The son of science blesses. 

Can boast the thrilling eloquence 
This single hair possesses. 

’Tis wisdom’s early monitor. 

That youth’s gay hours have flown; 
One glance will tell the stream is pass’d; 
Our folly’s Rubicon. 


The first newspaper issued in England, was in 
the days of Queen Elizabeth, 1558, on the alarm 
of the invasion by the Spanish Armada: And the 
object was the early and rapid circulation of intel¬ 
ligence for the prosecution and progress of that 
formidable expedition. 































































102 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


TIDES. 


We have before referred to a late order of the 
British Admiralty to notice the exact time of high 
water in several ports in England ; and of a similar 
order from the Navy Department at Washington, 
to have the same done at Charlestown, and some 


other ports in the United States, The time pro¬ 
posed for the observation was from 8th to 29th of 
June last. The following is the result of the ob¬ 
servations made at Charlestown, by the [)rofessor of 
mathematics in the Navy Yard at that place. 


Time of full sea in Boston, inner harbor, compared with the time of the Moon's Transits over the 
upper and lower meridians, from the 8th to the 29th of June, 1835. L. M. lower meridian, 
U. M. upper meridian. 


June. 

Moon’s Transits. 

Full Sea. 

Difference. 

Moon’s Transits. 

Full Sea. 

Difference. 

Moon’s Age. 

18S5 

A. M, 


A. M. 


P. M. 


P. M. 


M. 


h / cl 


h ' " 

h ' d 

h ' d 


h ' " 

h ' d 

d h ' 

9 

10.40.40 L. M. 

10.00.32 

39.87 

11.11.45 U. M. 

10.13.00 

58.45 

13.3.12 

10 

11.41.20 

(C 

10.53.07 

47.08 

none 




14.3.12 

11 

0.14.00 U. M. 

11.12.50 p.m.lOth. 

1.01.17 

0.44.60 L. M. 

1 ] ■ 46.09 a m.llth. 

58.45 

15.3.12 

12 

1.17.85 

<c 

0.00.34 

1.17.28 

1.48.10 

(( 

0.43.28 

1.04.22 

16.3.12 

13 

2.20.42 

(C 

1.07.41 

1.12.74 

2.49.10 

CC 

1.41.57 

1.07.15 

17.3.12 

14 

3.19.22 

cc 

1.53.21 

1.25.87 

3.45.60 

cc 

2.29.01 

1.16.58 

18.3.12 

15 

4..3.12 

a 

2.34.17 

1.38.84 

4.37.30 

cc 

3.27.12 

1.10.10 

19.3.12 

16 

5.02.24 

(C 

3.46.42 

1.15.54 

5.24.40 

cc 

4.26.02 

58.37 

20.3.12 

17 

5.47.37 

(( 

4.36.22 

1.11.01 

6.08.10 

cc 

5.18.05 

50.02 

21.3.12 

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6.29.65 

C( 

5.34.54 

54.75 

6.49.50 

cc 

6.12.32 

36.97 

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19 

7.10.45 

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6.30.45 

39.70 

7.30.10 

cc 

7.02.36 

27.50 

23.3.12 

20 

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C( 

7.25.36 

25.30 

8.10.70 

cc 

7.53.27 

17.25 

24.3 12 

21 

8.31.76 

(( 

8.20.53 

10.83 

8.52.40 

cc 

8.40.50 

11.57 

25.8.12 

22 

9.14.46 

(( 

9.10.07 

4.34 

9.36.10 

cc 

9.24.00 

12.10 

26.3.12 

23 

9.59.44 

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10.01.22 

-f- 1.93 

10.22.20 

cc 

10.05.32 

16.67 

27.8.12 

24 

10.47.05 

C( 

10.38.15 

8.80 

11.11.10 

cc 

10.47.52 

23.23 

28.8.12 

25 

11.37.24 

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11.21.25 

15.82 

none 

cc 



29.3.12 

26 

0.02.40 L. M. 

11.23.34 p*m.2£itb. 

38.83 

0.29.42 U. M. 

11 59.29 a.mJMth. 

29.94 

0.12.23 

27 

0.55.00 

u 

0.10.35 

44.42 

1.22.40 

cc 

0.82.10 

50.23 

1.12.23 

28 

1.47.98 

ti 

0 44.12 

1.03.78 

2.14.93 

cc 

1.21.59 

52.95 

2.12.23 


THE GREEK CHURCH. 

For several centuries after the death of Christ, 
the numerous churches by which his name was 
professed, notwithstanding various controversies as 
to ceremonies and articles of faith, were nomi¬ 
nally united in fellowship through the great extent 
of country where they were established. There 
were, indeed, small sects and schisms, and disputes 
on speculative points of faith; but no very great 
division and separation took place, till near the 
close of the fifth century, when the Bishop or Pon¬ 
tiff' of Rome anathematized the Patriarchs of Con¬ 
stantinople and of Alexandria, for their not submit¬ 
ting entirely to his arbitrary edicts, and his claims of 
superiority. The Eastern, or Greek churches were 
op[x>sed to images in their temples, which the 
Bishop of Rome allowed and approved. Nor was 
the Bishop of Constantinople willing to admit the 
pretensions of the Pope to be the head of the Christian 
Church, which he then put forth. The Greek 
Church, thus cut off' from religious fellowship with 
the Western or Romish Church, included those of 
Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch. 
This separation might also have been hastened by the 
division between the Eastern and Western Empire, 
and the removal of the Court from Rome to Con¬ 
stantinople. 

The Bishop or Patriarch of the latter claimed to 
be on an equality with the former, in his ecclesias¬ 
tical authority. Rut this tlie haughty Pontiff’ of 
Rome would not allow. Some of the charores 

O 


against the Bishop and Church of Rome by the 
Eastern Churches were, “ that the former had ad¬ 
ded an unscriptural creed respecting the Holy 
Spirit, and had altered many of the ancient usages 
of the Church, by ordering fasts on Saturdays, and 
forbidding the priests to marry.” The greatest 
complaint was, that the Pope assumed authority 
over all other churches, and undertook of his own 
pleasure, to decide what was to be believed and 
practised by the Christian professors. In the 
seventh century, the separation seems to have been 
complete. Some efforts were made by the Emper¬ 
ors of Constantinople afterwards for a reconcilia¬ 
tion ; but without any lasting success. The Patri¬ 
archs exercised great power over the churches of 
the East, but never to the extravagant extent of the 
Popes of Rome. The extensive empire of Russia 
now belongs to the Greek Church, as to the rites 
and ceremonies of religion, and in opposition to the 
high claims of the Roman Pontiff’. 


THE BIBLE. 

The Bible is the foundation of the faith of the 
Christian world. The theological doctrines receiv¬ 
ed by Christians, and the hopes they cherish of a 
future life, are drawn from this source. And it is 
matter of surprise with many, that there should be 
such various systems and creeds among them. 
This fact is even made an objection to revelation by 
1 skeptical and superficial writers. While w^e admit, 





























103 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


that it is somewhat surprising the differences should 
be so great, as they are between some sects of profes¬ 
sing Christians, we cannot allow, that it furnishes 
a just, or at least, a strong objection, to our holy 
religion. A little reflection, indeed, will satisfy us, 
that diflerences of opinion would arise, where men 
are left free to examine, and interpret, and to 
judge for themselves. There are several conside¬ 
rations which contribute to these various and dif¬ 
fering creeds. Men are of diflerent capacities, and 
are diflerently educated. They have different de¬ 
grees of information, and their views on other sub¬ 
jects will have an influence on the opinions which 
they imbibe respecting religion. The young will 
put a somewhat diflerent construction on passages 
of scripture from the aged; and the illiterate from 
the learned philosopher. The books composing the 
Bible were written by different i]jen, and at distant 
ages of the world, when the style of writing, the 
state of knowledge, customs and manners were dif¬ 
ferent. There is much that is figurative and much 
that is historical; there is much that is local, and 
much tliat is general and universal. It would then, 
be matter of surprise if there were not different 
interpretations and views, rather than that there 
were but one. It would be unnatural, if it were not so. 
And yet it must be conceded that the differences are 
greater than might at first have been supposed. But 
it may be proper to observe, that this difference was 
not so great among the Christians of the first and 
second centuries, as afterwards. When inspiration 
ceased in the Church, which was at the death of 
the apostles of Christ and their contemporaries, a 
(diversity of opinion prevailed. There were no ora¬ 
cles to decide except the written documents the 
first teachers. These would be sufficient, i men 
appealed to them, and consulted them withe .t pre¬ 
judices. But that would be to expect more inan we 
have a right to expect from human nature. Men 
listened to their imaginations and formed theories 
of their own, and then went to the Bible for a con¬ 
firmation of them. They seldom read the sacred 
volume to search for truth, or to attain its true 
meaning, with a resolution to follow and obey. 
Had they done so, there would be far less of dif¬ 
ferences of opinions than there now are among 
Christians. 

But while there are differences among the various 
sects of Christians, on minor points of faith, or the 
ceremonies of religion, it is a fact that most of them 
substantially agree on all important subjects. If 
there are some sects, which substitute forms and 
rites for vital piety and personal religion, and some 
which deny ail future retribution, it must be ac¬ 
knowledged, “ that they teach for doctrines the com¬ 
mandments of men,” or “ preach another gospel ” 
entirely. But most sects agree in the fundamental 
and essential doctrines of Christianity; while they 
profess faith in Christ, as their divine “ master and 
Lord,” they believe in the moral government and 
providence of God, that repentance and holiness are 
necessary ; and that there is a judgment to come, 
when all will be treated according to their conduct 
and character in this life. Differences on many 
subjects are to be expected ; nor are they very im¬ 
portant. They are not the silver and gold of the 


building, but the hay and stubble; and the latter 
may be burnt up, while the former shall abide. 
To the law and the testimony, then, let us apj)ly ; 
and the study will do us no injury. We shall find a 
fitness, and a power, which will influence and con¬ 
vince the heart, and overcome all the subtle objec¬ 
tions of ingenious skeptics. We shall then be not 
only almost, but altogether Christians. And charity 
for others will be the prominent sentiment of our 
minds. 


MANUAL LABOR SCHOOLS. 

We introduced this subject in a former number, 
and referred to institutions of this kind in the Uni¬ 
ted States. We have lately read the report of a 
board of visitors after an examination of a manual 
labor school, which is established at Macon in 
Georgia, under the patronage of a Methodist Con¬ 
ference. In this report, it is stated, as the unanf- 
mous opinion of the board, three of whom had been 
several years engaged in the instruction of youth, 
“ that the advancements of the pupils in their lite¬ 
rary studies had been fully as great, as in those 
seminaries where no manual labor was required.” 
The connection of manual labor with the literary 
and scientific exercises of the student, is a principle 
lying at the foundation of the institution. And the 
visitors express the opinion, that its organization 
affords the best m.eans of preserving the health and 
invigorating the character of youth, both physically 
and mentally, as well as being the cheapest mode 
of education. The only motive, however, in enter¬ 
ing such a school should not be economy ; but the 
conviction, that it is the surest way to health, sobri¬ 
ety, and usefulness, should have a strong influence. 
We believe seminaries of a similar kind will soon 
multiply in this great republic. For they are pe¬ 
culiarly republican in their character and tendency. 
The superintendent sustains the character of pas¬ 
tor; and there is perfect order and sobriety in the 
school. The pupils appear cheerful and happy, 
their health is good, and their labor is deemed a 
pleasant recreation. 


CAUSES OF SOCIAL EVILS. 

The population, the knowledge and the wealth 
of the United States have increased in a very great 
and astonishing degree within the last half century. 
And compared to the state of the country before 
the Revolution, the difference will appear still 
greater. But it is an important question, whether 
we are much more virtuous, orderly and happy than 
at the former periods. And, if the people are not 
improved, as might have been expected, nor in pro¬ 
portion to their privileges, it is an interesting inquiry, 
what are the causes of failure, what are the hin¬ 
drances to public and private virtue. Disorders and 
crimes might, perhaps, have been expected to be 
more frequent or more numerous, with a population 
of fourteen millions, than with three, if no means 
were used to prevent them. But with mild laws, 
a full measure of freedom, and liberal means for dis¬ 
seminating useful knowledge, it was predicted, that 
we should continue a sober, peaceable and virtuous 







104 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


people, notwithstanding the great Increase of num¬ 
bers. History, however, does not fully confirm the fa¬ 
vorable predictions. Nor do we see reason to assign, 
as the only cause of the failure of former pleasant 
anticipations, the emigrations into the country, 
from foreign nations. No doubt this is one cause, 
or may justly be referred to, as accounting in part, 
for our disappointment of the propitious social re¬ 
sults expected. But we fear there is some error or 
defect in the education of the young. We speak 
not of the literary part of education, but of moral; 
and it seems as if there was a great defect, as to 
parental instruction, government and example, as to 
teaching social and relative duties, and as to the 
necessity of subordination, and reverence for laws 
duly and deliberately enacted. 

Family discipline and instruction, we fear, are 
now far less regarded by parents than formerly. 
But here the education must begin. Here must be 
government, submission, order and good feelings, 
or we shall expect them in vain in society. The 
young must obey, and listen to, and be restrained 
by, their parents ; and they must learn that the mid¬ 
dle aged and the still more advanced in life, have 
experience and practical knowledge, which entitle 
them to advise, to control, and to direct. But now 
young men or women of twenty know more and 
better than their parents, and undertake to be the 
dictators and instructors of those older and much 
wiser than themselves. This is a great error; and 
should be corrected. Nor is it uncommon to find 
quite young men who assume to know more of the 
nature and design of civil government, of the social 
duties, and of the great principles of constitutional 
liberty than men of fifty and sixty, who know fully 
from observation the bearing and tendency, as well 
as the direct effect of the laws; the measure of 
liberty the people will bear, and the necessity of 
a fair and impartial administration of government, 
founded by the majority after a cool and deliberate 
examination. There is no short and safe road to 
justice^ other than that pointed out by the constitu¬ 
tion and the laws. Summary proceedings, by a 
party, or a mob, and setting aside the usual forms 
of law, are always dangerous, and usually unjust 
and cruel. Suspicion is the informer, and preju¬ 
dice and passion are the judges and jurors. The 
innocent are liable to suffer. The first violators of 
law and peace, may soon become the victims of 
lawless violence. And often (it would seem, we 
speak w'ith reverence) the retributions of heaven 
are speedily awarded to the authors of violence and 
of reckless vengeance tow'ards others. 

With every good citizen and true patriot it is 
time for deep reflection, as to a remedy, or a pre- 
veative of such evils. 


STEPHEN GIRARD. 

Mr. Girard, who died at Philadelphia in 1831, 
was a singular character, and celebrated chiefly for 
his great estate and the appropriation of it, at his 
death for the purposes of education and charity. 
He was a native of France, and his parents were in 
humble life. He was born in 1750. He was an 
illiterate but a very shrewd man. He never acquired 
» sufficient knowledge of the English language to 


speak it with correctness and ease ; but his good 
sense and sagacity were a substitute, so far at least 
as the acquisition of property was concerned. His 
conduct was very exemplary even in his youth, and 
he was noted for industry and fidelity. He went 
to the West Indies as a cabin boy, at the age of 
eleven or twelve ; and afterwards sailed from New 
York in the same capacity. The captain and 
owner of the vessel in which he early sailed was 
pleased with his deportment, and soon gave him 
command of a small vessel. By economy and pru¬ 
dence he accumulated property to enable him to 
purchase part of a vessel, before he was twenty 
years old. He then settled in Philadelphia, where 
he resided, and followed the trade of a grocer for 
several years. But about 1780, he engaged in trade 
to the West Indies, and soon acquired considerable 
property. And afterwards he was concerned in 
commercial enterprTses to India. Having thus ac¬ 
quired a capital, he gave his attention to the bank¬ 
ing business, which occupied him till his death, at 
the age of eighty. He is represented as being 
rather morose in disposition and rough in deport¬ 
ment ; and yet he was attentive to the sick and 
destitute. He is said to have made an unfavorable 
impression on strangers. His appearance was that 
of an illiterate and vulgar man ; and he most resem¬ 
bled a common sailor. A defect in one of his eyes 
and his homely dress, served to render him almost 
an object of contempt: it certainly gave him no 
claims to admiration or the usual respect paid from 
one citizen to another. He had little conversation 
except on business, and then was quite laconic. 
His passions were strong, and he often indulged in 
paroxysms of anger; and yet occasionally discov¬ 
ered kind feelings tow'ards his neighbors and do¬ 
mestics. He was an early riser, and had regular 
hours for business, which were not a few. The 
amount of property he left at his decease was esti¬ 
mated at eleven or twelve millions; the largest 
probably of any individual in the country. It was 
devised in the following manner: to the Pennsyl¬ 
vania Hospital, an annuity of ,^30,000; to the 
institution for the deaf and dumb in that state, 
^20,000; to the orphan asylum of Philadelphia, 
^10,000; to the controllers of the public schools 
of that city, ^10,000; the interest of ^*10,000 for 
fuel for the poor; to the society of ship-masters, 
for the relief of distressed masters, their widows 
and children, ^*10,000; to the grand lodge of Penn¬ 
sylvania, ^20,000; to a school for poor white chil¬ 
dren in Passayunk, where his farm was situated, 
^6,000; legacies to individuals, ^120,000; to the 
city of New Orleans, several large tracts of land in 
Louisiana ; 207,000 acres of wild land to that city 
and Philadelphia, valued at ^500,000; to the city of 
Philadelphia also, stock in the Schuylkill Naviga¬ 
tion Company, of the value of $‘110,000; for 
building and endowing a college, for poor white 
male orphans, $2,000,000, besides an additional 
amount from the residuary fund ; $500,000 for im¬ 
provements in the city, the interest only to be an¬ 
nually expended; $300,000 to the State of Penn¬ 
sylvania for internal improvements ; and the residue, 
being $8,000,000, in aid of the college, if needed, 
improvements in the city, and the relief of taxes. 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


105 


THE NEW FEJNIALE ACADEMY IN ALBANY 



It is one of our most pleasant editorial duties to 
refer to “ the signs of the times,” as to places and 
means of education. Professing to love our country, 
and to take an interest in the cause of human im¬ 
provement, we rejoice to hear of, and to notice any 
new associations for promoting knowledge among 
the youth of our country. It is matter of joy too, 
that so much attention is now given to female edu¬ 
cation ; thus providing for the elevation of the fe¬ 
male character, and the increase of female influence 
in society. The character of woman in America, 
in the next generation, will be of a higher order, as 
to intellectual power; and therefore probably higher 
in a moral aspect. As mothers give the direction 
to the youthful mind, morals and manners, we may | 
justly expect the next generation will be belter di^ 


rected, better informed and better disciplined, tlian 
the last or the prestuit. Human learning alone is not, 
indeed, all-sudicient; but its ifuideiicy is favourable 
to self-respect and self-government; to decent and 
honourable conduct : And now that attention is 
given in our ptd)Iic schools and aetidemies, to the 
morals of tlie pupils, we may justly hope for the 
most beneficial results. Not only is the moral con-: 
duct noticed in academies, but a religious educa¬ 
tion is given ; or rather some religious instruction 
is given, so as to lay an early foundation for the in¬ 
dividual to form a religious chiiracler. And all be¬ 
sides is defective ; we had almost said, is farcical. 
Every individual must have somethitig to do, the 
chief to do, in forming a religious character. Qth- 
efW’ise, lie can hardly be said to have a religious 

i 1. 























































































































































































































































































106 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


character; nor will it, such as it may be in pros¬ 
perity, or in profession, much avail him in adversity, 
in the trials and cares and troubles of the world. 
We are not in favour of teaching the particular te¬ 
nets, or ceremonies of this or that sect’; but it is 
quite another thing to inculcate on the minds of 
youth, the great and essential truths of the gospel, 
in which all classes of Christians agree. 

By the address delivered at the opening of the 
“ New Female Academy in Albany,” it appears, 
that the “ School was founded in 1814, and that it 
had so much increased in 1833, it was determined 
to erect a large building for the purpose, which was 
finished in the early part of last year.” It is situat¬ 
ed on the west side of North Pearl Street. The 
Baptist Church, lately erected on the same street, 
and near the Academy, is also an elegant building, 
and adds much to the appearance of that part of 
this flourishing city. The Academy is a beautiful 
and classical edifice, and reflects great credit on the 
taste, as well as liberality and enterprise of the 
Trustees. The central and elevated situation is 
favourable to a view of it from the opposite side of 
the river. The building is seventy-seven feet by 
sixty-five, including the portico; and the height, 
fifty-five feet, containing four stories. These sto¬ 
ries have sixteen spacious rooms, with spacious en¬ 
tries and stair-cases. The front is ornamented with 
a beautiful Hexastyle portico, of the Ionic order, 
which, for taste in arrangement and fine eflect, is 
said not to be surpassed by any in this country. 
The temple of lllissus, one of the finest examples 
of the Ionic, among the remains of antiquity, fur¬ 
nished the proportions of the columns, capitals, 
bases, and entablature. The columns are forty 
feet, the bold and lofty entablature, and the eleva¬ 
tion of the colonnade, which is supported by a flight 
of six steps of marble—all give a majesty and effect 
to the front of the building, which can hardly be 
duly appreciated, except by careful examination. 
The front windows are so arranged, dividing the 
front into two stories instead of four, as to excite 
particular notice. A bold well-constructed stair¬ 
case, ascending to the fourth story, is presented 
immediately on entering the lower hall; and though 
destitute of all fantastic ornament, will be admired 
on account of its convenience and strength, and the 
durable quality of the materials of which it is con¬ 
structed. 

The studies pursued at the Academy, are similar 
to those acquired in most other high schools, for the 
education of young ladies. We observe, that “ a 
gold medal is to be awarded to the best scholar in 
mathematics.” We doubt, whether this branch of 
science should be pressed upon females, or whether 
any particular inducement should be held out to 
them to excel in it. Other studies are more con¬ 
genial to their character, and better calculated 
to render them useful as well as ornamental, to 
society. 

The institution is divided into six departments, 
exclusive of the classes composed of those scholars, 
from each of the higher departments, who are pur¬ 
suing the study of the French and Spanish langua¬ 
ges, natural history, chemistry and botany. There 
is a boarding house in the vicinity of the Academy, 
pnder the immediate direction of the principal; and 


the expense incurred by a young lady, for board 
and tuition, including all the studies taught at the 
Academy, does not exceed ^‘200. Music may be 
attended to, as well as other ornamental branches 
of female education. There is an extra charge for 
French, or Spanish, and also, for chemistry and 
botany. Judge Kent was one of the founders of 
this Academy, and several years president of the 
board ot trustees. I'he studies required, appear 
very appropriate for females : The principal, Mr. 
Crittenton, has had long experience in teaching 
young ladies, and is recommended as every way 
qualified for the important trust he has undertaken. 
The proficiency of the pupils, hitherto have been 
such as to satisfy the trustees and their parents, 
that tlie teacher is very able, and happily fitted for 
the duties imposed upon liim 

The Rev. Mr. Heckewelder relates the following 
fact of the influence of rum upon an Indian : 

“ An Indian who had been born and brought up 
at Minisink, near the Delaware Water Gap, told 
me, near fifty years ago, that he had once, under 
the influence of strong liquor, killed the best Indian 
friend he had, fancying him to be liis w'orst avowed 
enemy. 

“ He said that the deception was complete, and 
that while intoxicated, tlie face of his friend present¬ 
ed to his eyes all the features of the man with whom 
he was in a state of hostility. 

“ It is impossible to express the horror with which 
he was struck, when he awoke from that delusion ; 
he was so shocked that he resolved never more to 
taste of the maddening poison, of which he was 
convinced the devil was the inventor; for it could 
only be the evil spirit who made him see his enemy 
when his friend was before him, and produced so 
strong a delusion on his bewildered senses. 

“ From that time until his death, which happen¬ 
ed thirty years afterwards, he never drank a drop 
of ardent spirit, which he always called “ The 
Devil’s Blood,” and was firmly persuaded that the 
devil, or some of the infernal spirits, had a hand in 
preparing it.” 

The celebrated John Milton sold his Paradise Lost 
in 1667, to a printer for five pounds in hand, w'ith a 
proniise of five pounds at the end of the sale of each 
edition, which was not to exceed 1300 copies. I'his 
is the first recorded or authenticated instance of the 
sale of a copy-right, by previous agreement, of an 
original work. What is remarkable also, as to this 
celebrated poem, the first edition was not all sold 
during seven years, from its publication. The 
second five pounds was received by the author 
himself; and this was all the family realized for the 
work, except eight pounds received by his widow 
in 1680, for relinquishing all right to the work for 
herself and children. So unjust is the popular 
opinion, so precarious public taste ! 

Cardinal Bellamine, who was esteemed a very 
learned man, who lived in the sixteenth century, 
and wrote largely in defence of the Roman Catholic 
faith, exhibited proof of the influence of supersti¬ 
tion, in bequeathing half his soul to Christ, and 
half to the Virgin Mary. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


107 


THE DAILY AND WEEKLY PRESS. 

The benefit of well-conducted newspapers are 
fully seen and acknowledged. They are circulated 
through all grades and classes of people in the 
community, and give useful and important informa¬ 
tion on various subjects. In a free government, 
like ours, where the people are the source of politi¬ 
cal power, and give a tone to public measures, and 
appoint or elect all who are in authority, it is indis- 
pensible to a wise choice, to just and equal laws, 
and to an impartial administration of public affairs, 
that the citizens be kept advised of events and mea¬ 
sures which concern the common weal. The 
newspapers, commonly so called, are also read by 
the young, whose minds and habits are just form¬ 
ing, and who have a great curiosity to learn facts 
which occur, and opinions which are entertained in 
the world, and -especially in their own country. 

The press by these means, possesses and exercises 
an immense power, “ for good or for evil.” Like 
the lever of Archimedes, it can move the world : 
the world of mind. Its past inffuence has un¬ 
doubtedly been for good, for great and extensive 
good: and yet not for unmixed good. In the 
hands of the visionary, the enthusiastic, the reckless 
leveller or radical, the licentious, the irreligious and 
the skeptical, the press has done much mischief, 
and spread error and corruption far and wide. Still, 
it is not to be condemned for this, which is its abuse 
and perversion. By proper efforts and honest de¬ 
signs, truth and knowledge have also been extend¬ 
ed. If error has abounded, by this means, truth 
has much more abounded. The progress of soci¬ 
ety has been onward, wherever there has been a 
free press maintained and encouraged. It has 
chased away much darkness from the civilized parts 
of the world, and spread light and knowledge in 
our path. Let no tyrant’s, no fanatic’s hand, then, 
be raised against the press. 

But the press must be well conducted ; it must be 
regulated; it must be the distributer of truth, not 
of error ; it must aim to enlighten, to calm and to 
moderate, and not to mislead, to excite and to in¬ 
flame the mind of the people. What is the fact, 
on this highly important point? Are there not 
some young men, who conduct public journals, and 
who are not so deeply sensible of their respon¬ 
sibility as they should be? Are they sufficiently 
careful to give only the truth, to avoid all mistate- 
ments and misrepresentations, all party excitements, 
and all personal abuse ? Do they endeavor to ob¬ 
tain fully, and to state clearly and fairly, the opinions 
of those from whom they differ? Do they under¬ 
stand the principles of their patriotic ancestors, 
who were not only the zealous advocates of civil 
liberty, but the firm supporters of law and order ? 
Our fathers were equally the friends of law and of 
freedom ; and the former they always contended, 
could not be preserved without the latter. And 
when a government was formed and laws made by 
the people, and the agents of the people, as in 
this country, that they must be supported; and 
that it was a political and social crime of the 
greatest enormity and most dangerous tendency, 
to oppose such government and violate such laws 
by force and violence. Is there now a proper 


spirit abroad in the community, on this subject ? 
We fear not. Few indeed, can be found to advo¬ 
cate violent and forcible opposition to government; 
but is there not in some a readiness to palliate ex¬ 
cesses in certain cases; or a disregard of consequen¬ 
ces, almost as dangerous as direct opposition ? 
Those editors of newspapers, who expect to give 
the tone to public sentiment and feeling, or wish to 
be respected and have an influence with the sober 
and well informed in the community, must be alike 
intelligent and discreet, impartial and judicious. 
And some of them might do well to look a little 
deeper into the writings of the pa-triots of the Revo¬ 
lution, and of the framers and early advocates of 
the Federal Constitution. There will, indeed, be 
parties among us, and most men will arrange them¬ 
selves under this or that great leader. But let 
them regard constitutional principles, even in polit¬ 
ical disputes and contests ; and exercise candor 
and courtesy toward party opponents. This may 
be said to be a hard duty, but it is an important 
duty; and if faithfully discharged, great good will 
come of it, to the people and to the Republic. It 
will serve to prevent violence among the former, 
and to stay the overthrow of the latter. Every 
editor wishes to strengthen and advance his own 
cause; but this will not be effected by hard words 
and abusive epithets and mistatements of his op¬ 
ponents. Every one is desirous of communicating 
intelligence; but to record mere reports, which af¬ 
fect an individual or a party, and afterwards when 
they are found to be false, declining to retract or 
apologise; or to deal out all the slander, and all 
the licentious stories in circulation, when the good 
of society does not demand it; all this is improper, 
is morally wrong, is mischeivous. 

THE FUTURE HOPES OF OUR COUNTRY. 

Amidst the gloomy forebodings of the timid, and 
the temporary alarms of panic-makers, there is good 
cause for cheerful anticipations and joyful hopej;, 
as to the future destiny of our beloved country. 
There is still an avowed, and we trust a sincere rever¬ 
ence for the Constitution : there is a strong attacn- 
ment to equal rights and civil liberty ; though party 
feelings may sometimes misconstrue the former, an^ 
disregard the latter. There is an increasing respect 
for religion and for religious institutions, though a 
few skeptics and infidels occasionally appear. And 
there is everywhere a strong conviction of the im¬ 
portance of early instruction and education for all 
classes. Academies and schools are multiplying in 
all the new settlements, and in most if not all the 
States the law requires that the young be taught at 
the public expense. This indeed, does not actually 
insure virtue and order through the country ; but 
it will be favorable, highly favorable to such an 
auspicious result. A good education has been 
proved to be a great preventive of crime, and en¬ 
couragement to decency and pure morals. Much 
will still depend on the conduct and example of the 
middle aged ; and more on the inculcation of the 
plain and practical doctrines of religion, in which 
all sects of Christians agree, and without which 
professions of faith and mysterious dogmas will be 
comparatively inefficient. 







108 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


There Is no other way to chasten ambition and 
to restrain vice and crime, to render men peaceable 
and good citizens, submissive to the laws, and cor¬ 
rect in private life; while at the same time, the 
Christian doctrines are evidently favorable to an 
equality of men in society, and lead to all that is 
just, true, pure, kind, honorable, and truly virtuous. 
Why then are there not good causes of hope for the 
continued prosperity of the Republic ? The inter¬ 
ested alarmists, and the morbidly discontented, 
should be rather frowned upon than encouraged. 
They do an injury to the cause of social order, and 
increase the complaints of the people without any 
corresponding benefit. But apathy may be equally 
dangerous. This is the opposite extreme, and cer¬ 
tainly not to be commended in a free government. 
Watchfulness of rulers is the price we must always 
pay for political libi ly. The Republic cannot be 
preserved without ii. Power is grasping and cor¬ 
rupting. So our luthers thought, and so they 
taught, and therefore formed rules and restraints on 
those in office. Let their opinions and advice, the 
fruits of wisdom and experience, influence us, and 
our posterity ; and then true liberty will have a 
resting place in our land. 

TIDES. 

We have already published several articles on the 
tides of the ocean ; but the subject just now excites 
more than common attention in Europe; and we 
therefore publish these remarks, furnished by one 
of our obliging correspondents. 

The ebbing and flowing of the sea is ascribed 
by philosophers to two causes, producing a union 
of forces, operating in different and transverse di¬ 
rections. These are the motion of the earth which 
combined with and controlled by its attraction and 
gravitation, produces one force ; and the power of 
the sun and moon by their like attraction, which 
furnishes another force, acting in a direction trans¬ 
verse to the direction of the other forces. 

If the earth remained at rest, and no external 
force was in action on its surface, to disturb the wa¬ 
ters covering it, the water would be held still in its 
place by the attraction of gravitation. The motion 
of the earth on its axis would leave the water be¬ 
hind, being held back by the attraction toward the 
centre, as is well known to all in the familiar ex¬ 
ample of the forward motion of a horse or carriage 
which, unless it is anticipated by a person in the 
carriage, or on the horse, will throw him back, in 
relation to the moving body, while in relation to 
actual position he remains in his place. This diur¬ 
nal revolution, and the disturbance thereby of the 
water, is not supposed to be one of the direct for¬ 
ces producing the tides. But it is considered that 
the action thereby communicated is that of undu¬ 
lation. If it were the cause of any removal of the 
water from place to place, the motion of the 
earth being always in one direction, the change of 
the water would be, in relation to the earth always 
in another direction, and its motion would be con¬ 
stant, like the running of a river, not alternate, 
like the actual flow of the sea. This alternate mo¬ 
tion is referred more directly to the attraction of the 
sun and moon; or more correctly, to the inequal¬ 


ities of this attraction. Of these forces the prin¬ 
cipal is that proceeding from the moon, her distance 
from the earth being much less than that of the sun. 
The attraction of the moon is therefore, (as her 
force is greater in producing the tides than all the 
others,) the one to which the ebbing and flowing 
of the sea is generally ascribed. The consequence 
of the action of these several forces, is to collect the 
water into the form of a spheroid, having two ele¬ 
vations at opposite sides of the space, and two de¬ 
pressions at right angles to those elevations, or two 
high and two low tides on the surface of the earth. 

_O 

The line passing through the elevations, or the line 
of direction of high water, will not be directly un¬ 
der the moon, as it would if the earth were at rest, 
but will be directed to a point about dO® east of the 
moon. This is supposed to be in consequence of 
the inertia of the body of water by which, (when 
put in motion,) the motion is continued after the 
impulse given to it has ceased. There will be 
therefore on the surface of the globe a meridian, 
about 30® eastward of the moon, where it is always 
high water, and another opposite meridian where it 
is also high. On the west of the meridian, or fol¬ 
lowing'the motion of the moon, the tide is flowing, 
on the east is ebbing. On the two meridians, at 
right angles to these, and opposite to each other, it 
will be low water. Thus, if we suppose the sun 
and moon to be in the equator, and an observer to 
be situated on the surface of the water under the 
equator, when the moon has risen 30® above his 
horizon, the state of tide to him will be low water, 
it being high in the horizon. As the moon advances 
toward the point of the zenith to the spectator, the 
tide flows, and when she has reached a point 30® 
west of his zenith, it is then high water to him. 
As the moon nears the western horizon, the point 
of high water being still 30® eastward of her, the 
tide is ebbing to the spectator, and when she has de¬ 
scended 30® below the horizon it is low to him, 
being high at the horizon. And the same process 
being repeated as the moon passes around on the 
other side of the earth, there will be two tides of 
flood and ebb in one of her revolution, or in 24 h. 
50 m. 

At new and full moon, the action of the sun and 
moon is combined, and the tide will rise higher 
than usual, and consequently, will also sink lower 
at the ebb, or at right angles to the high water. 
When the moon is in her quarter, the sun and moon 
counteract each other in their influence on the wa¬ 
ter, and the effect on the tides will be the reverse 
of that at new and full moon, the flood tides not 
rising so high, and the ebb not sinking so low. The 
first are called spring tides, the last reap. These 
will not be the first tides after the conjunction 
and opposition, for the same cause that the high 
tide will not be when the moon is on that meridian 
where the tide happens; that is, the inertia of the 
body of water; but will be at about the third tide 
after. The effect of the action of the sun and 
moon on the tides will also be modified by the ap¬ 
proach and recession of those bodies, in their orbits, 
to the earth. And these motions of the tides will 
be found to be also somewhat modified by the lati¬ 
tude of observation, and to be subject to eccentri- 





OF USEFUL UNFORMATION. 


109 


cities producecT by the obstruction of islands and 
continents, by the debouching of rivers, by the cur¬ 
rents ot the ocean, and by the winds. 

The tides, in narrow seas and on shores at a dis¬ 
tance from the main body of the ocean, are sup¬ 
posed not to be produced in those places by the 
causes above-mentioned, but to be propagated from 
the undulation of the mass of the ocean in its tides. 
These secondary or derived tides, or undulations 
will therefore not be found to conform to the gen¬ 
eral theory of the tide, but will vary according to 
the place in which they are, the effect of the im¬ 
pulse communicated to them by the general mass 
of waters, being more or less, as they are removed 
from it, or as they are pent up in narrow channels. 

The inequalities in the bottom of the ocean may 
affect the velocity as well as height of tides, by 
causing the water to rush to a certain place, where 
being suddenly checked, it is accumulated in an 
extraordinary degree. This is the case in the Bay 
ol Fundy. The Atlantic setting in obliquely on the 
coast of North America, seems to range along it in 
a channel, gradually narrowing till it is stopped in 
the Bay of Fundy, and becomes accumulated, as it 
approaches, with prodigious noise, in one vast wave 
seen at a distance of thirty miles, and the waters 
rising upwards of a hundred feet in the harbor of 
Annapolis, with such rapidity as to overtake animals 
feeding on the shore. W. 


SABBATH SONNET. 

COMPOSED BY MRS. HEMANS A FEW DAYS BEFORE HER 
DEATH, AND ADDRESSED TO A BROTHER. 

How many blessed groups this hour are bending 
Thro’ England’s primrose meadow paths their way 
T’wards spire and tower, ’midst shadowy elms ascending 
Whence the sweet chimes proclaisn their hallow’d day. 

The halls, from old heroic ages gray, 

Pour their fair children forth; and hamlets low. 

With whose thick orchard-blooms the soft winds play. 

Send out their inmates in a happy flow. 

Like a free vernal stream—I may not tread 
With them these pathways; to the feverish bed 
Of sickness bound; yet, O my God, I bless 
Thy mercy, who with sabbath peace hath filled 
My chastened heart, and all its throbbing still’d 
To one deep calm of lowliest thankfulness. 

BOOK MAKING. 

There is a great disposition with the young men 
of the present age, for book-making. Some good 
probably, has resulted from this ambitious feeling; 
but it may become an evil, or a misfortune, unless, 
in some degree regulated or restrained. A great 
portion of the works which are now issued from the 
press, are of little value, except to satisfy a curi¬ 
osity for small things. They give no new views, 
no new events of importance ; and advance no prin¬ 
ciples not fully stated and understood before. The 
histories of towns, and biographies of ordinary men, 
which dwell on minute occurrences, and narrate 
circumstances of no interest except to a few indi¬ 
viduals or a small village, are of this class ; and 
they serve neither to elevate our views, to de- 
velope better principles, nor to add to the fund 
of useful information. The town records may be 
consulted by the inhabitants who are interested in 
them ; and may be valuable to a family as it set¬ 
tles the question of the age of our grandfather or 


aunts, or cousins. TJie history of Lynn or of Hing- 
harn are well enough in their place; but it is not 
very creditable to our taste or intellect to speak of 
them as important as Marshall’s History of the 
United States, or Spark’s Life of Washington. 
Then there is the life of Black Hawk an Indian 
warrior, and of Richard M. Johnson the reputed 
victor of Tecumseh, extolled in certain papers, as 
among the greatest heroes of the age, and worthy 
of all eulogy for the most common traits of char¬ 
acter. We shall probably soon be favored with the 
life of Mrs. R,oyall and Mr. T. Hewes ; to tell us 
where they were born, and how old they were when 
they first went to school: who taught them to 
write, and what gave them so much importance. 
What others may think I know not, but in my 
opinion, the life of Edmund Kean or the Jour¬ 
nal of Mrs. F. B. Pierce are not a whit better, 
for the perusal of the young, whose time should be 
given to the study of solid works, or to other read¬ 
ing, which would tend rather to improve than to 
corrupt their manners; and would chasten rather 
than vitiate their taste. C. D. 


THE STATE OF OHIO. 

The increase of the population, and the extent 
of the new settlements in the territory of the United 
States during the last fifty years have been often 
mentioned as great beyond any former example in 
history. The eight years’ war of the Revolution 
operated as a check on the natural growth of 
the country; and the heavy debt arising from that 
war, and the distress and despondence which suc¬ 
ceeded for several years, served to prevent that en¬ 
terprise for new settlements, which would have 
been natural to expect under other circumstances. 
But in 1787 and 1788, that spirit, which peopled 
the vacant territory of the west, was manifest¬ 
ed in various parts of the thirteen original States: 
and the enterprising people ol the New England 
section were early and actively engaged in the de¬ 
sign. The settlement of Ohio was began at this 
period, (April, 1788) and the first adventurers were 
chiefly from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and 
Connecticut, under the auspices of General Rufus 
Putnam, then of Rutland, in the former State. They 
were soon joined by some families from New Jersey 
and Virginia. He projected a settlement in the 
western country, as early as June 1783, before the 
Continental army was disbanded on the return of 
peace: several other officers of the Massachusetts 
line joined with him in the project. They requested 
Gen. Washington to intercede with Congress on the 
subject, at that time; and he urged the matter on 
the consideration of that Body; but, the north 
western territory had not then been ceded to the 
United States by the several States, which laid 
claim to parts of it, and nothing could be safely and 
prudently done by Congress. But before the year 
1788, the cession had been made, and Congress 
undertook to exercise authority over the territory. 
Ohio was included within it; and in April of that 
year, General Rufus Putnam and others, the pion¬ 
eers of that State, began the settlement of Marietta, 
near the confluence of the rivers Ohio and Musk- 







110 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


inghum. It was soon perceived, however, that the 
site of Cincinnati, lower down the river by nearly 
two hundred miles, possessed far superior advan¬ 
tages for business; that place was soon after set¬ 
tled, and has increased with a rapidity scarcely itn- 
agined by the most enthusiastic admirer of the 
West. 

Ohio became a separate State and was admitted 
into the Union in 1302; and it now contains a 
population of more than a million : nearly equal to 
Massachusetts and Maine. Cincinnati contains 
thirty thousand inhabitants, and is rapidly increas¬ 
ing ; while Marietta has been almost stationary 
for twenty years past. Besides the Muskinghum, 
the Ohio River is aided (within the State) by the 
Scioto and the Miami. The Muskinghum, which 
rises in the northeast part of the State, is connect¬ 
ed by a canal with Lake Erie, which bounds the 
northern part. The means of education are exten¬ 
sive, and are designed for the benefit of all classes ; 
and there are, besides common schools, and several 
academies, seven collegiate institutions, or semina¬ 
ries which rank with colleges. Where there are so 
many, it is presumed several of them must be quite 
limited in their funds and teachers. 

Ohio was formerly the habitation of several large 
tribes of the red men; Logan and Tecumseh were 
natives or residents of that territory. And, since 
its settlement by the Anglo-Americans, it can justly 
boast of some eminent statesmen ; of whom General 
William H. Harrison and Judge M’Lean, are the 
most distinguished. General Harrison was some 
time Governor of the North West Territory ; after¬ 
wards, commander of the military forces of the 
United States in that section of the country ; and 
then several years a Senator in Congress, where 
he had credit for talents, candor and patriotism. 
Though he has been a “ military chieftain,” he has 
eminent qualities for civil office. If he is brave, 
and ready to go forth in defence of his country, 
when the government called on him, unlike most 
other military men, he never lost the character of 
citizen in that of a soldier. He has always recognis¬ 
ed that sound and fundamental maxim of the stern 
republican and patriot, Samuel Adams, “ that the 
military should always be subject to the civil.” 
General Harrison is said to be the idol of all parties 
in the West, and they have even proposed him for the 
office of President of the United States. Though, 
as an individual citizen, there is no wish to disguise 
an honest opinion, and no fear to express it, on 
proper occasions, it may not be decorous or useful 
to give it here. And yet having long known his 
character and noticed his political course, there is 
no hesitation in avowing the belief, that if General 
Harrison should be elected to that high office, he 
would administer the Federal Government with all 
the prudence and impartiality of Mr. Monroe, we 
had almost said of General Washington ; and that 
the interests of the Republic would be safe in his 
hands: but, at the same time, we are equally ready 
to declare, that there are some other names before 
the people, who are not less able and patriotic; and 
that the bright star in the east cannot be obscured 
by the splendour of any other in the hemisphere. 


THE DUTY OF A GOOD CITIZEN. 

A sense of the obligations due to our fathers, 
for their efibrts, sacrifices and sufferings, in the 
great struggle for civil liberty sixty years ago, and 
of the duty resting upon us to transmit our social 
privileges to posterity, should be strongly impressed 
on the mind of every American citizen. A refer¬ 
ence to the former will serve to prove the value of 
our blessings, by showing the price at which they 
were purchased ; and will also strengthen the con¬ 
viction of our duty to perpetuate so great a benefit. 
The trust is solemn, the responsibility is great. 

Political liberty was highly valued by our fathers ; 
or they never would have made such exertions and 
sacrifices as they cheerfully did. The extent of 
their struggles can hardly be estimated. They 
taxed themselves to the utmost; they contributed 
a great portion of their income and their estate, in 
support of the glorious cause. They gave up ar¬ 
ticles of comfort for the relief of the suffering and 
destitute soldier; “ nor did they count their lives 
dear to them,” whenever called to expose them¬ 
selves personally in defence of their country. Let 
us cherish a recollection of their sufferings, to excite 
our gratitude for their invaluable services, and to 
deepen our sense of the blessings which they se¬ 
cured for us. The effect of such recollection will 
not fail to invigorate our resolution of aiding in the 
preservation of these privileges. We cannot, surely, 
reflect on their struggles and sacrifices, without per¬ 
ceiving the magnitude of the prize contended for, 
and striving to follow out their generous purposes 
of preserving the liberties of America. Our fathers 
acted well and faithfully their part. We cannot 
justly charge them with inactivity or want of ardour 
in the noble cause. If liberty is lost, the fault will 
be ours, or our children’s. 

But how is our duty to be discharged? How 
are the blessings of civil liberty to be preserved and 
perpetuated ? By maintaining the institutions and 
cherishing the principles of our fathers ; by dissem¬ 
inating useful knowledge, and extending the means 
of education; by regarding the provisions of the 
Constitution; and by setting an example of public 
and private virtue. To our republican institutions, 
which recognise and support equal rights among 
the people, we are indebted for the enjoyment of 
civil freedom, in times past; and we can enjoy it, 
for the future, only in so far as we maintain them in 
their purity. Elections must be frequent; and ev¬ 
ery attempt to control them, by menaces on the one 
hand, or promise of office on the other, must be se¬ 
verely censured and reprobated. The people should 
be well informed; and appeals be made to their 
reason rather than to their passions. Those who 
conduct public journals, whether daily, weekly or 
monthly, should be impartial, patriotic and well in¬ 
formed. If the press does not become more faith¬ 
ful, more decent, more independent, and more im¬ 
partial, it will before long be a question, whether its 
freedom is a blessing or a curse. And political 
partisans, whether writers or speakers, must learn 
to respect the opinions of others, to believe men 
may be honest who differ from them, and to wield 
the weapons of fair argument and unexaggerated 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


Ill 


statements, rather than misrepresentation, slander 
and falsehood. A good cause never loses any 
thing by candor towards an opponent, or by the 
moderation of its friends, in contending for its sup¬ 
port. An erroneous system may be advocated in 
a mild spirit; and a correct one, by a bad spirit; 
and more is the pity, that truth should suffer by the 
imprudence of its followers. On a fair statement, 
made with a candid temper, the honest part of the 
community will always confidently rest their opin¬ 
ion, and their suffrages will follow of course. Equal¬ 
ly important is it, in preserving our civil and politi¬ 
cal privileges, that the Constitution, prepared by 
wise and disinterested patriots and zealous advocates 
for liberty, be strictly and honestly regarded. If 
this charter of our rights may be violated, or its 
provisions set at nought, then we have no security 
for the continuance of social and political freedom, 
and no sure preventive against despotism and tyr¬ 
anny. If the power of rulers is not limited, if they 
are not as much bound by the Constitution, as the 
people are by the laws, then is our boasted repub¬ 
lican liberty without guards sufficient for its safety, 
and without pillars strong enough to uphold it. 
The Constitution, then, should be the watchword 
with the people, and the whole people. A sacred re¬ 
gard for the Constitution, in rulers as well as in 
the common citizens. It should be an indispensa¬ 
ble qualification in every candidate for office, and 
especially for a seat in the legislature, that he un¬ 
derstands, and reveres, and will support the Consti¬ 
tution. We must often recur to it, and study it, 
and inquire into the opinions and views of those 
who framed it; and maintain it at every sacrifice 
and every hazard ; we must endeavour to preserve it 
in its purity, without reference to party measures, 
sectional views, or to men in power, whether our 
political friends or opponents. If this is not done, 
we shall fail in gratitude to our fathers, and in our 
duty to posterity. B. 


MOUNT ARARAT, AND THE EARLY ABODE 
OF NOAH AND HIS DESCENDANTS. 

In the opinion of the most learned among the 
moderns. Mount Ararat, where the ark of Noah 
rested, after the deluge, was in Armenia, or Thibet, 
and between 90° and 100° E. long, and between 30° 
and 35° north lat. north of Hindostan and Persia, 
west of the river Indus and of central Asia, and 
east of Mesopotamia and of the Caspian Sea. This 
is a temperate clime, and favorable to health and 
long life, as well as to the pursuits of the shepherd 
and the agriculturist. The Ararat, the Caucacus, 
and the Taurus are connected, and form almost one 
group or range, extending a great distance from 
what is usually called Asia Minor, to India. 

The Indian and Hindoo traditions of the earliest 
times point to Noah and the Deluge; and they 
claim to be the descendants of that patriarch. Noah 
and his sons would not long remain on the moun¬ 
tain where the ark rested, on the subsiding of the 
waters. They advanced no doubt, to the south, to 
a milder climate and a more champaign country. 
In the fourth generation, or one hundred and fifty 
years from the deluge, they removed westward, to 
the plains of Shinar, where they began to construct 


a building, which should reach to heaven. Dis¬ 
persed from this place about one hundred and fifty 
or one hundred and sixty years after the deluge, 
they went forth, in different companies, east, west, 
north and south; but most to the south and to the 
east, as both the face of the country and the climate 
would invite.. Noah lived two hundred years after 
this event, and probably journeyed east, where tra¬ 
ditions relating to the flood, and the safety of a few 
from that catastrophe have much prevailed. From 
Noah and his sons would be communicated to their 
posterity whatever was known by them of antede- 
luvian discoveries and inventions in the arts of life. 
These could not have been very small during seven¬ 
teen hundred years, the duration of the old world, 
according to the common computation; but at this 
distance of time, and in the want of early records, 
no very accurate opinion can be formed as to how 
great, or what those inventions were. But we may 
safe^ conclude, that they were not very great; 
otherwise the early generations after the deluge 
would have been more civilized than there is now 
evidence or reason to believe. 


FLY-BOATS. 

Boats made of iron with the above name, have 
been used on canals in Great Britain, since the 
year 1830. And the experiments have proved very 
successful. Their speed, or velocity, is from ten to 
twelve miles an hour; nearly three times greater than 
that of the travel, as heretofore performed. These 
boats are constructed of sheet iron; and are from 
seventy to ninety feet in length, and from seven to 
nine in width. Those of the above dimensions 
carry seventy-five or eighty people, and their bag¬ 
gage: And they are drawn by two horses. The 
form of the boat is that of a racing-gig, sharp fore 
and aft, and intended to pass through the water so 
as to cause or meet the least resistance. The im¬ 
portance of employing these kind of boats on canals, 
where the margin will allow of a path, and this is 
very generally the case, especially in a country near¬ 
ly level, must be evident. As the canal boats now 
move, the conveyance in them is avoided by all 
who wish to travel with speed. For bulky articles, 
the present mode of conveyance is a less evil. 

Several English publications have recommended 
the more extensive use of Fly-boats, on canals ; and 
some of our public journals have referred to the 
subject, with the expression of an opinion, that they 
would be found of great advantage in the United 
States. Where they have been introduced in 
Scotland, they have served to add much to the 
market value of the stock. The first trial, for test¬ 
ing the superiority of these boats over others (espe¬ 
cially for passengers,) was on the Androssen and 
Paisley Canal. The experiments were made with 
a boat (of the form and kind above-mentioned,) 
thirty feet in length, with ten men on board, and 
drawn by one horse two miles in a little less than ten 
minutes; and little or no surge was raised on the 
water. Afterward, an experiment was made on 
the Union Canal, which runs from the Clyde to 
the Forth, with like good success. The rate of 
travel or sailing was eleven miles an hour. On one 
occasion two boats (called twin-boats) were fixed 





112 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


together; the object of which was to ascertain the 
effect in giving steadiness to the boats, which it was 
supposed would be difficult to preserve in one, 
so long and narrow as they are. By all these ex¬ 
periments, the result was that the quicker the boats 
were propelled through the water, the less appear¬ 
ance was there of a surge or wave on the sides of 
the canal.* There is indeed some little wave; (it is 
not before but behind the boat;) but it is so slight 
as not to produce any injury to the banks of the 
canal. 

♦ This phenomenon was not then first noticed. It may be seen 
referred to on page 48. 


EXTRACT. 

[From the Journal of a late F.nglish Traveller in the United States.] 

Several persons with whom I conversed, compli¬ 
mented me on the correctness of my language, and 
seemed to be astonished that an Englishman should 
speak his mother tongue with propriety: that^ie 
should leave the letter h in its right place, and suf¬ 
fer V and w to speak for themselves. One man 
observed to me, that the grammatical accuracy 
with which Charles Kemble spoke struck the people 
on his first arrival at New York as something unu¬ 
sual in one from “ the old countrie.” We may 
guess from this what sort of gentry are used to 
honor the United States with their presence. Many 
who go there on business, and are distinguished 
at home for nothing but vulgarity and ignorance, 
set up for gentlemen, though they have no pre-* 
tension, or rather are all pretension, and complain 
that outward appearance is not treated with due 
respect; as if insolence would be taken for full pay¬ 
ment for personal merit any where. 

I had but few acquaintances among what may be 
called the refined classes of society in New York. 
From the little I saw, however, I was led to con¬ 
clude that the manners which prevailed in those 
circles differed no further from those in the corres¬ 
ponding rank among ourselves, than what might be 
explained by a reference to habits which give a dif¬ 
ferent value in the eyes of each to the connexion 
between externals and essentials. There is a natu¬ 
ral good-breeding about an American gentleman 
that places you at once in a position most conge¬ 
nial to your feelings, and points out to you the ex¬ 
act limits between social freedom and vulgar famil- 
lanty. He has, in general, too much respect for 
himself to treat you with hauteur, to mortify you by 
an assumption of superiority, or to embarrass a 
stranger by a display of those conventional forms, 
which mediocrity has imposed on the spirit of ex¬ 
clusiveness, to shelter its insignificance and protect 
its privileges. 


BATTLE OF TRENTON. 

The most critical period in the war of the Revo¬ 
lution, and there were many very critical and alarm¬ 
ing, was perhaps in December 1776, when the 
British army was far more numerous than the 
American; and when the greater part had served 
out the term of enlistment and were returning to 
their homes. The finances of the country were in 
a low state, and the efforts to raise recruits were 


without success. The British troops had been 
augmented in the summer and fall of that year; 
and amounted to more than twenty thousand. 
They had command of New Jersey, and there ap¬ 
peared no sufficient obstacle to their taking pos¬ 
session of Philadelphia, or of any place they might 
chose. General Washington was in the vicinity, 
with scarcely three thousand men, and the term of 
service of a part even of these, would expire in a few 
weeks. The citizens of Philadelphia were in daily 
expectation of a visit from the British, and they had 
no adequate force to oppose them. Congress was 
then in session in that city. They concluded to 
remove to Annapolis in Maryland. The little 
American army under Washington could make no 
defence; it would be desperate to think of it. Yet 
Washington did think of resistance, and even re¬ 
solved to act on the offensive. A part of the Brit¬ 
ish troops were at Trenton, and the Americans 
were on the west side of the Delaware; not presum¬ 
ing as was believed, to attempt an attack, but ready 
to retreat and hide themselves in the interior when¬ 
ever pursued. The plan, however, was laid by the 
Commander in Chief to fall on that division of the 
enemy at Trenton, which he thought it possible to 
surprise and perhaps defeat, while the other part of 
the British army was at a distance; and thus cause 
them some annoyance and injury, and convince 
them also that he was not to be discouraged from 
action by the most untoward events. He saw too, 
that unless something was then attempted, even 
without all the success which he hoped, the people 
wouFd wholly despond, and the enemy become tri¬ 
umphant. It was near the end of December, and 
the weather was severe. The Delaware must be 
passed, in order to attack the British; and the ice 
made the passage extremely difficult. Two detach¬ 
ments indeed, of the Americans were prevented 
crossing the river on this account. But the troops 
under the immediate command of Washington ef¬ 
fected a passage and marched on directly to attack 
the enemy at Trenton. Even there, some of the 
officers failed in their duty, or mistook their orders ; 
but Washington was present in person, to correct 
errors, and to hasten on the troops to the assault. 
The daring attempt succeeded, but owing chiefly to 
his personal efforts on the spot, as well as to his 
previous regulations. The enemy were checked by 
this bold attack; and the hearts of the American 
people, which had been so depressed by gloom, 
were revived, and animated to new efforts in the 
cause of liberty. General Washington soon fol¬ 
lowed up this most seasonable victory, and in a few 
days marched to the vicinity of the main body of 
the British, then at Princeton and Brunswick; ami 
there gained other advantages, though he did not 
venture on a general battle. The eneniy thought it 
best to go into winter quarters; and the Americans 
had time to collect stores and raise recruits for the 
opening campaign of 1777. 

A Mr. Stone, of the State of Rhode Island, has 
lately made an important improvement in the Potver- 
Loom ; and has gone to Mancliester, England, with 
a prospect of obtaining a generous reward for the 
invention. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


113 



THE SECRETARY BIRD. —[Gypogeranus Serpentaircs.] 


The singular conformation and habits of this 
(almost anomalous) bird, has rendered it difficult 
for ornithologists to decide what is its proper genus 
or class. It is generally considered, however, as 
being of the vulture family, and it seems to agree in 
all essential particulars of its organization and fea¬ 
tures with that tribe. And yet, perhaps it may be 
said to be of that mixed form, which assimilates in 
many respects with birds of different genus. 

“ The Secretary bird has a short, thick and curv¬ 
ed beak ; the feathers on the back of the head are 
unequal, but chiefly very long, and are elevated or 
depressed at the will of the bird; the eye is sur¬ 
rounded by a naked skin; the feet are of uncom¬ 
mon length, but the toes or talons are short: It 
is upwards of three feet in length. Its general and 
prevailing colour is a bluish gray, with a shade of 
reddish brown on the wings. The throat and 
breast are nearly white, and the rest of the under 
surface of the body is a mixture of black, red and 
white. It is indebted for its name to the resem¬ 
blance of its feathers on the back of the head to the 
pens frequently stuck behind the ears of clerks and 
secretaries. Each wing is armed with three round¬ 
ed long projections, with which, as well as with its 
feet, the bird attacks and destroys his prey.” 

We have said that the Secretary most resembles 
the vulture tribe in many respects; it has also some 
resemblance to the Eagle : and yet it differs from 
both, in the kind of prey it seizes, and in the mode 
of attacking it. It seems to prefer live flesh to car¬ 
rion, as the Eagle does; and its chief food is snakes 
and other reptiles, for the destruction of which he 
is well fitted by nature. His long legs enables 


him to pursue them over sandy deserts with great 
speed. When he falls on a snake, he first attacks 
it with the long prominences of his wings. He 
seizes it by the tail and mounts to a great height in 
the air with it, and then drops it to the earth ; and 
this is repeated, till the animal is killed or wearied 
out. The Secretary bird build on the loftiest trees ; 
and they are usually found in pairs. It is a native 
of South Africa, and are sometimes very numerous 
in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope. The 
inhabitants of that region domesticate them ; and 
they are found serviceable in destroying snakes, rats, 
&-C., and it is also reported that they exercise 
authority in favour of peace, when the domestic birds 
are engaged in contests with one another. 

A work lately published in England, by C. T. 
Beke, entitled Origines Biblic^, or Researches in 
Primeval History, is said to contain much impor¬ 
tant information, as to the early peopling of the 
earth, and the origin and filiation of the dif¬ 
ferent races of mankind. The attempt is to de¬ 
termine, from the testimony of the sacred Scriptures, 
the positions of the countries therein mentioned, and 
the languages spoken by them. To biblical stu¬ 
dents and lovers of ancient geography, the work 
must be particularly interesting. 


Sir James McIntosh said of Layfayette, “ He is 
modest, pure, undaunted, inflexible, and incorrupti¬ 
ble. Experience has not sufficiently enlightened his 
understanding; but, on the other hand, great ca¬ 
lamities have not corrupted nor subdued his char¬ 
acter.” 


15 

















































114 


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JERUSALEM AND ROME. 

Jerusalem and Rome are the two most ancient 
cities, of any great extent or population, which 
have survived the changes and overthrow of nations, 
to the present time. They are neither of them, 
indeed, great and magnificent, as they once were. 
But while other cities, once powerful and populous, 
have fallen entirely or almost into total decay, and 
most of them altogether uninhabited, and in ruins, 
these two places, which are of very ancient origin, 
still remain with some considerable population, 
though greatly diminished, both in numbers and 
wealth, from their former splendour. There were 
large cities in Chaldea and in Egypt, three thousand 
years ago, which are now wholly depopulated, or 
mere shelters for poor vagrants. Jerusalem was a 
populous city more than three thousand years ago, 
in the early days of the Jewish Commonwealth. 
And it still survives the wreck of ages, though in far 
less extent and wealth than it could boast twenty 
centuries past. 

Rome was founded about seven hundred and 
fifty years before the Christian era; a period which 
synchronises with the reign of Pekah and Jotham, 
kings of Israel and Judah, which makes its age 
more than two thousand five hundred. It soon be¬ 
came a large and populous city ; and for three cen¬ 
turies before our era to four centuries after, was 
queen among the cities and nations of the earth ; 
and its proud writers assumed for it the name of 
“ the eternal city.” It still remains a place of great 
wealth and population; and nothing indicates a 
failure of the memorable prediction. And yet one 
may perceive the workings of a secret spirit in soci¬ 
ety, which will probably lead to changes and revo¬ 
lutions among some of the nations of the old con¬ 
tinent, which may result in the overthrow and 
desolation of places long the seat of wealth and 
power. 

Rome retains more of its former splendour than 
Jerusalem, and can boast of a far greater popula¬ 
tion ; but the measure of degradation and wretch¬ 
edness is perhaps no less. The Pope, Cardinals, 
and other high dignitaries of the church are sur¬ 
rounded with abundance; and they live in luxury, 
and in every indulgence, which pride and lust can 
dictate; while the greater portion of the people 
exhibit all the marks of squalid poverty, moral de¬ 
gradation and extreme suffering. 

WINDS. 

Within the limits of about 30° on each side of 
the equator, the motions of the atmosphere are com¬ 
paratively regular; but beyond these limits, the 
winds are extremely variable and uncertain, and no 
theory has been adopted which affords a satisfactory 
explanation. It appears, however, that beyond the 
region of the trade-winds, the most frequent move¬ 
ments of the atmosphere are from the southwest, in 
the north temperate zone, and from the northwest, 
in the south temperate zone. These southwest and 
northwest winds of the temperate zones, are proba¬ 
bly occasioned in the following manner. In the 
torrid zone there is a continual ascent of air, which, 
after rising, must spread itself to the north and south 
m an opposite direction to the trade-winds below. 


These upper currents being cooled above, at last 
descend and mix themselves with the lower air; 
part of them perhaps, fall again into the trade- 
winds, and the remainder, pursuing its course to¬ 
ward the poles, occasion the northwest and south¬ 
west winds of which mention has been made above. 
It has also been conjectured that these winds may 
frequently be caused by a decomposition of the at¬ 
mosphere toward the poles, from part of the air 
being at times converted into water. 

Hurricanes have been supposed to be of electric 
origin. A large vacuum is suddenly created in the 
atmosphere, into which vacuum the surrounding air 
rushes with immense rapidity, sometimes from op¬ 
posite points of the compass, spreading the most 
frightful devastation along its tract, rooting up trees, 
and levelling houses with the ground. They are 
not often experienced beyond the tropics, nor near¬ 
er the equator than about the tenth degree of lati¬ 
tude : And they rage with the greatest fury, near 
the tropics, and in the vicinity of islands, while far 
out in the ocean they very rarely occur. They are 
most common among the West India Islands, near 
the coast of Madagascar, the Islands of Mauritius 
and Bourbon, in the Bay of Bengal, at the chang¬ 
ing of the Monsoons, (or trade-winds,) and on the 
coasts of China. 

^Whirlwinds often arise from winds blowing 
among lofty and precipitous mountains, the form 
of which influences their direction, and occasions 
gusts to descend with a spiral or whirling motion. 
They are also frequently caused by two winds meet¬ 
ing each other at an angle, and then turning upon a 
centre. When two winds thus encounter one 
another, any cloud, which happens to be between 
them, is of course condensed and turned rapidly 
round; and all substances sufficiently light are car¬ 
ried up into the air by the whirling motion which 
ensues. The action of a whirlwind at sea occasions 
the curious phenomenon of the water-spout. 

The Cow Tree, or a shrub producing a liquid like 
milk, is found in South America, within the torrid 
zone. When incisions are made in the trunk or 
body of the tree, it exudes a glutinous and nourish¬ 
ing milk. Humboldt gives the following account 
of one. “ On the barren flank of a rock grows a 
tree with coriaceous and dry leaves : but the large 
roots can scarcely penetrate into the stone or ledge. 
Not a single shower moistens it for several months 
of the year. The branches appear dead and dried ; 
but when the trunk is pierced, there flows from it 
a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the rising of 
the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abun¬ 
dant. The natives and the blacks are then seen 
hastening from all quarters, furnished with large 
bowls to receive the milk, which soon grows yellow 
and thickens at the surface.” 


King John of England, who was induced by the 
threats of the barons to agree to Magna Charta, 
in the 13th century, gave to one of his subjects 
several tracts of land in Kent, to be possessed on 
the tenure that the subject should attend the king 
whenever he crossed the sea, and hold up his maj* 
esty^s head if he was sea-sick. 







115 


OF USEFUL 

DANIEL BOON, THE PIONEER OF KENTUCKY. 

The adventures of this remarkable man, as nar¬ 
rated by himself, are very interesting, and display 
uncommon resolution and courage. We give some 
of the prominent events and occurrences related by 
him, which we believe will prove entertaining to 
most of our readers. In May 1769, Colonel Boon, 
with five others, John Finley, John Stuart, Joseph 
Holden, James Mooney and William Cool, went 
from North Carolina, through the wilderness, (en¬ 
tirely such, it then was) in quest of the territory of 
Kentucky, so called by the Indians, far in the west. 
They reached Red River in thirty-seven days, after 
wandering over a mountainous wilderness; Finley 
had been to the place before to trade with the In¬ 
dians ; for the fur trade was then piofitable as well 
as hazardous. From one of the high mountains 
which they passed over, they had the pleasure to 
descry the beautiful and extensive level of Ken¬ 
tucky to the west. The party prepared a hut for 
shelter, and began to hunt and to reconnoitre the 
territory, in which they found abundance of wild 
beasts. The buffaloes were more numerous than 
cattle on the settlements they had left behind; 
sometimes a hundred in a drove ; and about the Salt 
Springs the numbers were very great. They con¬ 
tinued hunting till December with great success. 
On the 22d of that month. Boon and Stuart wan¬ 
dered from the others to a great distance, and passed 
a rich variety of trees and flowers; but near the 
close of the day, as they were ascending a hill, some 
Indians rushed from a thicket and made them pris¬ 
oners. They were plundered, and confined seven 
days, when, taking advantage of the repose of their 
keepers, during the night, they escaped, and soon 
found their way back to the camp or hut they had 
left. But that also was plundered, and their com¬ 
panions dispersed. Shortly after, a brother of Col¬ 
onel Boon, who had come into the country for 
hunting and trade, arrived at the camp. The In¬ 
dians, who were lurking in the neighbourhood, a 
few weeks subsequently, met Stuart and murdered 
him. The two brothers remained, however, in 
this dangerous situation, surrounded by wild beasts 
and savages. They hunted daily, improved the 
state of their hut, and thought of their families 
and their homes, and thus passed away the win¬ 
ter without attack from the natives. On the first 
of May 1770, the brother returned home, and 
left Daniel alone, without bread, sugar, salt, a dog 
or a horse. The object of the brother was to get a 
recruit of horses and amnlunition, and return to the 
western wilderness. Nature exerted its influence 
on the solitary adventurer, and he was depressed at 
the thought of being so distant from a beloved wife 
and family. “ But he wandered through the woods, 
and the freshness and variety and beauty he beheld, 
dissipated his gloom. At the close of the day, 
when the winds were hushed, and all nature seemed 
preparing for repose, he gained a commanding ridge, 
and looked around with astonishment and delight, 
(as he says) on the extensive plains and beauteous 
tracts below, and in the boundless distance. On 
one hand, he beheld the famous Ohio, rolling in 
silent dignity and marking the western boundary of 
Kentucky with inexpressible grandeur. At a vast 


INFORMATION. 

distance, he beheld the mountesns lift their vene¬ 
rable brows and penetrate the clouds. All things 
were now still; I kindled a fire near a fountain of 
sweet water, and feasted on the loin of a buck, 
which I had killed but a tew hours before. The 
shades of night soon overspread the hemisphere, 
and the earth seemed to gasp after the hovering 
moisture. My e.xcursion had fatigued my body and 
amused my mind. I laid me down to sleep, and 
awoke not till the sun had chased away the dark¬ 
ness of night. I continued this tour ; and in a few 
days explored a considerable part of the country ; 
each succeeding day equally pleased as the first; 
after which I returned to my camp, which I found 
undisturbed during my absence. I did not confine 
my lodging to it, but frequently reposed in thick 
cane-brakes to avoid the savages, who I believe of¬ 
ten visited my camp, but fortunately for me in my 
absence. No populous city, with all its varieties of 
commerce and stately structures, could afford so 
much pleasure to my mind, as the beauties of na¬ 
ture which I found in this wilderness.” 

The brother joined him near the close of July, 
when they left the spot where their camp or hut 
was, and proceeded to Cumberland River, examin¬ 
ing the country as they passed, and giving names 
to some of the larger rivers. Our adventurer re¬ 
turned to his family in March 1771, determined at 
every hazard to transport them immediately to Ken¬ 
tucky, as he esteemed it a second Paradise. Sep¬ 
tember 25th, 1773, having disposed of his farm and 
other property, except such as was deemed neces¬ 
sary, and could be conveniently transported, Mr. 
Boon and family bade adieu to their neighbours and 
friends, and proceeded to the favoured land of Ken¬ 
tucky, with five other families in the company. He 
was joined also by forty men at Powell’s Valley. 
But trials and sufferings awaited him. On the 10th 
of October, the rear of the company was attacked 
by the Indians, and several of them were killed: 
the oldest son of Colonel Boon was one of the num¬ 
ber. This was near Cumberland Mountain, and 
after they had passed over Powell’s and Walden’s: 
and the party was obliged to retreat about forty 
miles. These high lands are in the wilderness, in 
the way from the old settlements in Virginia to 
Kentucky. The party remained near Clench Riv¬ 
er, to which they had retreated, till July, 1774 ; when 
Boon and one Michael Stoner, by request of Gov¬ 
ernor Dunmore of Virginia, conducted some sur¬ 
veyors to Ohio River, a distance of nearly eight 
hundred miles, which took upwards of sixty-two 
days. On his return. Governor Dunmore gave 
Boon command of three small garrisons, during a 
campaign against the Shawnese Indians. After 
this, he undertook to mark out a road from the old 
settlements through the wilderness to Kentucky. 
He was attended by several enterprising men, well 
armed; but was attacked by the Indians near the 
present site of Boonsborough, and two of the 
party were killed. This was in March 1775. They 
were attacked a second time, soon after, when two 
more were slain. 4’hey then proceeded to Ken¬ 
tucky River without opposition. In April, a fort 
was erected by a salt-lick, and near the river on the 
south side: In June, Boon returned to his family 



116 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Qt Clench River; and soon removed them to the 
fort; and he says his wife and daughter were the 
first white women who had stood on the banks 
of Kentucky. The company were often menaced 
by the Indians, and one of the men was killed dur¬ 
ing the summer. July 1776, one of his daughters 
and two other young women of the party were cap¬ 
tured by the Indians near the fort; he pursued and 
overtook them on the third day ; killed two of the 
Indians, and recovered the girls. For a year and 
more, subsequently, the fort was often attacked by 
the Indians; but in July 1777, twenty-five men 
joined Boon’s company at the fort, and in August 
one hundred more from Virginia. The fort was 
now ably defended, and the Indians were less bold 
and troublesome. They feared the long-knife, as 
they called the Virginians. In February 1778, 
Colonel Boon, when out hunting, was taken by a 
large party of Indians who were going to attack the 
fort. He purchased peace, and the Indians, he says, 
treated them generously, according to the conditions 
stipulated. But they carried Boon and other pris¬ 
oners to Chilicothe, a principal Indian town on the 
Little Miami; and they suffered severely on the 
journey, especially by the cold. In March, he with 
ten others, was carried to Detroit; where, he says, 
the British Governor Hamilton treated them with 
great humanity. The Indians became much at¬ 
tached to Colonel Boon, and refused £l00 to leave 
him with the British Governor, who wished to allow 
his parole. They then conducted him to Chilicothe 
again. Here he was long detained; and spent his 
time chiefly in hunting. The Chief of the Shawa- 
nese treated him with kindness and favour. He was 
then taken to the Salt Springs at Sciota. On his 
return to Chilicothe, he found a large party of In¬ 
dians ready to march against the fort and settle¬ 
ment of Boonsborough. He became alarmed and 
was resolved to escape, if possible. This he effected 
in June, and in four days reached Boonsborough, 
a distance of one hundred and sixty miles, hav¬ 
ing only one meal. He found the fort in a 
bad state; but had it repaired immediately. The 
Indians kept aloof for some time, but in August the 
fort was attacked by a party of four hundred and 
fifty of them, and summoned to surrender. Boon 
and company resolved to defend themselves, a treaty 
was made, but the Indians proved treacherous ; and 
again attacked the fortress, but after a few days 
they desisted and retired ; But during the siege, the 
company suffered very much, and several were 
wounded by the assailants. The situation of Col¬ 
onel Boon and his family was extremely hazardous 
for some years after, and they endured various se¬ 
vere privations. He lost one brother and two sons 
by the Indians, besides much property, horses, cat¬ 
tle, &c. He thus concludes his narrative,—“ Many 
dark and sleepless nights have I spent, separated 
from the cheerful society of men, scorched by the 
summer’s sun, and pinched by the winter’s cold, an 
instrument ordained to settle the wilderness.” 


A General History of English Literature is pre¬ 
pared for publication in England, by D’Israeli, who 
has already written several volumes respecting au¬ 
thors, their characters, works, &.c. 


THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 

[From Judge Stor}'’s Commentaries on the Constitution.] 

The ne.xt clause of the amendment respects the 
Liberty of the Press. “ Congress shall make no law 
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. 
That this amendment was intended to secure to every 
citizen an absolute right to speak, or write, or print, 
whatever he may jffease, without any responsibility, 
public or ])rivate, therefore, is a supposition loo wild 
to be indulged in by any rational man. This would 
be to allow to every citizen a right to destroy, at his 
pleasure, the reputation, the peace, the property, 
and even the personal safety of every other citizen. 
A man might out of mere malice and revenge, ac¬ 
cuse another of the most infamous crimes ; might ex¬ 
cite against him the indignation of all his fellow-citi¬ 
zens by the most atrocious calumnies ; might disturb, 
nay, overturn all his domestic peace, and embitter 
his parental affections; might inflict the most distress¬ 
ing punishments upon the weak, the timid, and the 
innocent; might prejudice all a man’s civil, and poli¬ 
tical, and private rights ; and might stir up sedition, 
rebellion, and treason, even against the government 
itself, in the w’antonness of his passions, or the cor¬ 
ruption of his heart. Civil society could not go 
on under such circumstances. Men would then be 
obliged to resort to private vengeance, to make up 
for the deficiencies of the law, and assassinations, 
and savage cruellies, would be perpetrated with all 
the frequency belonging to barbarous and brutal 
communities. It is plain, then, that the language of 
this amendment imports no more, than that every 
man shall have a right to speak, write and print his 
opinions upon any subject whatsoever, w'ithout any 
prior restraint, so always, that he does not injure any 
other person in his rights, person, property or repu¬ 
tation ; and so always, that he does not thereby dis¬ 
turb the public peace, or attempt to subvert the gov¬ 
ernment.—It is neither more nor less, than an expan¬ 
sion of the great doctrine, recently brought into ope¬ 
ration in the law of libel, that every man shall be at 
liberty to publish what is true, with good motives 
and for justifiable ends. And with this reasonable 
limitation it is not only right in itself, but it is an 
inestimable privilege in a free government. With¬ 
out such a limitation, it might become the scourge 
of the republic, first denouncing the principles of 
liberty, and then, by rendering the most virtuous 
patriots odious through the terrors of the press, in¬ 
troducing despotism in its worst form. 

A little attention to the history of other countries 
in other ages will teach us the vast importance of 
this right. It is notorious, that, even to this day, in 
some foreign countries it is a crime to speak on any 
subject, religious, philosophical, or political, what is 
contrary to the received opinions of the government, 
or the institutions of the country, however laudable 
may be the design, and however virtuous may be the 
motive. Even to animadvert upon the conduct of 
public men, of rulers, or representatives, in terms of 
the strictest truth and courtesy, has been, and is 
deemed, a scandal upon the supposed sanctity of 
their stations and characters, subjecting the party to 
grievous punishment. In some countries no works 
can be printed at all, whether of science, or litera 
ture, or philosophy, without the previous approba 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


117 


tion of the government; and the press has been 
shackled, and compelled to speak only in the timid 
language, which the cringing courtier, or the capri¬ 
cious inquisitor, should license for publication. The 
Bible itself, the common inheritance not only of 
Christendom but of the world, has been put exclu¬ 
sively under the controul of government, and not al¬ 
lowed to be seen, or heard, except in a language un¬ 
known to the common inhabitants of the country. 
To publish a translation in the vernacular tongue, 
has been in former times a flagrant ofl'ence. The his¬ 
tory of the jurisprudence of England, (the most free 
and enlightened of all monarchies,) on this subject, 
will abundantly justify this statement. The art of 
printing, soon after its introduction, (we are told) was 
looked upon, as well in England, as in other coun¬ 
tries, as merely a matter of state, and subject to the 
coercion of the crown. It was therefore regulated 
in England by the King’s proclamations, prohibi¬ 
tions, charters of privilege and licenses, and finally 
by the decrees of the Court of Star Chamber; which 
limited the number of printers, and of presses, which 
each should employ, and prohibited new publica¬ 
tions, unless previously approved by proper licenses. 
On the demolition of this odious jurisdiction, in 
1651, the Long Parliament of Charles the First,after 
their rupture with that prince, assumed the same 
powers, which the Star Chamber exercised, with re¬ 
spect to licensing books; and during the Common¬ 
wealth, (such is human frailty and the love of power 
even in republics!) they issued their ordinances for 
that purpose, founded principally upon a Star Cham¬ 
ber decree in 1637. After the restoration of Charles 
the Second, a statute on the same subject was passed, 
copied, with some few alterations, from the Parlia¬ 
mentary ordinances. The act expired in 1679, and 
was revived and continued for a few years after the 
Revolution of 1688. Many attempts were made by 
the Government to keep it in force; but it was so 
strongly resisted by Parliament, that it expired in 
1694, and has never since been revived. To this 
very hour the liberty of the press in England stands 
upon this negative foundation. The power to restrain 
it is dormant, not dead. It has never constituted an 
article of any of her numerous bills of rights ; and 
that of the Revolution of 1688, after securing other 
civil and political privileges, left this without notice, 
as unworthy of care, or fit for restraint. This short 
review exhibits, in a striking light, the gradual pro¬ 
gress of opinion in favour of the liberty of publish¬ 
ing and printing opinions in England, and the frail 
and uncertain tenure by which it has been held. 

There is a good deal of loose reasoning on the 
subject of the liberty of the press, as if its inviola¬ 
bility were constitutionally such, that, like the King 
of England, it could do no wrong, and was free 
from every inquiry and aflbrded a perfect sanctuary 
for every abuse; that, in short, it implied a des¬ 
potic sovereignty to do every sort of wrong, without 
the slightest accountability to private or public jus¬ 
tice. Such a notion is too extravagant to be held 
by any sound constitutional lawyer, with regard to the 
rights and duties belonging to governments gene¬ 
rally, or to the state governments in particular. If it 
were admitted to be correct it might be justly affirm¬ 


ed, that the liberty of the press was incompatible 
with the permanent existence of any free govern¬ 
ment. Mr. Justice Blackstone has remarked, that 
the liberty of the press, properly understood, is 
essential to the nature of a free state, but that this 
consists in laying no previous restraints upon pub¬ 
lications, and not in freedom from censure for crimi¬ 
nal matter, when published. Every freeman has 
an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he pleases 
before the public; to forbid this is to destroy the 
freedom of the press. But, if he publishes what is 
improper, mischievous, or illegal, he must take the 
consequences of his own temerity. To subject the 
press to the restrictive power of a licenser, as was 
formerly done before, and since the Revolution (of 
1688,) is to subject all freedom of sentiment to the 
prejudices of one man, and make him the arbitrary 
and infallible judge of all controverted points in 
learning, religion, and government. But to punish 
any dangerous or offensive writings, which when pub¬ 
lished, shall on a fair and impartial trial, be adjudged 
of a pernicious tendency, is necessary for the preser¬ 
vation of peace and good order, of government and 
religion, the only solid foundations of civil liberty. 
Thus, the will of individuals is still left free ; the 
abuse only of that free will is the object of legal 
punishment. Neither is any restraint hereby laid 
upon freedom of thought or inquiry ; liberty of pri¬ 
vate sentiment is still left; the disseminating or 
making public of bad sentiments, destructive of the 
ends of society, is the crime which society corrects. 
A man may be allowed to keep poisons in his closet; 
but not publicly to vend them as cordials.—And 
after some additional reflections, he concludes with 
this memorable sentence, “ So true will it be found, 
that to censure the licentiousness, is to maintain 
the liberty of the press.” 

The true mode of considering the subject is, to 
examine the case with reference to a State Govern¬ 
ment, whose Constitution, like that, for instance, of 
Massachusetts, declares that “ the liberty of the press 
is essential to the security of freedom in a State; it 
ought not, therefore, to be restrained in this common¬ 
wealth.” What is the true interpretation of this 
clause ? Does it prohibit the Legislature from passing 
any laws, which shall controul the licentiousness of 
the press, or atford adequate protection to individu¬ 
als, whose private comfort or good reputations are 
assailed and violated by the press ? Does it stop 
the Legislature from passing any laws to punish 
libels and inflammatory publications, the object of 
which is to excite sedition against the Government, 
to stir up resistance to its laws, to urge on conspi¬ 
racies to destroy it, to create odium and indignation 
against virtuous citizens, to compel them to yield 
up their rights, or to make them the objects of pop¬ 
ular vengeance? Would such a declaration in Vir- 
ginia, (for she has, on more than one occasion, 
boldly proclaimed that the liberty of the press ought 
not to be restrained,) prohibit the Legislature from 
passing laws to punish a man, who should publish 
and circulate writings, the design of which avowedly 
is to excite the slaves to general insurrection against 
their master, or to inculcate upon them the policy 
of secretly poisoning or murdering them ? In short 




118 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


is it contended that the liberty of the press is so 
much more valuable than all other rights in society, 
that the public safety, nay, the existence of the 
Government itself, is to yield to it ? Is private re¬ 
dress for libels and calumny more important or 
more valuable than the maintenance of the good 
order, peace, and safety of society ? It would be 
difficult to answer these questions in favour of the 
liberty of the press, without at the same time de¬ 
claring that such a licentiousness belonged and could 
belong, only to a despotism, and was utterly incom¬ 
patible with the principles of a free government. 

[From the last number of the Scientific Tracts.] 

Piscatory Architecture. —In a small pond at 
the Lower Falls in the town of Milton, Mass., the 
proprietor of a paper mill, in passing to and from 
his works, the last season, observed two fishes, 
called in this part of the country suckers, {cyprinus 
teres,) unremittingly employed in gathering stones 
from the borders, and at a considerable distance too, 
which they brought to a particular part, in a quiet, 
clear spot in the water in front of his garden, where 
they were regularly piled into a pyramid. They 
were seen by others beside himself in the act of 
conveying the stones, some weighing more than a 
pound. They applied their long, flexible lips to 
the surface of the stone selected for removal, ex¬ 
hausted the air by suction, and then swam with it 
to the spot on which the edifice was erecting. 

At the close of summer the work had progressed 
astonishingly, considering their means, but no defi¬ 
nite object was discoverable to the spectators, un¬ 
less, as some of them conjectured, spawn had been 
deposited at the bottom, and the stones were for 
their protection against the depredations of bellig¬ 
erent neighbours. However, the work was inter¬ 
rupted, as curiosity made such promptings, that 
the gentleman alluded to, from whom the circum¬ 
stance was learned, took them all out of the water 
—three wheelbarrow loads—but discovered nothing 
he had anticipated. 

No other fishes were engaged in the labour, nor 
were any other suckers believed to be in the pond. 
The object, therefore, is still a mystery ; but if they 
had not been disturbed, it is altogether probable 
that the design would ultimately have become 
apparent. 


PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER. 

Go to the study of a Cumberland Presbyterian 
minister, and you will find there, Henry counter¬ 
acting the wild speculations of Clark, or Benson 
rectifying Scott, Fletcher checking Calvin ; Wesley 
and Toplady forming a “ neutral)’ Doddridge, 
Hall, Edwards, Dwight, Watson and a host of wor¬ 
thies, all harmoniously arranged in the same library. 
The Cumberland minister consults these diverse au¬ 
thors without the least fear of imbibing the ultra 
views either of Calvinists or Arminians. His motto 
is, prove all things, and hold fast to that which is 
good. He finds much that is instructive and edify¬ 
ing in each, and as his discriminating faculty is 
kept in exercise, he has but little difficulty in sepa¬ 
rating the dross from the pure gold. He has his 
own standard, which he honestly believes harmo¬ 


nizes with the word of God, common sense, and the 
philosophy of mind: and he is delighted to find 
so much in the advocates of other systems, which he 
can heartily adopt: and when they do diverge, it 
is on either side of him, so that he still finds him¬ 
self much nearer each of his diverging authors than 
they are to each other. Hence, if he has misinter¬ 
preted the Scriptures on some points—if either the 
Calvinist or Arminian holds the truth and nothing 
but the truth, still it is some consolation to him that 
he is not so far wrong as one of his two neighbours, 
the Calvinist or Arminian. But if they are both 
wrong, then the truth lies between them, and con¬ 
sequently, he cannot be far from right.— Cumber¬ 
land Presbyterian. 


By some writers the earth is divided into a num¬ 
ber of zoological regions, with regard to wild ani¬ 
mals, in each of which is found a distinct genus of 
quadrupeds. The arctic region, extends from the 
north pole to the arctic circle, and contains the while 
bear, the rein-deer, the arctic fox, and some others, 
which are common to both continents. Their being 
common to both continents is accounted for by the 
communication which, during winter, is established 
between the shores of Asia and America, by means 
of the ice, over which a passage from one to the 
other becomes practicable to such animals as are 
fitted to endure the intense cold of the circumpolar 
regions. The northern temperate zone is divided 
by the ocean, into two great districts. The same 
tribes are found to be spread from the western to the 
eastern parts of the old continent; but the quad¬ 
rupeds which inhabit the temperate climate of this 
continent are peculiar races. The equatorial re¬ 
gion contains three extensive tracts widely sepa¬ 
rated from each other by the sea. These are the 
intertropical parts of Africa, of America, and of 
continental India. Each of these tracts has a dis¬ 
tinct trib6 or family of quadrupeds. 


It is not generally known, we believe, that Wash¬ 
ington visited Boston in 1756. His object was to 
consult Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, then 
Commander in Chief of the British forces in North 
America, as to the approaching campaign against 
the French and Indians. Governor Shirley was 
a man of military talents, and on the death of Gen¬ 
eral Braddock was appointed to the chief command. 
Troops were sent to the w’est, as well as to the 
northwest, to check the enemy. Colonel Wash¬ 
ington wished to have a personal interview with 
Shirley relating to the place for the next campaign ; 
and he was desirous also of the decision of General 
Shirley as to his taking rank above another officer, 
who had hesitated to serve under Washington. 
He remained ten days in Boston, at that time; and 
was introduced to many of the citizens, and often 
attended the General Court then in session, prepar 
ing measures to forward the military operations for 
the ensuing year. - 

Who is a true gentleman 1 —Whoever is frank, 
sincere, honest, generous, courteous, truly honour¬ 
able, and candid ; such an one is a true gentleman, 
whether learned, or rich, or a labourer. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


119 



PATRICK HENRY. 


Patrick Henry of Virginia, may justly be ranked 
among the greatest men who have shed a lustre on 
the American character. He was endowed with a 
very powerful mind, and was a most zealous and 
devoted patriot. Few of the celebrated men, who 
took an active part in the defence of civil liberty, 
in 1775, were equal to him in decision, zeal and 
power; none perhaps, were superiour to him. Pat¬ 
rick Henry was born in Hanover county, Virginia, 
in 1736. His early education was not very liberal; 
yet by the care of his parents, he was instructed in 
the common rudiments of learning. In his youth he 
was more fond of the sports of the field than of books; 
and he was early placed in a country store, where 
he did not succeed. He married at the age of 
eighteen, and settled on a small farm, with little 
prospect of becoming rich or great. For some 
time, he laboured in the field with two or three 
slaves, given him by his parents. He soon grew 
sick of this employment; and again engaged in 
merchandize, though not under very favourable pros¬ 
pects. He was indolent and inattentive to business 
for a few years, when he engaged in the study of 
geography, and reading history, especially the histo¬ 
ry of Greece and Rome, and of England and 
America. He was still oppressed by poverty ; and 
as a last effort, made without any particular encour¬ 
agement, he resolved to make trial of the law, for a 
profession. His friends had little hope of his suc¬ 
cess ; but, at the age of twenty-five, after a few 
months study, he engaged in the practice. But 
his unfitness for the profession must be most 
manifest, with only a few months study of law, 
and with so limited an acquaintanee with its forms. 
His family condition was such as to require most of 
his attention to preserve them from utter want and 
distress. His genius first burst forth on occasion 
of the controversy in Virginia between the Episco¬ 
pal clergy and the people, as to the stipend de¬ 
manded by the former. He made a great display 
on the occasion ; and at once became eminent for 
his forensic talents and eloquence. Soon after, he 
distinguished himself., in the management of a con-. 
tested election, in which he pleaded for the rights 
of suffrage, a popular subject, and one in whio^ 


people then took a peculiar interest. The effect 
produced on the audience was heightened by the 
plain appearance of the speaker, and the little which 
had been known of him, except in the parsons’ 
cause. At the time of the Stamp Act, when the 
spirit of liberty was fresh and strong, and the ques¬ 
tion of Colonial Rights W'as agitated with intense 
interest, he was chosen a member of the House of 
Assembly ; being then only in his thirtieth year. No 
Colonial Assembly had then (May, 1765) adopted 
any decided resolves against the power assumed by 
the British ministry to tax America, except that of 
Massachusetts, which, in November 1764, had de¬ 
clared against the right of Parliament to tax the 
colonies ; and referring to the proposed Stamp Act, 
and to the act then just passed imposing a high 
duty on molasses, for the benefit of the parent gov¬ 
ernment. Just before the close of the session, as 
no other member brought forward the subject, Mr. 
Henry, though a new member and a young man, 
oliered resolutions, going explicitly to a denial of 
the British government to lay taxes on the people 
in the Colonies, or to legislate for them in any way. 
The resolutions were strongly opposed, but were 
finally adopted by a small majority; And they 
served to arouse the spirit of opposition to British 
taxation through the country. After ten years of 
controversy, the war of the Revolution commenced, 
which gave independence to America. “ But wheth¬ 
er this will prove a blessing or a curse,” to use his 
own words, “ will depend on the use the people 
make of their privileges, which a gracious God has 
bestowed on us. If they are wise and virtuous, 
they will be great and happy. If they are of a 
contrary character, they will be miserable. Right¬ 
eousness only exalteth a nation. Let every citizen 
remember this ; and practise virtue himself, and en¬ 
courage it in others.” 

Mr. Henry was one of the delegates from Vir¬ 
ginia to the first Continental Congress, which was 
held in September 1774, at Philadelphia. He was 
some time a member of Congress; and afterwards 
Governor of Virginia. When the Federal Consti¬ 
tution was formed in 1787, he opposed its adoption 
in the Convention of his State: but on its being 
approved by the majority, he withdrew his opposi¬ 
tion to it, and often supported the measures of the 
Federal Government, when censured by the demo¬ 
cratic party. He was a man of great honesty of 
purpose, and very independent in the avowal of his 
opinions. It might be thought improper to compare 
him to John Randolph; he had his independence 
with more common sense, or greater regard for the 
opinions of others. 

Patrick Henry was the James Otis of Virginia. 
He was eloquent in speech, and powerful in his ap¬ 
peals both to the reason and the feelings of the 
people. And he was eloquent and powerful be¬ 
cause he was an advocate for justice and liberty; 
and because his feelings were on the side of the 
rights of man. There is a man of similar character 
now living, whose eloquent appeals have more than 
once kindled anew the love of liberty in the hearts 
of Americans, and who has made a powerful stand 
in favour of the federal Constitution, the charter of 
eq^ual, rights, apd of political freedom., ? 









1-20 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


AUTUMN. 

It was an eve of Autumn’s holiest mood, 

The cornfields, bathed in Cynthia’s silver light. 

Stood ready for the reaper’s gathering hand; 

And all the winds slept soundly. Nature appear’d 
In silent contemplation, to adore 
Its Maker. Now and anon, the aged leaf 
Fell from its fellows, rustling to the ground; 

And, as it fell, bade man think on his end. 

On vale and lake, on wood and mountain high 
With pensive wing outspread, sat heav’nly Thought, 
Conversing with itself. Vesper looked forth. 

From out her western hermitage, and smiled; 

And up the east, unclouded, rode the moon 
With all her altars, gazing on earth intense. 

As if she saw some wonder walking there. 

Pollock's Course of Time. 


The Indians of the interior of the United States, 
according to Mr. McKenney, who has travelled 
much among them, are more mild and courteous 
than those were who resided near the Atlantic 
coasts two hundred years ago. Some writers 
account for this, by the severe treatment which they 
received from the earlv English settlers. The French 
were always better received by the Indians than the 
English. The former.perhaps, knew better how to 
conciliate them. The French priests and mission¬ 
aries threw themselves on their friendship, instead 
of attempting to subdue them by force; and their 
religious tenets were also far more acceptable to the 
savage. The rites and ceremonies of the Catholics 
were more captivating to the senses, if they did not 
serve to purify the heart. The Chippeways, a tribe 
near Lake Superior, exhibit many specimens of 
persons who are well-informed, courteous in man¬ 
ners, and of mild and friendly dispositions. But 
they had amalgamated with the English or French. 
There are several such families in the Chippeway 
tribe ; and the children are well-educated and of as 
polished manners as those among the civilized white 
people. They are not deficient in native talent, or 
a capacity to learn; and their affections are as sus¬ 
ceptible of the kindly sympathies as those of a 
lighter skin and of European origin. 

GENERAL OFFICERS IN THE WAR OF THE 
REVOLUTION. 

An aged correspondent, who remembers “ the 
times which tried men’s souls,” and who devotes a 
portion of his hours in antiquarian researches, has 
suggested that it would probably be acceptable to 
most of our readers to see a list of the general offi¬ 
cers of the revolutionary army. We should have 
been obliged to him, if he had furnished such a list 
himself, or the materials for one; as he has not, we 
have taken some labour for the purpose, and pre¬ 
sent the following. It is quite possible that some 
names are omitted, especially of those who were in 
the militia, or who served only part of the war. 

When the militia assembled at Cambridge, Ro.x- 
bury and vicinity, soon after the affair at Concord, 
which was the 19th of April, 1775, General Artemas 
Ward vvas the Commander in Chief in some sense, 
though the organization of the troops was not com¬ 
plete, and those from New Hampshire, Connecti¬ 
cut, and Rhode Island, were under the command 
of officers from those Colonies. General John 
Thorpas had the coniaiapcl qf several regiments 


stationed at Roxbury ; and Seth Pomeroy and Asa 
Whitcomb also had commissions from the Pro¬ 
vincial Congress as Brigadier Generals; and Israel 
Putnam of Connecticut, Nathaniel Greene of Rhode 
Island, and John Stark of New Hampshire, com¬ 
manded the militia from those Colonies respectively 
at first with the title of Colonel. Putnam received 
a commission soon after from Connecticut as a 
General; and when 'Washington was appointed 
Commander in Chief of the whole American Army, 
in June, Putnam was commissioned as a Major 
General; and Ward had a similar appointment. 
The other Major Generals, appointed by the Gen¬ 
eral Congress, at that time, were Philip Schuy¬ 
ler, and Charles Lee ; the Brigadiers were Gene¬ 
rals John Thomas, Seth Pomeroy, and William 
Heath. The Major Generals, (in course of the war) 
were: 


Charles Lee, 

Israel Putnam, 
Artemas Ward, 
Philip Schuyler, 
Benjamin Lincoln, 
Horatio Gates, 
Nathaniel Greene, 
William Heath, 
John Sullivan, 

- Smallwood, 


Baron Steuben, 

Baron De Kalb, 

The Brigadier Generals were: 


Du Portail 
Henry Knox, 

Marquis La Fayette 
Benedict Arnold, 
Alexander M’Dougal, 
Robert Howe, 

Lord Stirling, 

Wiliam Moultrie 
Adam Stevens, 
Arthur Conway, 
Arthur St. Clair, 

Sam. H. Parsons, 


Seth Pomeroy, 

John Thomas, 

Richard Montgomery, 
David Wooster, 
Joseph Spencer, 

John Stark, 

Asa Whitcomb, 

Hugh Mercer, 

Francis Nash, 

John Armstrong, 
William Thompson, 
Andrew Lewis, 

James Moore, 

Thomas Mifflin, 
Joseph Reed, 

James M. Varnum, 


John Nixon, 

John Patterson, 
Arthur St. Clair, 

John Glover, 

Ebenezer Learned, 
Anthony Wayne, 
Jedediah Huntington, 
James Clinton, 

George Clinton, * 
Enoch Poor, 

J. Cadwallader, 

P. Muhlenburg. 

W. Woodford, 

J. P. De Haas 
Geo. Weeden. 


Chemical Discoveries.— A new method has 
been found, by a learned German, of preparing 
white lead in far less time, and with less labour 
than hitherto have been consumed. The advan¬ 
tage is said to be forty per cent. The method is to 
be tested by experiments; but the process has not 
been stated, and the secret is with the discoverer. 
The same person proposes to obtain vinegar from 
wood, as good as that made from wine : he states 
that he can make ink for printing much cheaper 
and purer than that now in use; and yeast at half 
the cost of that obtained from beer or malt. 


It is possible that a wise and good man may be 
persuaded to engage in play; but it is impossible 
that a professed or habitual gambler should be a 
wisp and good man. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


m 



VISIT OF A MISSIONARY TO THE 

It is well known that efforts have been made for 
nearly a century, to christianize the Indians within 
the British possessions in America, in tlie high north¬ 
ern latitudes, and chiefly by the Moravians. They 
have visited the coast of Labrador, for this purpose; 
and they have formed several settlements among 
the Esquimaux tribes, where many hundreds of the 
ignorant natives have been instructed, by the de¬ 
voted, indefatigable men who engaged in this most 
praiseworthy design. These natives are in a very de¬ 
graded state; and their position is so far north, that 
they are exposed to great privations most of the 
year, and seem to have no views further than to 
provide for their immediate animal wants. The 
Moravian brethren who have sent some of their 
number to Iceland and other regions for a long 
period, have also had Missionaries in the high north¬ 
ern parts of America, far north and west of Canada. 
They have advanced as far as Red River, near 
Lake Winnipeg, where the British Fur Company 
have a settlement. The natives are somewhat like 
the Gipsies in Europe, in their manners and roving 
habits. But they readily listen to the Moravian 
Missionaries, and send their children to them for 
instruction. There have been several instances of 
hopeful conversions to the faith of the gospel. The 
Missionaries, in going from one tribe to another, 
generally travel in sledges several hundred miles, 
drawn by dogs over the ice and snow, at the rate of 
fifty and sixty miles a day. The United Moravian 
Brethren are persevering in their holy efforts for 
spreading the light of the gospel in these dark re- 


NORTHERN AMERICAN INDIANS. 

gions of the earth, where tlie foot of civilized man 
never trod till within the last century. They say, 
the natives generally are docile and attentive, and 
usually collect together to hear the word of salva¬ 
tion from the pious Missionary. We know some 
men doubt the good effects to arise from these 
efforts to christianize such ignorant and degraded 
people. Men perhaps, must first be civilized and 
instructed in the arts and sciences to a certain ex 
tent, before they can be brought to understand and 
embrace the gospel. And yet some contend, on 
the other hand, that if savages can be led to receive 
the great doctrines of Christianity, they would be¬ 
come social, agricultural and civilized. The ten¬ 
dency of the gospel is to humanize, reform, restrain 
and sanctify mankind ; and if it is preached by 
wise and prudent and holy men, it seems impossi¬ 
ble that it should not produce beneficial results, as 
to their manners and lives. Every good person, 
therefore, must bid the pious Christian Missionary 
God-speed, and pray for success on their labours, 
to bring the heathen to the knowledge of our holy 

religion. - 

The Greeks had a Butterfly engraved on their 
sepulchral monuments. It was not altogether un¬ 
like the inscription on one of their altars. “ To the 
unknown God.” The device was an obscure inti¬ 
mation of immortality, or of a resurrection. The 
worm died, or was transformed, (after it was in a 
state of suspended animation,) into a more beauti¬ 
ful form of life, which could rise and soar far be¬ 
yond the track and the acme of its former existence. 






































































































122 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION. 

This very useful Association, having for its object 
improvements in teaching youth, both as to the 
mode and the matter of instruction, has lately held 
its anniversary meeting in Boston. We understand 
that it was well attended ; and that some of its 
members came from a great distance. Such an asso¬ 
ciation promises great benefit to the cause of educa¬ 
tion, and to the country. We refer to the topics 
treated during the meeting, which was continued 
daily for five days. The introductory lecture, on 
the spirit of the true teacher: on the best mode of 
inspiring a correct taste in English literature: what 
modes of punishment in schools are suited to pro¬ 
duce the best moral effects : on the political inffu- 
ence of teachers; on the state and prospects of 
education among the German population of this 
country: on the physical evils most important to 
be guarded against in education: on religious edu¬ 
cation : on the Prussian system of schools, and its 
applicability (in part) to our schools: on the remedy 
for evils arising from numerous text-books in the 
same school district: on the ends which a teacher 
should have in view, in the moral and intellectual 
discipline of youth : of the importance to the in- 
structer of an acquaintance with the philosophy of 
mind: on the means of forming the habit of at¬ 
tention in children—on the study of the classics : on 
the probable benefit to the interests of education 
from the pursuit of one branch of study at a time: 
on the meaning and objects of education: on the 
management of a common school: on the moral 
relations of natural history: the importance of 
giving a right moral direction in the early stages of 
education: on the means of cultivating the social 
affections among pupils: on the best motives to be 
presented to pupils, as encouragements to moral 
and intellectual efforts: on schools of art: the 
proper education for an agricultural people: on 
the study of mythology : on the importance and 
means of forming a taste in English composition : 
and on the adaptation of the present course of coun¬ 
try schools to the wants of the children. 


THE SEA SERPENT. —[Serpens Marines Magnus.] 

We give a description of the Sea Serpent, which 
has been seen, in and near Massachusetts Bay, and 
on the coasts of Maine including Penobscot Bay, 
and described by a number of very intelligent and 
respectable individuals, within fifty years, and chiefiy 
within the last twenty or thirty years. By most of 
those who have seen this aquatic monster, and been 
so near him as to make accurate observations and 
give a just account and description of him, his 
length is nearly one hundred feet, (the accounts, 
however, vary from seventy-five to one hundred and 
twenty feet, and this difference is accounted for 
by the different distances and positions, at or in 
which the animal was seen;) and its thickness 
about that of a barrel, or of a cask twice the size of 
a barrel. The greater portion of those who have 
seen the Serpent, describe him as having protube¬ 
rances on the back, nearly the whole length from 
the neck to the tail: not unlike the humps on the 
pemel’s back : but some have expressed an opipigq 


that the apparent bunches were owing to the man¬ 
ner of his motion in the water. When the Serpent 
was first seen in Penobscot Bay, about thirty-six or 
thirty-eight years ago, (the earliest ol his recent ap¬ 
pearances, but not strictly so of his appearances 
on the coasts of Maine,) the bunches were particu¬ 
larly noticed ; which led the doubting, who conclud¬ 
ed the narrator was alarmed and deceived, to ask if 
it was not a school of porpoises swimming by in a 
line. This supposition was afterwards abandoned, 
when the Serpent was seen by several persons, at 
different times, and most of them too near it to be 
deceived. 

A large animal, formed like a serpent, was repeat¬ 
edly seen on the coasts of Norway long before the 
appearance of the monster in the waters near Massa¬ 
chusetts and Maine. Bishop Pontoppidan gave an 
account of the animal as he received it from those 
who saw it. They represented it as several hundred 
feet long ; in which no doubt they were mistaken. 
They also describe it with bunches, and a drawing 
was given, very like the serpent seen on our coasts, 
except as to the supposed length of the former. 

The most correct statements of the appearance 
of the Sea Serpent on the coasts of America, and 
those entitled to the fullest credit, (with some 
abatement for opinions as to its size or length, 
some of the persons being at a considerable dis¬ 
tance,) were given by those who saw it thirty or fifty 
years ago in or near Penobscot bay ; if perhaps we 
except the account of such as have had a view of 
one near Cape Ann and Nahant, within fifteen or 
eighteen years last. Reference has already been 
made to one who saw the Serpent in Penobscot 
Bay. He was a respectable clergyman well known 
to the writer of this article; and at whose request 
he gave a written account, and afterwards a more 
particular description. Several persons were with him 
at the time, and had a full view of the monster for some 
minutes. They saw him at rest on the water; and af¬ 
terwards saw him dart out to sea with great velocity. 
Capt. George Little, commander of an armed vessel 
on the coasts of Maine in 1779—80, and in 1799— 
1800, of the United States Frigate Boston, saw the 
Sea Serpent in Broad Bay, (which is east of Sequin, 
and west of Penobscot Bay,) at the former period; 
and supposed it was fifty feet or more in length ; but 
he was not so near as to judge accurately as to its 
length. A Capt. Kent, before that time, who was 
commander of a coasting sloop, saw a sea snake, 
near the same bay, which he believed was at least 
fifty feet long. Capt. Crabtree, who lived some 
time on an Island in Penobscot Bay, a very in¬ 
telligent and reputable man, deposed that he had 
heard the people there, speak of having seen a 
large Sea Serpent at different times ; and that in 
1778, he saw it himself. He saw it lying at rest 
for some time, on the surface of the water, and 
within five hundred feet of the land ; and he judged 
it was one hundred feet long, and three feet diame¬ 
ter. In 1793, the same person or one of his family 
had a view of the animal, near the same place. 
The clergyman above referred to, also related to the 
writer of this account, that in the war of the Rev¬ 
olution, some of the British troops at Castine had a 
view of a similar animal. He also stated, that one 




$ 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


123 


person, whom he well knew, saw two of them to¬ 
gether, in that vicinity, some twenty years before. 
Many years ago, when there were few families on 
Mount Desert, which is east of Penobscot Bay, the 
skeleton of an animal was found near the shore, in 
an unfrequented part of the Island, which was said 
to be seventy feet long. 

In common cases, tliis is evidence enough to 
satisfy reasonable men, tliat a large serpent of sev¬ 
enty or eighty or one liundred feet long, has been 
often seen in the bays and on the coast of Maine, 
within fifty or sixty years. But it is proper to no¬ 
tice the more recent accounts given of a similar an¬ 
imal on our coasts. In 1815, the Sea Serpent was 
seen near Plymouth, outside of the harbor, but near 
the land, and within a quarter of a mile of those 
who saw him. One of these was a very intelligent 
sea captain, who view'ed him with the naked eye, 
and through a glass. When he saw the animal it 
was moving directly from him, and appeared about 
thirty or forty feet; but on changing its course, and 
exhibiting fairly its whole length, he judged it to 
be at least one hundred feet. The Serpent again 
approached the shore and remained at rest for about 
five minutes. The bunches were as large as a 
barrel, and about thirty in number. It was of a 
deep brown color. The sky was clear and it w'as 
almost calm. The head and neck appeared six 
or eight feet long. 

In 1817, the Serpent was seen in the harbor of 
Gloucester, or Cape Ann. The master of an east¬ 
ern coaster, lying at anchor in the harbor, in Au¬ 
gust, saw it at rest on the surface of the w'ater, very 
near his vessel, with its head near the cable, (in 
front of the vessel,) and its tail extending beyond 
the stern. The vessel was at least sixty feet, ac¬ 
cording to her tonnage ; and the animal not less 
than seventy-five or eighty. Soon after, one of 
the citizens of Gloucester, who resided at the point 
of land running out into the Atlantic, saw the Ser¬ 
pent and gave an account of it; but neither his 
testimony nor that of the captain of the coaster 
was received with full credence. “ Some doubted.” 
The last witness saw the animal for more than an 
hour; during which it was in motion backwards 
and forwards, and nearer, or more distant. He saw 
fifty feet of its length, but did not speak of any 
bunches. He described its color as others had 
done. During the same month, the Serpent was 
seen in that vicinity, by several others, and some¬ 
times within fifty feet. Some noticed the bunches, 
and some did not. The crew of a vessel belonging 
to Nevvburyport, of another belonging to Beverly, 
and of a vessel from New York to Salem, all saw 
W'hat they called a large Sea Serpent. So also did 
the fishermen of several Chebacco boats then em¬ 
ployed in cod or mackerel-catching in the vicinity. 
And all doubt seemed to be removed of the exist¬ 
ence of a Sea Serpent, of about eighty or one 
hundred feet in length, and of the size of a large 
barrel or cask. At a later period, the animal was 
seen near Nahant and Phillips Beach, betw'een 
Nahant and Marblehead. But their statements 
need not be detailed. One fact however, it is im¬ 
portant to add, connected with the account of a 
Sea Serpent near our coasts. In September of the 


year, when the animal was so often seen in Glou¬ 
cester Bay and near Cape Ann, where is a cove 
making up into the land, beyond the general course 
about one hundred and fifty yards; near which a 
snake was taken, aiming towards the bay. When 
moving slowly on the ground, the motion was ver¬ 
tical ; and it moved by contracting and then ex¬ 
tending itself. One of the men pursued and de¬ 
tained it by his pitch-fork. The efforts it made 
w'ere said to be different from those of other snakes. 
It had the power of expansion and contraction in a 
remarkable degree. When contracted, there ap¬ 
peared bunches on the back, but when it was at 
rest and lying horizontally, they were hardly per¬ 
ceivable. W^hen contracted, it was scarcely tw'o 
feet long, but when not contracted, it was three 
feet. The people who killed it, did not consider 
it of the common kind of snakes. It was taken to 
Boston, and carefully examined by some members 
of the Linnaean Society. Its length w’as found to 
be two feet eleven inches and a half; and from a 
comparison of the young of large land snakes and 
serpents, wdth those of common age and growth, 
the parent of this, (if but a few weeks old,) might 
be from one hundred to one hundred and eight 
feet. The place where the young was found; and 
the peculiar formation with bunches made by self¬ 
contraction ; and the spine adapted to this singular 
shape, excepting near the neck and tail, (where no 
bunches were discovered in the large monster,) 
w'here it was straight as in other serpents ; all seem 
to render it probable that this animal was the off¬ 
spring of the great sea monster. Tw'enty-four dis¬ 
tinct bunches were noticed between the head and 
the vent. The color was a deep brown ; the belly 
a little lighter. “ The interior structure of the ani¬ 
mal taken, differed from that of other serpents. 
The different vertebrae varied, and were accommo¬ 
dated by their shape and size to the configuration 
of the back.” 

The Sea Serpent has been often seen near our 
coasts since 1815 and 1817, and the accounts given 
by those who saw it, go to confirm the former 
statements in all important parts. 


Density of Bodies at Different Depths.— It 
has been found that air, when compressed within a 
space w'hich is but the fiftieth part of its common 
or natural volume, has its elasticity increased in that 
proportion or degree. If then the air continue to 
be contracted in that ratio, it would, from its own 
weight, have the density of water, at thirty-four 
miles depth in the earth. Water, it is known, has 
its density doubled, at ninety-three miles; and at 
362 miles would acquire the density of quicksilver; 
and in descending 4000 miles or nearly so, tow'ards 
the earth’s centre, the density of airy substance or 
matter w'ould be great, almost beyond expression or 
conception. Some have supposed that even steel 
w'ould be compressed into one-fourth, and stone 
into one-eighth of its bulk, at the centre of the earth. 
We are yet ignorant to what extent bodies may be 
compressed, though experiments show that the 
compression may be greater, than has ever been 
actually exhibited. 




m 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE CAVE OF FINGAL. 

[From Brooks’s Letters.] 

July 30th, at 3 o’clock in the morning, we left 
Tobermory, from whence I wrote you last, in our 
steamboat Highlander, to make a visit to the cele¬ 
brated islands of Stafla and Iona, both of the He¬ 
brides, or Western Isles. We went up the sound 
of Mull, and around the island, and by seven or 
eight o’clock, we were within sight of Iona, which 
we passed in order to make our first landing at 
Staft’a. Our object in visiting Siaflfa was to see the 
celebrated cave of Fingal, or Fingal’s Cave, which 
as a geological curiosity is one of the greatest, if not 
the greatest in the world. It is the British Niagara 
—not that it is a cataract, for as such it would be a 
failure—but it is a natural curiosity, exciting as 
much wonder, if not terror, as the far famed cata¬ 
ract of our own land. 

As we approached the coast of the island, which 
by the way, is small, not over two miles in circum¬ 
ference, I could easily distinguish some of the pecu¬ 
liarities of its formation. With some difficulty, 
we made a landing, for there was not a little sea 
there,—not from the steamboat directly, but from 
that, into a large boat, which some of the neigh¬ 
bouring islanders who understand the art of dodging 
the surf, keep for the purpose of taking visitors 
ashore, many of whom resort here from all parts of 
the world. The moment we landed, before ascend-, 
ing even the first elevation, we found ourselves 
treading upon the tops, or capitals ot huge basaltic 
pillars, that seemed composedly piled together, not 
as if by nature, nor by the hand of man, but by 
some convulsion of the elements. As we clamber¬ 
ed farther up, we found these columns or pillars 
covered with earth, on which the grass was growing; 
but wherever the sea could reach them, and lay 
them bare, the same pillars were to be seen strown 
about in regular confusion, if I may adopt such a 
phrase. Now the pillars slanted much, now a little, 
now almost horizontal, anon they were perpendic¬ 
ular, which, as they were worn away, formed stair¬ 
cases, as it were, that you could ascend or descend 
with ease. But all these wonders were nothing 
when compared with the last object we visited on 
the southeastern promontory ; Fingal’s Cave. No 
description can give the faintest idea of it. The 
very best I ever read, left but a sorry impression 
when compared with the great reality. It seems 
as if some fearful powers had been shaping rocky 
columns, in very sport, to show what they could do 
in imitation of man, and when they had done 
laughing at their play, had hurled them altogether 
to form some mis-shapen place of worship, arched 
over, and propped up with threatening pillars. 
The sea that comes roaring in, might have been 
their chant. Imagine if you can, some rocky island 
of precipitous sides, thus hollowed out for three 
hundred feet, with arches and pillars, Cathedral-like, 
all of columns of basalt rocks, some sixty feet in 
height, and where the sea comes booming in at 
every rush of the tide. I crept along over the tops 
of some of the basalt columns as far as it was safe 
to go,—and when I stopt, and tried the voice, the 
sound was that of many screams as the voice was 


broken by the unequal surface. The sea-gods 
might have had a temple here. If the Romans had 
known this place, they would have made it the 
throne of Neptune, and installed his trident here. 
Laborious and difficult enough indeed it is to reach 
this place, and often rough and stormy is the way, 
but when once the traveller is here, he never will 
regret that he has come; for a picture will be on 
his mind to last his life. 

Tradition has connected this stupendous cave 
with the name of Fingal; but there is no reason to 
believe it associated with his memory. Strange to 
say, this great curiosity was almost unknown to the 
middle of the last century, when Sir Joseph Banks 
was induced to visit it by a native of Ireland, whose 
descriptions made it known to the world, and thus 
stimulated inquiries. It is of the same formation 
as the Giant’s Causeway, in the same longitude, 
and not many miles oft', and the same violent effort 
of nature that produced the one, probably also pro¬ 
duced the other. The average diameter of the ba¬ 
saltic columns is about two feet, but they often ex¬ 
tend to four. The number of their sides vary from 
three to nine, but the pentagon and hexagon are 
the prevalent forms. Fingal’s Cave, however, is 
not all that is to be seen here, though the most re¬ 
markable of all the curiosities. There are, besides, 
the Cormorant’s Cave, the Boat Cave, and the 
Clamshell Cave, all wonders, if the studendous won¬ 
der of Fingal’s Cave did not overwhelm them all. 

At last, nor wearied nor satiated, we left this 
solitary island, solitary I say, for if not companion¬ 
less among the other islands, yet not a soul ven¬ 
tures to live upon it, so terrific are the winters and 
the storms; and embarked again on board our 
‘ Highlander.’ Iona was the next object of cu¬ 
riosity ; Iona, or Icolmkill, as it is often called ; 
which Dr. Johnson visited in his famous Highland 
tour, and which he has described as ‘ the illustrious 
island which was once the luminary of the Caledo¬ 
nian regions, whence savage clans and roving bar¬ 
barians derived the benefits of knowledge and the 
blessings of religion.’ Oh, what a reverse of the 
picture now, and what a contrast with what it was 
once! This little island, that was indeed in its 
better days a luminary, is now a most deplorable 
object to behold. I do not know whether even the 
moral training the mind must have in visiting such 
a scene, repays the traveller for the miseries he 
suffers. Think of this, the chosen burial place of 
no less than sixty kings; the place where a Roman 
Pope thought of seeking the last decades of Livy, 
now inhabited by a people in the most abject con¬ 
dition, without the spirit or the pride of the savage, 
and yet with all his poverty, whose palaces now 
would be but pig-sties in our happy land ; and such 
a people living too where the asylum of learning 
was during the dark ages, where it was a glory to 
live, and a pride to die; now trampling recklessly 
over the broken coffins of Scottish, Irish and Nor¬ 
wegian kings; with their miserable hovels wretch¬ 
edly contrasting with the ruins of the proud Cathe¬ 
dral their fathers reared ! Think of the havoc Time 
works; of the change he effects! What Rome 
was once to Italy, this little island was to the people 
here, and what many a proud city now is, Iona was 



OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


125 


WRITERS OF SACRED HISTORY. 

NO. II. 

The books of the New Testament were written 
within thirty years of the death of our Saviour, with 
the exception of the writings of the Apostle John, 
who wrote probably, about sixty years after his cru¬ 
cifixion, and in the year of Christ ninety-three or 
four. It is agreed by all writers, that his gospel 
and his epistles were written much later than 
the other books forming the New Testament, and 
it is far the most general belief that it was as late or 
later than-the year ninety. It is also supposed that 
he did not write in Judea, but at Ephesus, in Asia 
Minor. The other evangelical writers do not speak 
of or refer to heretics and impostors, as John does; 
nor to the doctrine of the Logos, which was much 
agitated before his death. Whether Matthew or 
Luke wrote first, is uncertain. The first, probably, 
wrote in Judea, and the other in Greece ; and it is 
supposed about the same period; which was about 
thirty years after the death of Christ. Mark is 
supposed to have written at Rome, and soon af¬ 
ter Luke and Matthew. The Gospel of John may 
be considered a supplement to the others. The 
Epistles of Paul were written between fifty-four 
and sixty-four; but not in the order in which they 
stand in the present Testament. The Epistles to 
the Galatians and the Thessalonians were supposed 
to be the most early. These books and histories 
and epistles, were known and circulated, quoted 
and appealed to as genuine, and as authority in 
matters of religion, especially of the doctrines and 
life of Christ, in the second and third centuries, and 
in all subsequent times. As to the genuineness of 
the second of Peter, of Jude, second and third of 
John, and of the Apocalypse, there were some 
doubts: But after much inquiry and consideration 
they were received by the majority of the Christian 
churches ; yet not so as that any doctrine taught or 
advanced by any one should be received only and 
solely on authority of one of these last mentioned 
books. The Apocalypse is evidently a prophetic 
book, and so highly figurative, that it is of difficult 
interpretation. And the short Epistles mentioned, 
as even having been doubtful, or objected to, con¬ 
tain no doctrine or precept peculiar, unless it be 
that Jude and Peter refer to the antedeluvians, 
which is not done by the other Apostles. But their 
allusions are short and somewhat obscure, and nei¬ 
ther contradict any commonly received doctrine, 
nor advance anything absurd or unphilosophical. 
Copies of the Gospels, and other books forming the 
New Testament, were early made, and were stu¬ 
died and quoted both by Christians and Pagans, in 
the second and third centuries ; by the former to 
explain and support the doctrines they professed, 
and by the latter, in the way of criticism and ob¬ 
jection. The works of some of the writers who 
quoted the New Testament, and who made com¬ 
mentaries on them, are still preserved ; and which 
prove that they were referred to as authority on 
subjects of the Christian faith, and that they had 
the same books which have come down to us. 
Both Jews and Pagans refer to these books, and to 
the great events which are recorded in them ; w'hich 
also shows their antiquity, although they were not 


received by them as the works of inspired men. 
Here is proof, that the history of the Gospel, ana 
the writings of its friends were known and read and 
examined, and that the events related were not 
done in a corner. The genuineness of the Chris¬ 
tian Scriptures rest on the same human evidence 
(apart from their intrinsic, internal excellence and 
superiority) as the writings of ancient Greek and 
Roman authors, whose works have come down to 
our day, and of which there is not the least doubt 


DEATH’S FINAL CONQUEST. 

BY JAMES SHIRLEY.* 

The glories of our ulood and state 
Are shadows, not substantial things; 

There is no armour against fate: 

Death lays his icy hands on kings: 

Sceptre and crown 
Must tumble down, 

And in the dust be equal made 

With the poor crooked scythe and spade. 

Some men with swords may reap the field. 

And plant fresh laurels where they kill: 

But their strong nerves at last must yield, 

They tame but one another still. 

Early or late 
They stoop to fate. 

And must give up their murdering breath. 

When they, pale captives, creep to death. 

The garlands wither on your brow, 

Then boast no more your mighty deeds. 

Upon death’s purple altar now 

See where the victor-victim bleeds: 

All heads must come 
To the cold tomb : 

Only the actions of the just 

Smell sweet and blossom in their dust. 

* Born 1686. Died 1666. He was a great friend of the Ley¬ 
den and Plymouth Pilgrims. 

A person who was skeptical in his opinions, and 
a profane scoffer at religion, met a plain country¬ 
man on his w'ay to the house of public worship, and 
inquired of him where he was going. “ To church,” 
was the reply. “ What do you there?” “ I worship 
and praise God, and hear his holy word.” Then 
thinking to puzzle the illiterate man, he inquired, 
“ Is the God you worship, a great or a little God ?” 
“ Both,” replied the man promptly ; “ He is so great 
that the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and 
so little that he can dwell in my heart.” 


A BEAUTIFUL SIMILIE. 

BY W. C. BRYANT, ESQ. 

Upon yon mountain’s distant head. 

Where spotless snows forever white. 

Where all is still, and cold, and dead— 

Late shines the sun’s departing light. 

But far below those icy rocks. 

The vales, in summer bloom arrayed— 

Woods full of birds, and fields of flocks 
Are dim with mist, or dark with shade. 

’Tis thus, from warm and kindly hearts. 

And eyes where generous meanings burn. 

Earliest the light of life departs. 

And lingers with the cold and stern. 

He who refuses to do justice t» the defenceless, 
will often be found making unreasonable conces¬ 
sions to the powerful. 







126 


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View of Second Presbyterian Church, Auburn, N. Y. 












































































































































































127 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AUBURN, N. Y. 

This Church, a view of which is given opposite, 
is one of the few specimens of correct arcliitecture, 
of houses of religious worship in our country. And 
we can see no objection to having buildings for this 
purpose constructed with good taste, and according 
to the best models of architecture, any more than to 
other public edifices. We hope more care will be 
bestowed in future, in having churches built agree¬ 
ably to the best models of antiquity. For there is 
a neatness and simplicity about them, which recom¬ 
mend thern to the unperverted eye of every person 
of good judgment; and they need not be made ex¬ 
pensive by a profusion of mere ornament. The 
architecture of our country, we think is improving ; 
and it is desirable that men of good architectural 
taste should be consulted in the form and style of 
all public edifices. 

The edifice, the view of which is here given, is 
the second Presbyterian Church in Auburn, in the 
State of New-York ; and was erected in 1829. The 
main body of the Church is of brick ; and is eighty 
feet by sixty, on a stone basement, with a doric 
portico. The steeple is quite lofty, rising to the 
height of one hundred and sixty-four feet from the 
ground. The view is rather imposing, at a little 
distance ; nor do we think, as some object, that it^ 
is out of proportion to the building, for effect. The 
expense of the church, lot and furniture, is estima¬ 
ted at ^17,500. The interiour is finished in a sim¬ 
ple but substantial and appropriate manner. The 
ceiling is stucco, with moulded panels; and is a 
hemisphere segment arch, arising six feet from its 
own base, and thirty-one feet from the centre aisle. 
The church is furnished with an organ of fine tone 
and great power, made by Mr. Erben, a gentleman 
of great skill and taste in such matters. 

Auburn is a flourishing village in the interiour of 
the State of New-York, and is about 170 miles 
west from Albany, and near the northern end of 
O wasco lake. There is a large Penitentiary at this 
place, established by the Legislature, sufficient to 
hold a thousand persons. It is said to be the best 
constructed and best governed of any institution of 
the kind in the United States. There is also in 
Auburn, a large stone building for a theological 
Seminary; an Academy, a Court House, and several 
houses for public worship. 


TRANSIT OF MERCURY. 

The Transit of the inferiour planet Mercury, over 
the Sun’s disc, on the 7th of November current, 
was not observed by any one in this quarter, on 
account of the very thick and cloudy weather. In 
the southwest parts of the United States it might 
have been fully seen; and the transit would be 
longer noticed at the South than in this vicinity. 
This planet is the nearest of any to the Sun, and so 
small as to appear but a speck (being only l-195th 
of that of the Sun) on the solar surface. Yet the 
diameter of Mercury is 3200 miles, about l-7th that 
of the earth. It is only the two inferiour planets, 
Venus and Mercury, which can appear as passing 
over the Sun’s body ; or between the earth and 
that great central luminary. And usually, several 


years intervene between such transits. They ap¬ 
pear as dark spots on the Sun, but soon pass off. 
T. hese transits are noticed with interest by astrono¬ 
mers, as they assist in determining the Sun’s paral¬ 
lax, as well as that of the planet; and an accurate 
knowledge of the parallax of these bodies is impor¬ 
tant, since it enables us to calculate their distances, 
respectively, from the earth. The transits of the 
planet Venus are best suited to determine the Sun’s 
parallax ; but these seldom happen. The last was 
in 1769; and another will not occur till the year 
1872. The duration of the transit of Mercury was 
computed at five hours and eight minutes. The 
planet Mercury is so near the Sun, and therefore so 
much lost, as it were, in the light of that luminary, 
that little can be known of its peculiar elements; 
but the most accurate observations, as well as 
analogy, show it to be round, and to exhibit differ¬ 
ent phases. It is believed that it revolves on its 
axis in nearly the same time as the earth. The 
distance of Venus from the Sun is supposed to be 
twice that of Mercury, and that of the earth twice 
that of Venus. It is also supposed that the inten¬ 
sity of solar radiation is about seven times greater 
on Mercury than on the earth ; and 330 times less 
on Uranus, the most distant planet. But unless we 
know the nature of the atmosphere of a planet, or 
the medium of the solar rays, our opinions may 
be unfounded, as to the heat. 


SKEPTICISM. 

It has been said, that Physicians were more in¬ 
clined to infidelity and scepticism, than men of 
other professions. And it has been attributed to 
their peculiar studies and pursuits. They perceive 
the subjection of the animal frame to the laws of 
chemistry. They perceive a constant change going 
on in the material world ; and that the composition 
and decomposition of matter produces new and va¬ 
rious forms, approaching almost to miracles. But 
the thought occurs, on the other hand, that the 
anatomist, the naturalist, and those conversant 
with the varieties in the material world, and in the 
animal frame, both of operations and results, must 
be furnished with strong arguments for the great 
truth of natural religion, that there is an intelligent, 
designing first cause of all things. And the essen¬ 
tial difference between mind and matter ; their 
powers and properties ; must convince every deep 
student, that the soul may and does survive the de¬ 
cay and dissolution of the body : accordingly we 
shall find, that the most learned and philosophical 
physicians of modern times are firm believers in the 
Christian revelation. So true is it, with regard to 
that profession, as well as others,—“ That, though 
a little learning may incline men to skepticism, a 
deeper philosophy and more extensive knowledge 
will bring them back to religion.” 

Gas Lights from Rosin .—From a report of M. 
on results obtained by Messrs. B. & D. 
in the manufacture of illuminating gas from rosin, 
it appears, that the illuminating power of gas from 
rosin is about double that from oil ; and that five 
cubic feet of gas from rosin, give as much light, as 
nine of oil gas .—Journal of A.rts and Sciences. 






128 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


HINDOO AVATARS. 

Though the principal and leading design of our 
publication is to illustrate the history, customs and 
scenery of our own country, we believe there is a 
strong interest to learn what is very peculiar or ex¬ 
traordinary of the manners and habits of other na¬ 
tions. And we have therefore occasionally referred 
to the chronology and religious opinions of ancient 
tribes in the old continent. The Hindoos, the Chi¬ 
nese, and the Indians of Asia, are in many respects, 
a singular people. All that extensive territory was 
early settled ; and it is probable, that even Noah, 
or some of his children and grand-children travelled 
far to the east from Armenia, or the north of Chal¬ 
dea, where the ark rested after the deluge, and ex¬ 
tended far and wide in that temperate climate, 
while others travelled north, west, and still more 
south, to Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Egypt, and Ethi¬ 
opia. The greatest cause of surprise, is the proba¬ 
ble early spread of polytheism and idolatry among 
a people, whose early ancestors had been worship¬ 
pers of the one true God. And yet, if this lact is 
at all wonderful, it is not singular. For all nations 
soon corrupted their ways; and apostatizing from 
the worship and belief of the true God, paid homage 
to many inferior deities, rendered religious venera¬ 
tion to eminent human characters, after their death, 
and even bowed down to gods of their own device, 
made of gold and silver, wood and stone. It is not 
improbable, that vague traditions of Noah were the 
origin of worship paid him under numerous names 
and aspects. The author of “ The Wisdom of Sol¬ 
omon,” speaking of idolatry says—“ On the idols 
of the Gentiles there shall be a visitation ; because 
in the creature of God they are become an abomi¬ 
nation and stumbling blocks to the souls of men, 
and a snare to the feet of the unwise. For the 
devising of idols was the beginning of fornication, 
and the invention of them was the corruption of 
life. For these were not from the beginning, 
neither shall they be forever. For it was by the 
vain glory of men that they entered into the world; 
and therefore they shall come shortly to an end. 
For a father afflicted with untimely mourning, when 
he had made an image of his child, early taken 
away, honoured him as a god, though he rendered 
and delivered to those under him, ceremonies and 
sacrifices. And thus in process of time an ungodly 
custom was kept as a law, and graven images were 
worshipped by the order of princes.” 

In nothing, perhaps, is so strongly, certainly so 
lamentably exhibited the aberrations and darkness 
of the human mind, as in the practice of idolatry 
and polytheism. But it is a satisfaction both to 
the true philosopher and the sincere Christian, to 
find proofs, on close inquiry, of the worship and be¬ 
lief of one God among the earliest generations of 
mankind; and that polytheism and idol worship 
afterwards prevailed, must be resolved into the fact 
that the second and third generations separated far 
from the parent stock, and were destitute of stated 
means of religious instruction, and being in igno¬ 
rance and chiefly under the influence of the senses, 
became erroneous and debased in their views as 
well as in their conduct. 

Sir William Jones, the eminent oriental scholar 


of the last century, was of opinion, that the most 
early religious faith and worship of the Hindoos 
recognised one Supreme Deity; and that their 
thousands of gods were acknowledged but at a sub¬ 
sequent period. The celebrated Rajah Rammo- 
hun Roy has expressed the same opinion. And no 
better authority, perhaps, can be had on the sub¬ 
ject. Still the variety and singularity of the gods, 
or of the images and symbols formed to be worship¬ 
ped among the Hindoos aflbrd matter for surprise. 
It is strange that the human mind could be so per¬ 
verted, as to make such grotesque figures and call 
them divine, or consider them worthy of religious 
homage. It would seem that the imagination must 
have been tasked to the utmost, to present such un¬ 
natural and deformed objects. We present ten of 
these images or symbols, by the Hindoos, called 
Avatars, that is, incarnations. For their creed is 
that celestial beings take the form of humanity, and 
are also changed from one human and animal form 
to another. Their incarnations are numerous and 
almost infinite ; and their gods have assumed differ¬ 
ent forms at difTerent periods. The ten principal 
Avatars of Vishnu are the following—the fish, 
the tortoise, the man-lion, the dwarf, the purushoo 
rama, the rama—, krishna or kishnu, buddha and 
kalki, or kulkce. 



Fish Avalor. 


The fish Avatar, or incarnation, had this origin. 
The sacred books, or vedas, were stolen by some 
demon, and buried in the ocean. Vishnu as¬ 
sumed the form of a fish and brought up the sacred 
books from the deep. 



Tortoise Avatar. 

Of the tortoise avatar, they relate this story :—In 
a war between the gods and demons, the latter 
were victorious, and wantonly cast the celestial 
treasures into the sea. At the close of the war, 
the gods agreed to churn the ocean ; and they tore 
up a great mountain for a churning stick, and took 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


129 


the divine serpent for a rope, which tlisy wound 
round the mountain; but the operation made the 
earth to tremble and sink; and Vishnu took the 
form of a tortoise, and on his back bore up the sink¬ 
ing earth. 


Hog Avatar. 

The boar, or hog avatar is thus explained :—A 
celebrated demon, by his religious austerities, had 
acquired such power that he sunk the earth in 
the great abyss. Vishnu assumed the form of a 
boar, drew up the sinking earth with his tusks, and 
slew the demon. 




Lioa Avatar. 


This account is given of the lion avatar: an impi¬ 
ous giant, who was a scourge to the world, had a 
pious son, whom he attempted to kill. After many 
vain attempts, he asked, “ who and where is your 
preserver ?” The son replied, he is every where. 
Is he in yonder pillar, said the angry father—Yes, 
said the son. Then I will insult him, said the 
father, and gave the pillar a violent blow ! Vishnu 
burst from the pillar, in the form of a huge man- 
lion, and tore out the bowels of the atheistical 
father. Afterwards Vishnu was worshipped under 
that form. 


Dwarf Avatar. 

The dwarf avatar is thus accounted for: A 
great giant, terrible in the wars with the gods, be¬ 



came almost invincible, and threatened universal 
destruction : to prevent which, Vishnu became in¬ 
carnate in the lorni of a pigmy brahmin, and 
requested of the giant as much territory as he 
could measure with three footsteps. The favou) 
was granted. The dwarf then assumed his god 
like power, and with one step covered the earth 
with a second he overshadowed the firmament, anc 
then demanded room for the third. Thus he de* 
.rived the giant of his kingdom, and forever held 
him debtor. 



Purushoo-Ram Avatar. 


Purushoo-Ram was incarnate to destroy a thou¬ 
sand-headed giant, and persecuted the worshippers 
of the gods. The giant survived twenty-one as¬ 
saults, and then was vanquished. 



Rania-Avatar. 


The other Rama-avatar w^as of similar origin, and 
overcame a giant, who had stolen the wife of Rama. 
An army of monkies was collected to regain the 
lady, who formed a bridge of rocks to Ceylon, who 
passed over and subdued the giant. 



Kishnu, or Crishna avatar destroyed several ia- 
pious giants, in the form in which he became in¬ 
carnate. 


r 














130 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



Buddha became incarnate also to destroy giants; 
which he did not by violence, but by deceit. He 
preached a system of skepticism, which the giants 
embraced, and thus neglected to pray to the gods 
for power and strength to enable them to do mis¬ 
chief. Some of the Hindoos say, they are now 
under the iron age of this incarnation. 



Kalki, or Kulkee incarnation is still expected to 
come; and according to the shasters and brah¬ 
mins, infidelity will increase till almost all hope 
shall perish ; when, how^ever, a few faithful wor¬ 
shippers will remain, and at length Vishnu will 
descend from heaven on a white winged horse, and 
placing himself at the head of the faithful few, he 
will do away infidelity and convert this iron age 
into a gold one. 

To the early superstitions of India, the worship 
of Brahma succeeded, which w’as invented by the 
Brahmins, so celebrated in ancient times for their 
wisdom and sanctity, who were long anteriour to 
the composition of the Vedas, which seems to be a 
plan to combine in one system, the different ele¬ 
ments of the popular superstitions. But some have 
thought the latter to have been the original religion 
of India.—No bloody sacrifices were oftered to 
Brahma, because this deity being supposed the Cre¬ 
ator of the world, he could not delight in the de¬ 
struction of the beings he had made. At present 
there are no temples to this god in India. An an¬ 
nual festival, however, is celebrated to his honour, 
when an image of god, with Siva and Vishnu on 
the left, is worshipped by songs, music and dancing ; 
and then the three gods are thrown together into 
the Ganges. The superstitious notions of the origin 
of this god are too ridiculous and too obscure to be 
mentioned. 

On the decay of the worship of Brahma, two sects 
have sprung up in India ; oi^e is pomposed of the 


worshippers of Siva, the other of those of Vishnu- 
The sect of Siva is considered the most ancient, and 
the worship of this god is more widely extended 
than any other. He is represented in various ways; 
sometimes as a silver-coloured man, with five faces, 
and in each face three eyes, one of which is in 
the forehead. He is seated on the lotos flower, and 
clothed W'ith a garment of a tiger’s skin. Some¬ 
times he is depicted with one head, but still with a 
third eye, with the figure of a half moon on the 
forehead, riding on a bull, naked and covered with 
ashes, his eyes inflamed with intoxicating drugs ; in 
one hand he carries a horn, in the other a drum. 
Another form of Siva is the lingam, a smooth black 
stone almost in the shape of a sugar-loaf, with a 
rude representation of the Yoni projecting from its 
base. It is under this symbol that Siva is most 
frequently worshipped. Innumerable temples have 
been erected in his honour throughout Hindostan, 
where the Yoni Lingam, (the symbol of the vivify¬ 
ing, generative power of nature) is the only image 
w'orshipped. Siva is sometimes worshipped under 
the appellation of time, the great destroyer, in which 
form he is propitiated with bloody sacrifices. In 
this character, his image is that of a smoke-coloured 
youth with three eyes, clothed in red garments, 
with a chaplet of human skulls about his neck. 
This god is supposed to be a personification of the 
principle of life, which in passing from form to form, 
first animates, vivifies, and developes, and then 
w'ears away and destroys the sheath in which it is 
enclosed. It is the material principle which per¬ 
vades the universe, considered as distinct from the 
great intellectual first cause. 

The worship of Vishnu, wdiich may be consider¬ 
ed perhaps, as a reformed Sivaism, lias succeeded 
to that of the destroying and renovating god : but 
in proportion as it is more refined and s|)iritual, it 
is the less adapted to replace the popular supersti¬ 
tion. The titles and attributes of Vishnu are those 
of redeemer and preserver of all things. The other 
gods are said to stand in need of his assistance. 
This title makes it proper for him to assume difl'er- 
ent forms, which the Hindoos call which 

signifies metamorphosis. These Avatars, or in¬ 
carnations of Vishnu, are almost infinite, as pre¬ 
tended ; but ten, as before mentioned, are con¬ 
sidered the most important: viz. the fish, the tor¬ 
toise, the boar, the man-lion, the dwarf, parusa- 

rama, the-rama, krishna, or kishnu, liudclha and 

kalki. Nine of these are said to be passed, and the 
tenth is expected ! 

Stone images of Vishnu are made for sale, and 
worshipped in the houses of those who chose him 
for their guardian deity. There are no public fes¬ 
tivals in honour of this god ; yet he is worshipped 
at the offering of a burnt sacrifice, by mediation as 
practised by the Brahmins. No bloody sacrifices 
are offered to Vishnu. The offerings presented to 
him consist of fruit, flowers, water, sw'eet-meats, 
&-C. He is revered as a household god, and is 
worshipped when a person enters a new house, and 
other times, to procure the removal of familv mis¬ 
fortunes. The description of the heaven of Vishnu 
is exceedingly gorgeous. It is 80,000 miles in cir¬ 
cumference ; and formed entirely of gold. The 











OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


131 


palaces are constructed with jewels, and all its pil¬ 
lars, architraves and pediments blaze and sparkle 
with gems. The crystal waters of the Ganges de¬ 
scend from the higher heavens on the head of Siva, 
and tlience through the bunches of hair of the seven 
famous penitents, find their way to the plains, and 
form the river of paradise. Here also, are beauti¬ 
ful small lakes of water, on the surface of which 
myriads of red, blue, and white water-lilies with a 
thousand petals, are seen floating. On a throne 
glorious as the meridian sun, sitting on water-lilies, 
is Vishnu; and on his right hand the goddess 
Lakshmi, shining like a continual blaze of lightning, 
while from her lovely form the fragrance of the lotos 
is diffused through tlie heavens. The praises of the 
god are perpetually chanted by the beatified spirits 
who share his bliss, and the gods often unite their 
voices with those of the w’orshippers. 

But enough of this absurd and ridiculous super¬ 
stition ; which is surpassed only, if surpassed at all, 
by the unnatural and incredible stories to be found 
in the Koran of Mohammed. How thankful should 
the Christian be, while he mourns over the errors of 
paganism, for the glorious light of the gospel, which 
requires a reasonable service, and makes known the 
only true God, and his anointed Messenger! 

ELECTIONS. 

Elections are rapidly descending, both as to the 
manner and the object, to the unfortunate condition 
of these occasions in England. There are parties, 
and we fear mere parties, though each indeed, pro¬ 
fesses to be governed by patriotic and honourable 
motives. Each professes to be friendly to liberty 
and the Constitution, to republican and whig princi¬ 
ples : but each brands the other as opposed to 
whiggism, and as supporters of tory maxims. That 
many in each party are honest and sincere, there 
can be no reasonable doubt; nor can there be 
doubt of their wishes to maintain equal rights and 
equal liberty. But all the leaders are not entitled to 
this honourable credit. In some respects, and on 
some measures, they may and do probably really 
differ. But if they were seeking the welfare of the 
whole, “ and the greatest good of the greatest num¬ 
ber,” they would not treat each other with so much 
rancour and injustice ; but w'ould be content with 
stating their views fairly and coolly. When men 
rail, they may justly be suspected of preferring party 
objects to the general good, and of seeking for vic¬ 
tory, rather than for truth and justice. Twenty years 
ago, a similar spirit of bitterness and violence was 
manifested ; and its fruits were very mischievous, 
and hostile to social intercourse. Mr. Monroe and 
Gov. Brooks, and some other good men endeavour¬ 
ed to quench or to allay that bad spirit—and for 
some time, it was truly “ the era of good feelings.” 
“ We were all federalists and all republicans.” But 
that happy era has gone by. The spirit of party is 
indeed, more bitter than ever. And in many cases 
there is a resort to personal abuse, which is dishon¬ 
ourable to any cause. And there is a disposition to 
mistate and misrepresent the opinions and views 
of political opponents. The true patriot laments 
this state of things, and sincerely wishes that there 
may be more candour and fairness, more regard for 


truth and justice, and more moderation united with 
firmness in support of republican principles; so 
that able and honest men may be chosen to places 
of power, and the noisy, the selfish and violent 
may be duly rebuked. 


INTOLERANCE. 

“ We discover little knowledge of human nature,” 
says Dr. Channing, “ if we ascribe to constitutions 
the power of charming to sleep the spirit of intol¬ 
erance and exclusion. Almost every other bad 
passion may be put to rest; and for this plain rea¬ 
son, that intolerance always shelters itself under the 
name and garb of religious zeal. Because we live 
in a country, where the gross, outward, visible chain 
is broken, we must not conclude that we are necessa¬ 
rily free. There are chains, not made of iron, 
which eat more deeply into the soul. An espionage 
of bigotry may as eflectually close our lips and chill 
our hearts, as an armed and hundred-eyed police. 
* * * We say we have no Inquisition. But a 

sect, skilfully organized, trained to utter one cry, 
combined to cover with reproach whoever may 
differ from themselves, to drown the free expression 
of opinion by denunciations of heresy, and to strike 
terror into the multitude by joint and perpetual 
menace,—such a sect is as perilous and palsying to 
the intellect as the Inquisition. It serves the minis¬ 
ter as eflectually as the sword. One of the strongest 
features of our times, is the tendency of men to 
think and act in crowds; to sacrifice individuality, 
to identify themselves with parties and sects. Let 
us not forget, that coalitions are as practicable in 
church as in state; and that minor differences, as 
they are called, may be sunk for the purpose of 
joint exertions against the common foe. Happily 
the spirit of the people, in spite of all narrowing 
influences, is essentially liberal. Here lies our 
safety.” 


The following are the oldest Princes in Eu¬ 
rope. 

Anthony, King of Saxony, was born in 1755. 

Francis, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Schwer, 
born in 1766. 

John Joseph, Prince of Lichtenstein, born in 
1760. 

Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, born in 
1763. 

Charles, King of Sw^eden, born in 1764. 

William IV., King of Great Britain, born 1765. 

Gregory XVI., Pope, born in 1765. 

Frederic William HI., King of Prussia, born 
in 1770. 

Louis Philip, King of France, born in 1773. 

Francis, Emperor of Austria, born in 1768— 
dead. 

Louis, Landgrave of Hesse Homburg, was born 
in 1770. 

Frederic IV., King of Denmark, born in 1768. 

William I., King of Holland, born in 1772. 

He is a temperate man whose reason rules his 
appetite: and he is an intemperate man whose 
appetite rules his reason. 







132 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE COLONIZATION OF FREE NEGROES. 

The Colonization of free negroes on the coast 
of Africa, commenced in 1787, at Sierra Leone, by 
the English. This place is in North latitude 9®; 
and is bounded on the South by Liberia, the Col¬ 
ony founded by citizens of the United States, in 
1820, for a similar purpose. The chief town in 
Sierra Leone, is called Freetown, and has nearly 
5,000 inhabitants; but there are several other large 
and thriving villages in the colony. About 20,000 
recaptured negroes have been placed here; to¬ 
gether with about 1,200 slaves taken from the 
United States during the war of the revolution, and 
several hundred Maroon negroes from Nova Scotia. 
The climate has proved unhealthy ; but at the last 
accounts, the Colony was in a prosperous state. 

The chief towns in Liberia, (which extends 150 
miles along the coast, and a considerable distance 
into the interior,) are Monrovia, Caldwell, and Mills- 
burg; the former has 1,000 inhabitants. 

The federal government sanctions and favours the 
colony. The number of free blacks and emanci¬ 
pated slaves from the United States removed to Li¬ 
beria, up to 1828, was 1,200. It is now said, that 
the number amounts to upwards of 3,000. There 
are, also, some small tribes of the natives within 
the territory. The articles of trade to be obtained 
and exported from Liberia, are rice, coffee, wax, 
palm-oil, ivory, hides, tortoise shells, &-c. The 
commerce is increasing ; and the Colonists employ 
many of the natives. Schools have been establish¬ 
ed, religious worship and instruction is regularly 
enjoyed ; and there are other indications of a civil¬ 
ized and religious society. 

The object of the Colonization Society is highly 
laudable; and promises extensive and lasting bles¬ 
sings to Africa. Those who descended from native 
Africans, and are of good moral and Christian char¬ 
acter, will be likely to live in peace with the present 
inhabitants, and to initiate them in the arts of civili¬ 
zation, and the knowledge of the gospel. And as 
religion and civilization extend, the slave traffic will 
be discouraged and decline. None but the sober and 
industrious should be sent to the Colony ; for every 
thing depends on the character and example of the 
early settlers. There will probably be no w'ant of 
settlers; for every year, more or less of the slaves 
m the southern states will be liberated, if they can 
be sent out of the country; and a place, like Li¬ 
beria, ready to receive them and give them proper 
and useful employment. 


In 1.534, the whole Bible was published in the 
German language, by Luther. In 1535, Coverdale 
printed at Zuriefi, the first entire English Protestant 
version of the Bible. Two English versions had 
before appeared, in the fourteenth century, (pub¬ 
lished or circulated, but not printed;) the first was 
that of Wiclif. The New Testament was first 
printed in English, in 1526, by Tindal: it was a 
translation from the original Greek. But the whole 
impression was bought up and burnt by the Bishop 
of London ! The following is a specimen of Cov- 
erdale’s translation—“ The very heavens declare the 
glory off God, and the very firmament sheweth his 
handie worke. One daye telleth another, and one 


night certifieth another. There is nether speach 
nor language, but their voyces are herde amonge 
them. Their sounde is gone out into all lundes, 
and their wordes into the endes of the worlde.— 
The lawe of the Lord is a pei fecte lawe, it quicken- 
ethe the soule. * The testimony of the Lorde is 
true, and giveth wisdome even unto babes.”—This 
version was presented to Henry VIIL, and he 
gave it to some Bishops to examine. They de¬ 
tained it a long time, till the king sent for them, 
and demanded if it was correct. They said it had 
some faults. He then asked if it contained any 
heresies, and they said, they had found none— 
Then said Henry, in God’s name, let it be sent 
abroad among the people. I'he alarm and anger 
and vindictive cruelty of the popish party, were 
stirred up by this measure: but the light of scrip¬ 
ture discovered the darkness of the times,—igno¬ 
rance was detected, truth was separated from error, 
and religion distinguished from superstition. 

“The pen of Wiclif made the Bishop of Rome 
tremble on his throne. His writings, carried into 
Bohemia by a native of that country, who had stu¬ 
died in England, made John Huss a reformer; and 
the sermons of Huss, found by Luther, first opened 
the eyes of that bold reformer. Writings had but 
wings, the press had the speed and force of light¬ 
ning. It sowed Wiclifs in every land, and raised 
up Husses and Luthers a hundred fold.” 

Suttees. —By a document lately published in 
England, it appears that in February last, a suttee 
of most atrocious character, had taken place at Ad- 
mednugger, when Jive unhappy females w'ere burnt 
to death, to propitiate the manes of the deceased 
Rajah, a drunken profligate, who had a few days 
before his death married one of them. They were 
compelled to this sacrifice under circumstances of 
the most flagitious atrocity. The Directors of the 
East India Company promised to adopt measures 
for preventing such shocking cruelties in places un¬ 
der their jurisdiction. 

% » ■■■ I ■ 

New method of producing heat. —A mixture of 
water and oily matter in a certain proportion, pro¬ 
jected on fire, produces a flame, the heat of which 
is very intense. The flame will languish, if the 
water be in excess, and if in too small a quantity, 
smoke is produced. For one measure of tar, it is 
necessary to employ one and a half measure of wa¬ 
ter : fifteen pounds of the oil of turpentine, mixed 
with fifteen pounds of water, and projected on 
twenty-five pounds of New Castle coal, produces 
as much heat as 120 pounds of this coal.— Journal 
of Arts and Sciences. 

MATERNAL AFFECTION OF MRS. GRAY. 

“ A mother’s love! oh ! who may breathe, 

Oh ! who can feel its worth, 

Its patient suffering until death, 

E’en from our childhood’s birth ! ” 

The mother of Gray, the poet, to whom he was 
indebted for that education which elicited his bril¬ 
liant talents, seems to have been a woman of most 
amiable character, and whose energy supplied to 
the child that deficiency which the improvidence 
of his other parent would have occasioned. 






OF USEFUL Ii\FORMATIO?N 


133 



THE VILLAGE OF THE UNITED SOCIETY OF SHAKERS, IN CANTERBURY, N. H 


This Village is located in the northeasterly part 
of the county of Merrimack, on the main road from 
Concord to Conway, twelve miles from Concord, on 
an eminence ; at the foot of which, as you approach 
the village, is a spacious granite watering trough, 
from the bottom of which boils a bountiful and 
never-failing spring; furnished by the Society for 
the accommodation of travellers. 

As you approach the Village, the first object is 
the Meeting House on the right, the only white 
building in the village, which stands a few rods from 
the road, at the head of a large open lawn. 

On the left, stands the Trustees’ Office, a new, 
spacious and elegant building of hewn granite, and 
pressed brick, seventy-two by forty feet in size. In 
this the Trustees reside, and transact all the regular 
business of the family. To this office customers, 
strangers, and visitors are to apply, who wish to buy 
or sell, or for the transaction of any business with 
the Society whatever. 

All sales and purchases are made by the Trustees, 
who are the general Agents of the Society for trans¬ 
acting all their secular matters ; and in whom the 
fee of all the real estate in trust is held. 

The total number of dwellinghouses in the So¬ 
ciety is ten, mostly of wood, painted yellow. There 
are also many other large and convenient wooden 
and brick buildings, occupied as workshops ; also 
store houses and graneries, wood houses, barns, &-c. 
which are spacious, and convenient. 

The whole number of buildings in the Village is 
about one hundred ; many of which are very valua¬ 
ble, composed of the best materials, and built in a 
faithful and durable manner. Among these is a 
convenient school house, one spacious grist mill. 


two saw mills, three carding machines, one fulling 
mill, one trip-hammer, five mills for sawing fire¬ 
wood, three turning mills, and two tanneries, be¬ 
sides various other machinery. These buildings 
are all laid out and constructed in a regalar, plain 
and elegant manner, which gives the Village a very 
fine appearance. 

The Society own and occupy upwards of 2,500 
acres of land, which though stony is a good deep 
soil; about 2000 of which lie in one body, enclosed 
with good stone wall and cross-fenced with the 
same materials. Grass, corn, grain, and potatoes 
are raised in abundance. 

The Society was established in this town and 
vicinity in the year 1782, although the Church was 
not gathered till the year 1792, at which time the 
members collected into a more compact body, un¬ 
der the ministration of Elder Job Bishop who de¬ 
ceased December 5, 1831, aged seventy-one years. 
He was succeeded by Benjamin Whittier, who yet 
supplies that place. 

They are industrious, frugal and temperate. They 
manufacture many useful articles for sale, which 
are very neat and durable; such as leather, whips, 
sieves, tubs, pails, churns, measures, rakes, brooms, 
trusses, snaiths, &c. &c. Their gardens are large 
and perhaf)s the most productive of any in the 
country. They raise and vend a general assort¬ 
ment of garden seeds, and spare no pains to furnish 
those of the best kind. 

They also collect and prepare a variety of botani¬ 
cal herbs, barks, roots and extracts, which are pre¬ 
pared in the most faithful manner:—the Herbs and 
roots are neatly pressed in packages of a pound, 
I and papered and labelled. All the medicines pre- 





















































134 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


pared by them being pure and gathered in proper 
season, ensure them a very ready sale. 

They usually keep about twenty horses, eighty 
cows, fifteen yoke of oxen, five to six hundred sheep, 
and other stock in proportion; and cut hay suffi¬ 
cient on their premises for their own consumption. 
They also annually slaughter forty or fifty swine. 

The income of their manufactories, together with 
their agricultural products, yields their temporal 
support; and what they receive more than is neces¬ 
sary to their wants, they bestow to charitable pur¬ 
poses, agreeable to their church covenant. 

They freely pay their proportion of ali the public 
taxes, and share all the burdens of government, ex¬ 
cept the bearing of arms, which they deem incom¬ 
patible with genuine Christianity; being, as they 
believe, directly contrary to the precepts and spirit 
of the gospel. So tenacious are they of this fact, 
that they not only refuse to bear arms, but decline 
even to receive pensions for their former military 
services, to which some of them are legally entitled. 

Their School will compare well with any in the 
country. The English language is taught, and 
partly on the Lancasterian system. They are care¬ 
ful to furnish the School with good books, sta¬ 
tionary, (Lc. so that their scholars who are disposed, 
may acquire a good education. 

They entirely discard the use of ardent spirits, 
except occasionally in medical preparations, but 
drink some cider. 

They are temperate and regular in all their habits; 
their food is plain and wholesome, avoiding all luxu¬ 
ries. They allow eight hours in twenty-four for 
sleeping. 

The Society, from its commencement, has grad¬ 
ually increased in number, as well as in good order. 
At present it consists of about 240 members. 

The number of deaths which have occurred in 
the Society since its first establishment is eighty : 
viz., thirty-three males and forty-seven females. 
Comparative ages as follows;—Under 10 years, 2; 
between 10 and 20 years, 5; between 20 and 50 
years, 28; between 50 and 70 years, 19; between 
70 and 80 years, 14 ; between 80 and 90 years, 9; 
between 90 and 100 years, 1 ; over 100 years, 2; 
average ages about fifty-seven. 

As many false impressions and erroneous opinions 
are entertained, concerning the people known by 
the name of Shakers, in compliance with the re¬ 
quest of its friends, we publish the following sketch 
of their religious tenets, furnished by one of the So¬ 
ciety, which we have reason to believe correct. 

In the first place, we observe, that among those 
who have appeared before the public, as informants 
of our religious faith and principles, but on w'hose 
statements concerning us no reliance can be safely 
placed, as many of them are wholly destitute of 
truth, are the WTitings of E. and P. Merrill, in their 
Gazetteer of New-Hampshire, which were after- 
w'ards noticed in a pamphlet,entitled “Collections,” 
&c. published by Hill &. Moore, Concord, 1822; 
Vol. I.—No. 1, pages 52, 53, 54. Also the ac¬ 
count in Allen’s American Biog. and Hist. Dic¬ 
tionary. Also, the statements of the Rathbuns, 
Taylor, West and others, as well as those of more 
recent date; viz. the accounts given of our Societies 


by Dr. Dwight, and one by Pr. Silliman. Some of 
the writirigs are slanderous and malicious misrepre¬ 
sentations of our religious faith and practice; others 
are more dignified, and in some respects, give an 
impartial and correct account according to the 
view's of the w’riter.—How far either of tlie writers 
before alluded to and all others not here noted, 
have ignorantly or designedly misrepresented us, or 
how far they may have drawn their conclusions from 
disafl'ected apostates who have left the Society, in 
consequence of having been foiled in their views of 
obtaining pre-eminence in the Society, from com¬ 
mon report, or from any other incorrect source, we 
will not presume to judge; but in justice to our¬ 
selves, and an impartial and discerning public, we 
feel bound to notice these productions, and caution 
all who are desirous of obtaining correct informa¬ 
tion of us or our principles, not to cred t the com¬ 
mon reports of us from any source whatever. 

Among all the accounts of the “ Unded Society'’ 
that have ever yet appeared before tf.e public, from 
under the hands of those who have a postatized from 
the Society, whatever the writers’ f,retensions might 
be, we have never seen one that has met our appro¬ 
bation, or that we could justly consider as entitled 
to the character of truth, honesty, or impartiality : 
And all who have drawn their accounts from such 
writers, have only deceived themselves and the 
public in so doing. 

AN OUTLINE OR SKETCH OF OUR RELIGIOUS TENETS. 

We, the members, constituting a religious com¬ 
munity in the town of Canterbury, County of Mer¬ 
rimack, and State of New-Hampshire, commonly 
styled Shakers, first embraced our present religious 
faith and doctrines, and formed a Society in this 
tow'n and vicinity, in the year 1782, through the 
instrumentality of Ebenezer Cooly, Israel Chauncey, 
and other ministers from New York. Societies 
were established in the States of New York and 
Massachusetts two years previous to this date, 
through the ministration of Mother Ann Lee, 
William Lee, James Whittaker and others, who 
came from Manchester in England, to New York, 
in the year 1774. 

The appellation “ Shakers,” was given to the 
first leading characters of the Society, by their op¬ 
ponents, in consequence of their remarkable opera¬ 
tions of shaking under deep conviction and irresis¬ 
tible power. Similar operations under the same 
influence, have been more or less manifest among 
us to the present day. And by divine agency we 
are taught and induced to lead a sinless life, con¬ 
trary to our fallen propensities ; according to the 
precepts and example of Him, whom we acknowl¬ 
edge to be the author of our faith and eternal sal¬ 
vation; and who said, “ Follow me, or ye cannot be 
my disciple.” 

“ If a man love me he will keep my sayings.” 
Hence we appeal to the life and doctrines of Jesus 
Christ and his faithful witnesses, and to no other 
precedent, for the propriety of both our faith and 
practice. Therefore it is in obedience to his say¬ 
ings that we abstain from all fleshly lusts, which 
war against the soul; from the rudiments and 
friendship of the world (which are not of the Father,) 
and live a life of celibacy and virgin purity. (See 



OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


135 


Luke 20. 34, 35, and 1 Cor. 8. James 1. 27.) In 
obedience to his sayings we abstain from the politi¬ 
cal afl'airs of the world—decline to take oaths, to 
bears arms or accept posts of worldly honour, trust 
or profit,—refusing even to give our sufiVages in the 
election of officers, either for civil or military trust. 
'Matt. 5. 34. John 18. 36.) It is likewise in obe¬ 
dience to his sayings, that we call no man on earth 
Master; nor do we seek to be called of men Rabbi, 
or Master. 

Being aware of the great and numerous evils in¬ 
cident to society from the use of ardent spirits, and 
considering them injurious to the health, and intel¬ 
lectual faculties, as well as the moral character of 
man, we have for many years entirely discarded the 
use of all spirituous liquors; except in the composi¬ 
tion of medicine when directed by competent judges. 
And, as we are friendly to every moral virtue, we 
cordially approve of the persevering efforts abroad, 
to extirpate the baleful use of ardent spirit; and to 
restore its degraded subjects to rational beings. 

Another principle of the Society is to keep clear 
of debt, and to abstain from getting trusted on any 
terms, agreeable to the counsel of St. Paul to the 
Romans, “ Owe no man any thing, but to love one 
another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the 
lawwhich is maintained to the letter, and we 
thereby avoid paying interest money and other ex¬ 
penses attending the credit-system, and keep free 
and clear from all litigation in that respect; and 
having from the first organization of the Society 
adhered to this principle, and realized the benefits 
resulting therefrom, we confidently recommend it 
to others, as the surest, safest and most indepen¬ 
dent manner of transacting business.* 

“ A new commandment 1 give unto you, that ye 
love one another.” It is evident from this and 
other passages of Scripture, that love is the greatest 
characteristic of the true church of Christ. There¬ 
fore in obedience to this new commandment, the 
temporal interest of the Society for more than forty 
years past, has been united in one joint compact, by 
the mutual consent and free choice of the members, 
who hold equal rights and privileges in all things 
pertaining to the same; without any difference on 
account of what principal or value any one has 
brought in, and thus consecrated ; but, possessing 
all things in common, according to the example of 
the Apostolic Church at Jerusalem. Deacons or 
Trustees, have also been appointed by the Church, 
whose official duty it is, not only to provide for, 
and make distribution among the members, accord¬ 
ing as every one hath need, but also to make all 
just and lawful defence; to secure and protect the 
said joint interest, against all unjust claims or en¬ 
croachments from without. (Acts 6. 3.) 

Thus having had more than fifty years experience 
in this faith of self-denial, and upwards of forty in 
a joint capacity, we are conscious it is the true 
faith of the Son of God once delivered to the saints, 
and for which we earnestly contend. It is that 
faith which works by love and purifies the heart; 
and leads to that salvation from all sin, which our 

♦ The adoption and observance of this principle would be for 
the happiness of all other eitieens 


weary and heavy ladened souls had long sought in 
vain, among nominal Christian professors. Obe¬ 
dience to this faith is that yoke of Christ which is 
easy—that burden which is light—that cross by 
which the enmity [carnal mind] is slain, and recon 
ciliation restored ; and in a word, it is that gospel of 
Christ which is the power of God to salvation. 

In behalf of the Society: 

Francis Winkley, 

Israel Sanborn, 

David Parker, 

November, 1835. 

Note. The Editor of the Magazine feels it to 
be his duty to the public to observe, that while he 
has no reason to doubt the truth of the above state¬ 
ment of the peculiar opinions and rules and prac¬ 
tices of the United Society of Shaking Quakers, 
and while entirely willing to publish their account 
and apology, he does not personally vouch for its 
correctness or validity. He wishes to judge fairly 
and impartially ; and thinks every sect should be 
heard in its own defence. 

To a Correspondent from Decatur, Alabama, 
referring to an article in the Magazine for July, re¬ 
specting the weight an elephant could carry, the 
Editor begs to say, that as the sentence reads, it 
might be set down very like a whale story. It is 
too evidently an error of press, to lead any to sup¬ 
pose it was our design to deceive the ignorant, or 
hoax the credulous. The error occurred in the ab¬ 
sence of the Editor; the copy furnished being partly 
in figures and partly abbreviated. We must be¬ 
lieve our correspondent too candid to apply seriously 
any hard names to us for such a mistake; especially 
when we assure him, that the mistake has given us 
much regret, and yet being so evidently an error, 
that any one could perceive it. The copy was 
probably one ton and 1700 wt. and not as printed 
in the Magazine. When we see an account of an 
alligator in the south of 170 yards in length, we 
shall consider it a typographical error, and not con¬ 
strue it into a design to deceive. 

(0"The article on the Constitution oftheUnited 
States in our last number, was not intended to e.x- 
cite controversy, but inquiry ; not to create discon¬ 
tent, but to produce union. Our danger consists 
in pushing/ederaZ powers beyond the spirit and in¬ 
tent of the Constitution, or in denying the exercise 
of those clearly delegated, which would render the 
general government powerless, and leave us where 
we were under the old Confederation. The Union 
of the States can be preserved only by adhering 
closely to the Constitution ; which was formed with 
great care and wisdom—which gives specific pow¬ 
ers to the federal government for general purposes, 
and leaves and guaranties all other powers (indefi 
nitely and unlimitedly) to the several State gov¬ 
ernments. — 

We should be happy to present our friends and pa¬ 
trons with more original and native poetry, especially 
as the Magazine is intended to be American in its 
character and matter: And we respectfully request 
the kind notice of the favoured ones of the poetic 
muse, who receive this work. 


J Trustees foi 
> and in beha^ 
3 of the Society. 







LAKE ERIE WALTZ 


BY CH : ZEUNER. 




COPY RISHT SECURED. 




















































































































































































































































































































































































/ ^ n.n— n ^ 

unaQoufoDO 

^JlQfli] UlliIOQQDDODO 


u u u _ M. ^ 


CKOOME DEL. 


HARTWELL SC. 





V 


PERKINS, AND MACHINKKY. 


Jacob Perkins, who has been greatly distin¬ 
guished for his ingenuity and mechanical skill, in 
various ways, was born in Newburyport, Massa¬ 
chusetts, July, 1766. His ancestors lived in that 
town, and Ipswich in the vicinity. At quite an 
early age, even before he had began his spelling- 
book, he discovered an inquisitive disposition. His 
attention was attracted by a watch, which he heard 
ticking, and he was desirous of knowing the cause 
of the noise. He was sent to a common public 
school, at the usual age, and attended till he was 


twelve years old. He was then put an apprentice 
to a goldsmith, and it is said, his fondness for the 
mechanic arts induced his parents to have him taught 
that trade. His master died when Perkins was fif¬ 
teen, but he continued in the business and the shop 
of his late master, and was much occupied in 
making gold beads, then worn by females. His 
reputation was high for honesty and fidelity. 
He also enffaged in making shoe-buckles, which 
were then much worn ; and he discovered a new 
method of plating them, which gave him a profitable 
18 

























































































































































138 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


business. Before the adoption of the present gen¬ 
eral government of the United States, Massachusetts 
had a mint for copper coin, and the Master of the 
establishment employed Mr. Perkins, then only 
about twenty-one, but of whose skill and ingenuity 
he had heard, to make dies, in which he fully suc¬ 
ceeded. At the age of twenty-four, he invented 
the nail machine, which cut and headed nails by 
one operation. This was considered a very useful 
invention, and promised Perkins great profits; but 
he was deceived by speculators, who had no pro¬ 
perty, and by whom he lost all his property, and 
the fruits of several years’ hard labour. He suffer¬ 
ed much also by the creditors of the company. 

Sometime after this, Mr. Perkins’s talents were 
taxed to prepare a device for preventing the coun¬ 
terfeiting of Bank bills, which had become a very 
serious and extensive evil, and which most were at 
a loss how to remedy. He first made a stamp on the 
bills, which was of some benefit; for the stamp was 
seldom imitated. The check plate, so called, was 
then prepared, (1809) which proved the best pre¬ 
ventive and security, which had then been used. 
Public prosecutors have said, they never heard of 
a good imitation of it. There was a law passed, 
requiring all the banks in Massachusetts to use this 
plate. Some years after, it was repealed, or disre¬ 
garded by the banks, but to the regret of the most 
judicious citizens. 

It has been said by Mr. Perkins’s particular 
friends, that he felt and lamented the deficiency of 
his early education. The young men of his day, 
had not the advantages which are now enjoyed, 
when the physical sciences are taught in academies, 
and by lecturers in most of the towns in the Com¬ 
monwealth. A knowledge of natural philosophy, 
and the mechanical powers might be acquired at 
the University ; and by studying with some eminent 
individuals in the State; but few were able to meet 
the necessary expense. 

After several years of employment at his trade, 
and in usual family concerns, Mr. Perkins discov¬ 
ered a method of softening and hardening steel at 
pleasure ; which has been attended by several useful 
results, and it extended the field of his labours. 
The softness of copper-plates, which often required 
retouching, precluded the possibility, by these 
means, of producing a perpetual similarity in dies 
for bills, or other use; but this invention has effect¬ 
ed the object practically, if not mathematically. 

Mr. Perkins, we believe, was among the first, to 
maintain the compressibility of water. He had 
long doubted the correctness of the commonly re¬ 
ceived opinion. When he first announced it, and 
this he did not, till numerous experiments had sat¬ 
isfied him, it was almost wholly discredited, both in 
this country and in Europe. His doctrine is now, 
we think, generally admitted. His invention of the 
bathometer, to measure the depth of water, and his 
pleometer, to mark with precision the rate at which 
a vessel moves through the water, are founded on 
this doctrine. 

Mr. Perkins resided several years in Philadelphia, 
where the arts, (twenty-five or thirty years ago) 
were much in advance of other places in the United 
States. Of late, Boston is becoming a powerful 


rival in this respect. About fifteen yea"^ ago, Mr 
Perkins went to England ; probably in the hope of 
finding more able patrons, or a greater opportunity 
for improvement in his favourite pursuits. It was 
said at his departure, that he expected to be em¬ 
ployed by the English government, in preparing 
plates to prevent the counterfeiting of bills of the 
bank of England. He has not been idle there. 
The Mechanic’s Magazine owes much to him for 
ingenious papers published in its pages, from its 
earliest date; particularly relating to the power and 
uses of steam. But the English have not been 
ready to admit all his claims to discoveries in this 
respect. His proposed improvements in the high 
pressure and safety engines, which were to save 
fuel, have not been so useful as expected. His 
claim to a “ new method of generating steam,” they 
say is not just: And his celebrated steam-gun re¬ 
quires an expensive apparatus. The Duke of Wel¬ 
lington doubts its utility. 

The following account of an exhibition of the 
steam artillery, invented by Mr. Perkins, is from an 
English publication, near the close of 1825: 

“ Soon after nine, numbers of military officers in 
carriages and on horseback, alighted at the manu¬ 
factory. They were soon followed by the Duke of 
Wellington, and immediately afterwards, the dis¬ 
charge of steam, which had been previously occa¬ 
sional and of comparatively slight force, commenced 
with a continued roar, resembling the loudest thun¬ 
der we ever heard. The group of eminent persons 
then assembled, consisted of his Grace, the Master- 
General of the Ordnance, and his Stalf; the Mar¬ 
quis of Salisbury, Mr. Peel, Sir H. Hardinge, Lord 
Fitzroy Somerset, the Judge Advocate General, and 
many military officers of the highest rank ; together 
with a committee of Engineer and Artillery officers, 
who it appeared had been officially appointed by 
the Duke of Wellington to examine into the merits 
of this wonderful specimen of human ingenuity and 
destructive power. The discharges of steam now 
became almost incessant for two hours, during 
which, its incalculable force and astonishing rapidity 
in discharging balls excited amazement and admi¬ 
ration in all present. At first the balls were dis¬ 
charged at short intervals, in imitation of artillery 
firing, against an iron target, at the distance of 
thirty-five yards. Such was the force with which 
they were driven, that they were completely shat¬ 
tered to atoms. In the next experiment, the balls 
were discharged at a frame of wood, and they ac¬ 
tually passed through eleven one-inch planks of the 
hardest deal, placed at the distance of an inch from 
each other. Afterwards they were propelled against 
an iron plate one fourth of an inch thick, and at the 
very first trial the ball passed through it. On all 
hands this was declared to be the utmost effort of 
force that gunpowder could exert. Indeed, we un¬ 
derstand that this plate had been brought specially 
from Woolwich, for the purpose of ascertaining the 
comparative force of steam and gunpowder. The 
pressure of steam employed to effect this wonderful 
force, we learnt, on inquiry, did not at first exceed 
65 atmospheres, or 900 lbs. to the square inch ; and 
it was repeatedly stated by Mr. Perkins that the 
pressure might be carried even to 200 atmospheres 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


139 


with perfect safety. Mr. Perkins then proceeded 
to demonstrate the rapidity with which musket balls 
might be projected by its agency. To effect this 
he screwed on the gun-barrel, a tube filled with 
balls, which falling down by their own gravity into 
the barrel, were projected one by one, with such 
extraordinary velocity as to demonstrate that, by 
means of a succession of tubes, filled with balls, 
fixed in a wheel, (a model of which was exhibited,) 
nearly one thousand balls per minute might be dis¬ 
charged. In subsequent discharges or volleys, the 
Darrel, to.which is attached a moveable joint, was 
given a lateral direction, and the balls perforated a 
plank nearly twelve feet in length. Thus, if oppos¬ 
ed to a regiment in line, the steam gun might be 
/nade to act from one of its extremities to the other. 
A similar plank was afterward placed in a perpen¬ 
dicular position, and in like manner, there was a 
stream of shot-holes from the top to the bottom, 
it is thus proved that the steam gun has not only 
the force of gunpowder, but also admits of any di¬ 
rection being given to it. But what seemed to 
create most surprise was the effect of a volley of 
balls discharged against the brick wall by the side 
of the target. They absolutely dug a hole of con¬ 
siderable dimensions in the wall, and penetrated 
almost one half through its thickness. We heard 
several officers declare their belief, that, had the 
balls been made of iron instead of lead, they would 
have actually made a breach through it—the wall 
was eighteen inches thick.” 

It is not intended to say any thing in derogation 
of the mechanical talents and ingenuity of Mr. Per¬ 
kins. And yet several of his inventions, (if indeed 
they are entirely new) have not been so useful in 
practice, as his friends might have wished. The 
English may have been too reluctant in admitting 
his claims to important discoveries and improve¬ 
ments in physics ; and what merit may be fairly 
awarded him for his inventions,are sufficient to estab¬ 
lish his reputation as one of the most ingenious and 
philosophical citizens of the United States, of the 
present century. _ 

NEW AND IMPORTANT INVENTION. 

Among the many useful and scientific discoveries 
of the day, we are called upon to notice, particu¬ 
larly, one which is said to be of inestimable value 
and importance. Mr. J. C. F. Salomon, of Penn¬ 
sylvania, obtained a few days ago letters patent from 
the United States for a Safety Steam-Boiler, so 
that any degree of pressure upon it could not pro¬ 
duce its explosion. The Philanthropist will receive 
the glad tidings of this invention as the dawn of a 
better day for the navigator and merchant, and con¬ 
templating the saving of human life and limb from 
destruction by the application of this ingenious in¬ 
vention, will hail the inventor as a public benefactor. 
Every scientific man who has seen the model, we 
are told, pronounces it unequalled in its importance. 
We insert an extract of a letter on the subject of 
the Safety-Boiler, written to Mr. Salomon, by one 
of the most scientific mechanics of our country, and 
one, too, to whom the public is indebted for several 
valuable inventions in other branches of machinery. 

“ Dear Sir,—I have taken the liberty of addres¬ 


sing you on the subject of your newly invented 
Steam-Boiler, and I assure you the more I examine 
the principle and mode of its construction, the more 
confident I am that in every sense of the word it is 
preferable to any I have ever seen before, and for 
strength and durability it cannot be surpassed. It 
presents a greater surface for the fire to act upon 
than the common cylinder boiler, the heat will act 
with double the advantage to what it would on a 
round cylinder boiler. In short, I think when this 
principle of yours is fairly tested, it will appear bet¬ 
ter in practice than in theory. Every man of sci¬ 
ence will give it the preference. The same weight 
of metal I venture to say, cannot be put in any 
other form to contain as many cubic feet of water, 
and have the same strength. It is my opinion that 
it will be capable of resisting almost any pressure 
of steam that can be conceived of.” 

We understand that the ingenious inventor was 
not permitted to take out a patent without opposi¬ 
tion, a claim for priority or invention having been 
alleged in behalf of another claimant. Mr. Salo¬ 
mon was, however, enabled to prove an earlier 
period of publication, and the arbitrators, to whom 
the matters in question were referred, gave their 
award in favour of him. This circumstance is 
another evidence of the very great importance of 
the invention ; for even the approval of a plan of 
machinery, by a man of as much science and skill 
as Col. Humphreys, (the other competitor,) would 
go far in recommending it to attention. 

A full test will, we are informed, soon be made 
of this invention, and it is boldly predicted that the 
Safely Steamboat Boiler will prove itself, if not the 
first, one of the first and most valuable inventions 
of the age.— National Intelligencer. 

Tuesday evening, 17th of November, there was 
an unusually bright and extensive Aurora Borealis, 
which continued, with variations of extent and 
brightness, for four hours. It was noticed in va 
rious places in the New England States, and in 
New York. These phenomena are probably owing 
to sudden changes of weather, and a consequent 
change in vapours in the atmosphere. 

A Diamond has been lately found in North Ca¬ 
rolina, of the most rare and precious kind. It is 
already known that the State is rich in gold mines. 
If diamonds should be found there in large quanti¬ 
ties, it will make the State as valuable as any others, 
notwithstanding its pine plains and sandy soil. 

There is now living in Pittsylvania County, a fe¬ 
male of the age of twenty-one years, only three feet 
in height, and weighing 233 pounds. She is free 
from defarmity of any kind, except obesity; in other 
respects her limbs and body are well proportioned. 

Proper time of Rising. —Among the curiosities 
of Apsley House is the truckle bed in which the 
Duke of Wellington sleeps. ‘ Why, it is so narrow,’ 
exclaimed a friend ‘ there is not even room to 
turn in it.’ ‘Turn in it!’cried his Grace—‘when 
a man begins to turn in his bed, it is time to 
turn out.’ 








140 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


NEW ZEALAND CHIEF, TOOL 



The Church Missionary Society in England has 
employed preachers, for several years past, at New 
South Wales and New Zealand. In 1817, one of 
the Missionaries, who had spent some years at New- 
Zealand, returned to England, and brought with 
him Tooi and another Chief from that place. The 
climate of England proved unfavourable to their 
health, and they soon returned to New-Zealand ; 
not however, without some literary and religious 
improvement. Tooi, as well as the other Chief, 
and indeed most of the tribe, are represented as 
irritable, and easily provoked : And notwithstanding 
his professions, since his return to his own country 
he has been engaged in fighting with individuals, 
and with another tribe on one of the islands of New- 
Zealand. Tooi died in 1825 ; having exhibited the 
contradictory traits of character, of violent temper 
and gentleness, of love of war and tender feelings 
to friends, of gross immorality and apparent contri¬ 
tion for his sins : like most others of our race, who 


are not habitually under tne influence of religious 
principles. He was only twenty-five when in Eng¬ 
land ; and showed a good deal of natural shrewd¬ 
ness and discernment. Towards his teachers, and 
the members of families where he resided, he mani¬ 
fested great kindness and regard. He professed 
gratitude to his instructors; but often disregarded 
their wholesome counsels. He was another proof 
“ that savages and Indians will be savages still, af¬ 
ter great efforts to tame and reform them.” When 
New-Zealand was discovered by the Dutch in 1642, 
the savages were very dangerous, killing all those 
who ventured to land. They were then believed 
to be cannibals; they certainly were very ferocious 
and cruel. They are of athletic frame, and rather 
taller than Europeans; being generally above six 

feet in height. - 

The number of Seamen in the United States, em- 
1 ployed in various ways, on foreign voyages, fishing 
1 and coasting, is over one hundred thousand. 

























OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


HI 



UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 


This very elegant building, of which a southeast 
view is here presented, is in the city of Philadelphi/a, 
on Ninth Street, between Chestnut and Market 
Streets, and in some degree a retired part of the 
town. It was erected in 1796, and intended as a 
residence for the President of the United States, 
and more particularly from respect to General 
Washington, then the Chief Magistrate, who passed 
most of his time in Pliiladelphia, at that period the 
place of the meeting of Congress. It was soon 
after purchased by the Trustees of the Pennsylvania 
University | and in 1802, was occupied for the use 
of that ancient Seminary. In 1807, when the pu¬ 
pils increased, a large wing or addition was made to it, 
on the south side. The whole building is quite 


spacious, and its internal arrangements are said to 
be very convenient. The Medical department is 
large, and justly celebrated for its teachers and pro¬ 
fessors. It was chiefly for their convenience that 
the wing was added. There are now four distinct 
faculties in the University: That of arts, the physi¬ 
cal sciences, law and medicine. Eflbrts are making 
to have all the departments filled by able teachers, 
as well as the medical, which hitherto has been 
particularly distinguished. Half a century ago, the 
Quakers and Germans, making a large portion of 
the population of the State, did not highly appre¬ 
ciate the benefits of human learning. The present 
generation judge better in this respect, and give 
greater encouragement to the means of education. 


CONTRACTION AND EXPANSION OF WATER. 

In the congelation of water, there is an anomaly, 
or peculiarity) vv'hich is not easily accounted for. 
The general law respecting fluids, is that of decrease 
in bulk as the heat is diniinished : and vice versa. 
Steam and vapour occupy a far larger space than wa¬ 
ter in its natural state. But there is, in some measure, 
an exception to this principle. The greatest den¬ 
sity of water is at 39® Farenheit. When highly 
heated, if water is cooled, it gradually contracts; 
and if the reduction be continued to the tempera¬ 
ture of 39°, it finds its greatest density. But this 
law, or principle, appears not to operate at a greater 
detrree of heat. A reversion or diflerent effect 
take.s place on a farther reduction of heat, and an 
expansion gradually takes place aiifl continues doun 
to 32®, when the water becomes solid. The rate 


of expansion is the same on each side of the maxi¬ 
mum point which is 39“. The following explana¬ 
tion has been given; and to some appears satisfac¬ 
tory. The expansion is owing directly to heat, or 
an increase of caloric; but the contraction only 
indirectly. Increase of temperature, or heat, pro¬ 
duces an expansive power, as an approach to the 
quiescent state (inerticc) of cohesion; but a dimi¬ 
nution of heat does not generate a contractile 
power, (in which case it would act directly) but 
only removes or lessens the power opposed to co¬ 
hesion. Thus when highly heated water is cooled, 
it gradually (though not always very sensibly) con¬ 
tracts; and if the reduction of heat or temperature 
be sufficiently continued, it finds its maximum at 
39“, as before suggested ; yet on a greater reduction 
of temperature, there is (not a contraction, I'jU 










































































































































142 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


gradual expansion, which continues to 32®, when 
the water is congealed, or converted into a solid. 
The rate of expansion is the same on both sides of 
the maximum point: And this similarity of rate is 
in favour of the supposition of a similarity of course; 
Yet it is difficult to conceive how either heat or 
cohesion operate as a divellant agent.* 

Probably both solids and fluids follow an increas¬ 
ing rate in their expansion by heat. Each portion 
which enters a body must weaken the cohesive 
power; and therefore will render the operation of 
the next portion introduced of more efficacy. Let 
1000 represent the attraction, or cohesive power, 
one increment of heat will be as 1000—1=999. The 
next unit of the divellant agent, i. e. heat, will 
have to operate only on 999, and will therefore pro¬ 
duce an effect greater than the first, in proportion 
of 1000 to 999, and so on in continued progression. 
It follows then, that tl.j cohesion, or attractive 
force, of solids is less at a high than at a low tem¬ 
perature. Hence also arises, the difference between 
the cohesion of the same solid body in different 
states, or at different degrees of temperature. 

One reason, however, given for the expansion of 
water w'hen congealed, apparently contrary to the 
laws of heat (or for its filling a greater space, as it 
does when ice causes a vessel to burst) is, that there 
are many interstices in the ice, or cavities contain¬ 
ing air, which prevent an absolute solidity in the 
congealed mass, and increases the bulk. Ice could 
not float in water, or be borne up by it, as we know 
it is, if it were not specifically lighter than water. 
And it would not be lighter, (the bulk being the 
same,) if it had not pores or interstices, according 
to the statement here given. Nor is this pheno¬ 
menon altogether peculiar to ice. Glass is a very 
hard or solid body, in the common sense of the 
term ; but it has numerous interstices or pores, as 
otherwise it could not transmit the light. 

It is often asked, what is the cause of the burst¬ 
ing of a vessel when the water is congealed. The 
answer must be, that the ice requires more space 
than the water did in a fluid and warmer state; and 
that it expands horizontally as well as perpendicu¬ 
larly ; and that in being converted into ice the air 
is mixed with it, or insinuates itself into the mass as 
it is congealed. The upper surface of the water, 
being most exposed to the cold, is first congealed, 
and it expands and rises. As the water continues 
to freeze, having no way to expand at the top of 
the vessel, by reason of the ice, the expansion con¬ 
tinues and the vessel bursts. It is not then the in¬ 
crease in bulk, or expansion of water, (when the 
heat is sufficient to melt the ice,) which causes the 
bursting or cracking of a vessel, but it is owing as 
above stated to the expansion of the water as it 
becomes congealed, and a quantity of air uniting 
with it. 

* The celebrated Newton was one of the first experimental in- 
vestijratord of the nature and properties of heat; and he asserted as 
one of its laws, that when the temperature of a body exceeds that 
of the surrounding medium, if the times of cooling be taken in 
arithmetical progression, the reductions of temperature proceed by 
a geometrical series. Ilut it has since been found that this law, or 
rule, is not strictly correct : for when the temperature is very 
high,thf rate of cooling is faster than the law would indicate. 



SIR HUDSON LOWE. 


This British Officer was the Governor of St. He¬ 
lena, while Napoleon Bonaparte was confined on 
that Island. The government of England has been 
considered as acting with undue severity, and even 
with dishonour, in transporting the deposed Ern- 
perour of France to that solitary place, when he had 
voluntarily surrendered himself into their hands; and 
keeping him by force in so desolate a spot. The 
excuse was, that the peace of Europe would not 
have been secure while he was at large, to adopt 
projects of ambition, however desperate. He had 
once left Elbe, where he had been banished, and 
filled all Europe with terror and confusion. Had 
he been suffered to remain in England, or to have 
retired to America, he might have again disturbed 
the repose of the world. But we shall not under¬ 
take to give an opinion of the policy of England in 
the confinement of Napoleon. The duty of guard¬ 
ing him was assigned to Sir Hudson Lowe, a brave 
and honourable man, as the British officers gener¬ 
ally are, but strictly obedient to the orders of the 
government, whatever rigour or severity it might 
require. There is no evidence that the English 
Governor was wanting in humanity. The brave 
are usually benevolent and kind ; but he was faith¬ 
ful in the discharge of his duty, and that duty was 
to watch the imperial prisoner, and to guard him 
with great strictness. In the performance of this 
service, he was obliged to deny Napoleon that de¬ 
gree of recreation, or that extent of excursion, 
which he and his friends desired, and might have 
thought necessary to his health. Whatever of 
rigour or severity, there was in the treatment of 
Napoleon, it seems proper to charge it to the mis¬ 
taken policy of the British government, rather than 
toacruel disposition in Sir Hudson. The Physician 
and attendants of tlie ci-devant Emperor, did com¬ 
plain of severe treatment, and that degree of watch¬ 
ful interference on the part of the British, which was 
irritating and uncomfortable to the prisoner: But 
the orders of the English government were strict and 
peremptory; and the Commander of the island was 
determined to prevent his escape, if possible; for 
which no doubt many plans were devised or pro¬ 
posed. 





Ii3 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 



THE FEMALE OURANG OUTANG. —[Simia Satyrus, vel Satyrus Troglodytis.] 


The Ourang Outang is not given for its beauty, 
(for it is truly a most disgusting animal) but for its 
peculiarity ; and as it is one of the wonders of na¬ 
ture, it merits notice, as well as the most beautiful 
and attractive of animals. It is considered also as 
the link between man and the mere animal or brute 
creation ; and yet we cannot be much flattered by 
being said to have any resemblance or relation to 
such ugliness. The Ourang Outang (or Orang 
Otang, as now often spelt,) is of the ape or monkey 
tribe; but in its form approaching nearer to the 
human species than any of the others. But we are 
not aware that it has given any indication of rea¬ 
son ; or that it is more shrewd and cunning than 
some other animals. According to the best ac¬ 
counts, indeed, it is surpassed by the dog, the horse, 
and the elephant, the fox, and the beaver, in the 
faculty of reason, or of instinct. In its form even, 
it is like a human being, only or chiefly in its arms 
and hands, (except that the arms are much longer) 
and in its occasional erect posture. The upper 
part of the head also bears a resemblance to man ; 
but the lower part is as unlike as that of a dog or a 
horse. The monkey and the ape are found in dif¬ 
ferent countries, but the Ourang Outang only in 


Africa, and the southern parts and islands of Asia: 
And in Asia they are the largest and most terrible. 
They all inhabit warm climates, and seem unable 
long to survive a removal to a cold northern re- 
gion. 

The view here given, is of one only three years 
old ; and is not so large as those which attain their 
ordinary stature. This is only three feet and a half, 
but some are five feet and a half. When in a cold 
climate, their first desire seems to be to find heat 
and warmth. They run near a fire-place, or get 
under bed clothes; and it is very difficult to re¬ 
move them. They use all their strength to keep on 
their covering, if any attempt is made to take it off. 
They are easily tamed, if taken young ; and gener¬ 
ally less mischievous and ill-natured, than common 
monkeys and satyrs. To have a warm place or 
covering, appears more important to them, than 
even food itself, which consists of fruit, milk, &c. 
but they eat very little, Tliis animal, like the va¬ 
rious monkey tribes, is fitted to climb trees with a 
good degree of ease, but it is found on the earth 
more commonly, than they are. 

The name sometimes given the Ourang, is The 
wild man of the woods”; and many strange stories 



































144 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


have been related of them: But this was before 
they were fully known and described by naturalists. 
When full grown, they attack negroes, if found 
alone, and it is said, tha^ elephants fear and shun 
them, rather than attack them. It is also related 
of them, that they sometimes seize negro women, 
and carry them into the forests and oblige them to 
remain with them. 


ARTEDI. 

John Artedi, a celebrated Ichthyologist, was born 
A.D. 1705, in the province of Angermania, in 
Sweden. From his youth, he had an ardent pas¬ 
sion for all branches of natural history, but he ex¬ 
celled most in that of Ichthyology. In 1724, he 
went to the university of Upsal, where some years 
after he gained the friendship of the immortal 
Linne, (commonly called Linnmis) who narrates 
the principal events of his life, in the following ani¬ 
mated terms. 

“ In 1728,” says Linne, “ I came from Lund to 
Upsal, and I wished to devote myself to medicine. 
I inquired who, at that university, excelled most 
for his knowledge: every one named Artedi. I 
was impatient to see him. I found him pale, and 
in great distress for the loss of his father, with his 
thin hair and dress neglected. He resembled the 
portrait of Ray the naturalist. His judgment was 
ripe, his thoughts profound, his manners simple, 
and his virtues antique. The conversation turned 
upon skmes, plants, and animals. I was enchanted 
with his observations, equally ingenious and new ; 
for at the very first, he was not afraid to communi¬ 
cate them to me with the utmost frankness. I de¬ 
sired his friendship, he asked mine. From that 
moment we formed a friendship, wdiich we culti¬ 
vated with the greatest ardour for seven months at 
Upsal. I was his best friend, and I never had one 
who was more dear to me. How sweet was that 
intimacy! With what pleasure did we see it in¬ 
crease from day to day 1 The difference, even in 
our characters, was useful to us. His mind was 
more severe, more attentive; he observed more 
slowly, and with greater care. A noble emulation 
animated us. As I despaired of ever becoming so 
well instructed in chemistry as he, I abandoned it; 
he also ceased to study botany with the ardour, to 
which I had devoted myself in a particular manner. 
We continued thus to study different branches of 
science ; and when one of us excelled the other, he 
was acknowledged to be the master. We disputed 
the palm in ichthyology ; but I was soon forced to 
yield, and I abandoned that part of natural history 
to him, as well as the amphibia. I succeeded bet¬ 
ter than he did, in the knowledge of birds and in¬ 
sects, and he no longer tried to excel in these 
branches. We marched together as equals in 
lithology, and the history of quadrupeds. When 
one of us made an observation, he communicated it 
to the other; scarce a day passed in which one did 
not learn from the other some new and interesting 
particular. This emulation excited our industry, 
and mutual assistance aided our efforts. In spite of 
the distance of our lodgings, we saw each other 
every day. At last I departed for Laplqnd ; and he 
wpnt to London, 


“In 1735,1 went to Leyden, where I found Arteai 
I recounted my adventures: he communicated his 
to me. He was not rich, and therefore was unable 
to be at the expense of taking his degrees in physic. 
I recommended him to Seba, who engaged him to 
publish his works on fishes. Artedi went to join 
him at Amsterdam. 

“ Scarcely had I finished my Fundamenta Bo- 
tanica, before I communicated it to him. He let 
me see his Philosophia Ichthyologia. He propos¬ 
ed to finish the work of Seba as soon as possible, 
and to put the last hand to it. He showed me all 
his manuscripts which I had not seen : I was pres¬ 
sed in point of time, and began to be impatient, at 
being detained so long. Alas I if I had known this 
was the last time I should see him, how should I 
have prolonged it 1 Some days after, as he returned 
to sup with Seba, the night being dark, he fell into 
the canal. No one perceived it, and he perished. 
Thus died this great ichthyologist by water, who 
had ever delighted in that element. He bequeath¬ 
ed to me his manuscripts and his books.” 

The first edition of his works was published by 
Linne in 1738, and the second, which is the most 
valuable, in 1792. 


THE SNOW. 

The silvery snow ! the silvery snow ! 

Like a glory it falls on the field below ; 

And the trees with their diamond branches appear 
Like the fairy growth of some magical sphere ; 
While soft as music, and wild and white. 

It glitters and floats in the pale moonlight. 

And spangles the river and fount as they flow ! 
Oh, who has not loved the bright beautiful snow 

The silvery snow, and the crinkling frost— 

How merry we go when the earth seems lost: 
Like spirits that rise from the dust of Time, 

To live in a purer and holier clime 1— 

A new creation without a stain,— 

Lovely as Heaven’s own pure domain ! 

But ah ! like the many fair hopes of our years. 

It glitters awhile—and then melts into tears ! 


THE SNOW BIRD. 

The birds, when winter shades the sky, 

Fly o'er the seas away ; 

Where laughing isles in sunshine lie. 

And summer breezes play. 

And thus the friends that flutter near. 

When fortune’s sun is warm. 

Are startled if a cloud appear. 

And fly before the storm. 

But when from winter’s howling plains. 

Each other warbler ’s past ; 

The little Snow Bird still remains. 

And chirrups ’midst the blast. 

Love, like that bird, when friendship’s throng 
With fortune’s sun depart. 

Still lingers with its cheerful song, 

And nestles on the heart. 


LIGHTS AND SHADES. 

The gloomiest day hath gleams of light— 

The darkest wave hath bright foam near it; 

And twinkles through the darkest night. 

Some solitary star to cheer it. 

The gloomiest soul Is not all gloom : 

The saddest heart is not all sadness ; 

And sweetly o’er the darkest doom. 

There stands some lingering beam of gladness. 
Despair is never quite despair. 

Nor life, nor death the future closes, 

And round the shadowy brow of care 

Will Hope and Fancy twine their roses. Hemaxs 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


145 



A GROUP OF ESQUIMAUX INDIANS. 


The Esquimaux constitute a very widely clifTused 
race, occupying all the shores of the northern ocean, 
both of America and Asia. They are found along 
the whole coast of the American polar sea, and in 
the channel near Behring’s Straits. The Samoides 
and Kamtschatdales in northern Asia, appear to be of 
the same family. A similarity of visage and figure, 
huts, boats and instruments, in character, habits and 
mode of life, might have been produced by the 
common pressure of the same peculiar outward cir¬ 
cumstances. The affinity of speech, however, 
which is such as to prove the dialects of all the 
Esquimau.x to be mere varieties of one common 
language, affords a clear proof that an original 
race has spread over the whole range of those im¬ 
mense and desolate shores. This migration must 
have been facilitated by the vast continuity of coast 
which stretches along the Arctic ocean (which late 
discoveries show to be of immense extent) and 
which is not equalled in any other quarter. Hence, 
probably, the Esquimaux, at distant periods, con¬ 
nected the old and new continents; which at all 
other points were then unknown to each other. In 
America, they are found from Behring’s Straits to 
the Labrador coast; from 55° to 165° longitude, 
and from 50° to 75® latitude; and in a very great 
extent of territory in the north of Asia. Since the 
year 1765, portions of these people have been visit¬ 
ed by Moravian Missionaries ; and some of them 
ha\e been improved by their labours. 

The Esquimaux differ in many respects from the 
North American Indians, early found in New Eng¬ 
land, and those now remaining ii. the western parts 
of the United States, Mexico, d,c. No doubt the 
climate, which they inhabit, and which exposes 
them to severe cold and to peculiar modes of living, 


has had an influence on their form and features. 
They are lower in stature than the other Indian 
races, as well as Europeans. Their height is sel¬ 
dom more than five feet and five or six inches; but 
the trunk of their body is thick, while the extremi¬ 
ties are small, especially the hands and feet. Tl>e 
face is broad and flat, the nose small, arffi sunk 
deep. Their visage presents the peculiar form 
which the face assumes in intensely cold weather. 
The expression of the female countenance is often 
agreeable ; and but for dirt and grease tliey might 
be called handsome. On account of the cold cli¬ 
mate they inhabit, their dress is more ample and 
prepared with more care than is usual among other 
savages. That of the men consists of a double coat 
of deer skin, and a spacious hood is raised to cover 
the head. They also cover their limbs with skins, 
quite to the knee to overtop their boots. The fe¬ 
male dress is of the same materials, and they are 
very fond of wearing breeches. They also wear 
boots of a large size, which are a hindrance to walk¬ 
ing with speed. They carry a large quantity ot 
goods and sometimes their children in their boots; 
and shelter within them whatever they take from 
others without leave. 


A census has just been taken of the city of Bos¬ 
ton, which gives the number of inhabitants to be 
139,000. In 1840 there were 78,000, and in 1830, 
61,400, and in 1820, 43,300; showing an increase 
since 1840 of 61,000, and an increase since 1820 
of 96,000. In 1810 it was only 33,000, and in 1790, 
only about 20,000. The increase of wealth is sup¬ 
posed to be in a still greater proportion. There 
are thirty Banks in the city, which have employed 
a capital of 26,750,000 dollars. 































































^40 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



ELI WHITNEY. 

This individual gave early indications of mechani¬ 
cal and inventive talents, for which he was after¬ 
wards so highly celebrated. His father was a farmer 
in Westborough, Massachusetts, and was not able 
to give the son more than a common education. 
But Mr. Whitney was desirous of the advantages of 
College, and at the age of twenty-three entered the 
University in New Haven. He received the hon¬ 
ours of that Seminary in 1792 ; and soon after went 
to Georgia, in the expectation of keeping a private 
School. In this expectation he was disappointed ; 
and became known to Mrs. Greene, the widow of 
General Nathaniel Greene. By her hospitable at¬ 
tentions he became acquainted with some rich 
planters, who were desirous of some method of' 
cleansing the green seed cotton, or of separating it 
from its seed, and who said it would be of incalcu¬ 
lable benefit to the cotton growers. Mrs. Greene 
informed them that young Whitney had an inge¬ 
nious and mechanical turn of mind, and might in¬ 
vent something useful. They spoke to Whitney 
on the subject, who replied, that he had never seen 
cotton, or cotton seed in his life. It was not then 
the season for cotton in the seed, but he searched 
in the warehouses where cotton was kept and 
found some in that state. He then engaged, with 
such rude materials and instruments as he could 
procure, to form a machine for the purpose of sepa¬ 
rating the seed. In a few months, the machine 
was so nearly completed as to leave no doubt of its 
success. It was soon examined by some of the 
cotton growers; and they were astonished to find 
that more cotton could be separated from the seed 
in one day by the labour of a single hand, than 
could be done in the usual manner, in many months. 
The report of the invention soon spread through 
that State. The planters and others were eager 
to see the machine, but Whitney declined showing 
it, as it was not entirely completed, and as it might 
be imitated by others, and he deprived of the ben¬ 
efits of a patent. But some lawless individuals 
broke into the building and carried off the machine. 
Thus several machines were constructed with very 


little deviation from the original. Mr. Whitney re¬ 
turned to Connecticut in the spring, to complete 
the machine, obtain a patent, and forwaid a num¬ 
ber for sale to Georgia. But he met many difficul¬ 
ties in obtaining a patent; and the clandestine use 
of his invention, imperfect as it was at first, when 
taken from him by force, were very serious disad¬ 
vantages, in a pecuniary view. He afterwards dis¬ 
posed of the right to the State of South Carolina, 
for that State, for fifty thousand dollars; which he 
said was a ‘ mere song,’ compared to the real value. 
North Carolina also purchased the right for that 
State, and laid a tax for five years on every saw 
employed in ginning cotton. He soon after became 
engaged in lawsuits in Georgia, on account of viola¬ 
tions of the patent laws ; but his expenses were 
very great, as every one knows who goes to law. 
In 1812, Mr. Whitney applied to Congress for a 
renewal of his patent, in the hope of still receiving 
some substantial benefit from his invention. But 
the southern delegation generally, were opposed 
to it; which was the more unexpected, as his in¬ 
vention had proved of very great advantagt to that 
part of the United States. A writer well acquaint¬ 
ed with the subject says, “ he did not exaggerate 
when he asserted, that it raised the value of the 
southern States from fifty to one hundred percent.” 
Judge Johnson observes, “ if it should be said, that 
the benefits of this invention exceed one hundred 
millions of dollars, it can be proved to be true.” 
Few men of genius have rendered so great benefits 
to their country by their inventions, who have been 
harshly treated and so poor remunerated. For 
practical men, who make new and useful discove¬ 
ries usually meet a just and honourable reward, 
though learned philosophers are not duly apprecia¬ 
ted in their labours. 

Mr. Whitney engaged also in the manufacture of 
arms, in which he was more fortunate, as regarded 
the pecuniary profits to himself. Oliver Wolcott, 
when Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, 
who knew his worth, employed him in that busi¬ 
ness. “It is universally conceded, that his genius 
and industry greatly contributed to the improve¬ 
ment of the manufacture of arms, and indeed to 
the general advancement of arts and manufactures; 
for many of his inventions for facilitating the mak¬ 
ing of muskets were applicable to most other manu¬ 
factures of iron and steel. Mr. Whitney died in 
1825, eight years after his marriage. He had a 
mild and happy disposition, was a kind husband, 
and fond of the innocent prattle and sports of chil¬ 
dren. In his person, he was much above the ordi¬ 
nary size, but of a dignified carriage, and of an 
open, manly and agreeable countenance; and he 
possessed high and honourable principles, which 
uniformly governed his conduct. 

The train of cars came up from Boston, one day )n 
November in fifty-five minutes ; being at the rate of 
thirty miles an hour. The engine used is a new 
one, made in this place .—Lowell paper. 

It is stated in a late number of the Medical Jour¬ 
nal, that common cranberry juice, ap[)lied exter 
nally, several times, is a specific cure for ring-worms 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


147 


EMPLOYMENT OF LEISURE TIME BY THE 

YOUNG. 

There seems to be a period, in the early part of 
most men’s lives, which is not so profitably improv¬ 
ed as it might be. It is an important period, and the 
character of a man very much depends on its being 
j)roperly occupied. We refer not so much to pro¬ 
fessional men ; for they must perceive the necessity 
of study, if they would be eminent or useful; as to 
the working portion in society, who labor a great 
part of their time for a living. 

Our public common schools are on a good foot¬ 
ing ; and all may be taught the rudiments of knowl¬ 
edge, before they are fourteen years of age, unless 
their parents are criminally negligent in giving them 
an o[)portunity to obtain that degree of information 
which is now generally considered to be essential. 
But after this period, and this advantage, with a 
youth who must attend to manual labor for a sub¬ 
sistence, his literary, as well as his moral advance¬ 
ment depends very much on himself. And if he 
has duly improved the means of education aflTorded 
him, he has laid a foundation, on which he may 
erect a goodly superstructure. A perception of 
the value of knowledge, it is supposed, he has 
already acquired. His desire, as well as his duty, 
then, will be to make further progress. He may 
meet with difficulties and obstacles in his way : but 
these must be overcome; and they can be over¬ 
come by one of a resolute and persevering spirit. 
He will not have so much time for reading and 
study, as he may wish ; but, if he is only ardent in 
his desire to cultivate his mind, he will often find 
hours which he may devote to it. He must learn 
to redeem time. Less must be given to sleep and 
to amusements. His business is exercise and recrea¬ 
tion enough for him. Instead of eight hours for 
sleep, six will be found sufficient. And the hours 
thus saved must be given to study. Two or three 
in twenty-four, will afford opportunity for much 
reading in the course of a year. 

The difficulty of procuring books is not now very 
great. In every neighbourhood will be found a 
library of useful books, which the generous owner 
will rather loan to a studious young man, than to 
have slumber on his shelves. And in most villages 
there are circulating libraries for the use of every 
one disposed to read. The key of knowledge is 
not in our country in the hands of a few, who would 
lock up books from the people, as was done three 
centuries ago. And a few volumes, well chosen 
and well studied, will contribute more to the im¬ 
provement of the young, than a great number of 
the common trash of the day, or a hasty perusal 
even of those of a better character. 

There is nothing fully understood without study : 
And youth is the proper season for application. 
Much depends also upon the character of the books, 
which the young read. They should choose books 
for profit rather than amusement; to acquire use¬ 
ful information, rather than to pass away time. 
A knowledge of our own language and of geogra¬ 
phy is important to every one. Mathematics richly 
merits a large portion of time. Ancieiit and modern 
history should be read ; compends will be sufficient 
if judiciously made. But the history of our own 


country should be more closely studied. There is 
much in it to instruct and to improve. No one 
should be ignorant of the history of the nation to 
which he belongs. Every one is liable to be called 
on to legislate, or to give an opinion or a vote, on 
great constitutional questions. It is a shame for a 
republican to be guided wholly by others. He 
should be able to form a correct opinion, and to 
give a reason for that opinion. There are some 
books on theological subjects, not of a controversial 
character, which it would be useful to read. Such 
as Paley’s Natural Theology, and his and others’ evi¬ 
dences of Christianity. Treatises on ethics and 
moral philosophy are highly useful; they will enable 
us to understand our own minds, their" faculties, 
powers and capacity for improvement. Physics, or 
the study of the laws of nature in all their variety 
and branches, cannot fail to be useful; as the mind 
is enlarged and elevated thereby ; and a sure pre¬ 
ventive is furnished against superstitious and idle 
fears, at the same tiine that we are presented with 
abundant proofs of the infinite power, wisdom and 
goodness of the Creator. We shall see intelligent 
design and benevolent purpose every where dis¬ 
played. 

We repeat that there is much time for almost 
every one, from fifteen to thirty-five or forty, to 
devote to reading and study. And the occupation 
of it in study will save young men from expensive 
amusements and degrading habits, as well os lay a 
foundation for greater usefulness to their friends, 
and to society, for respectability in the decline of 
life, for self-satisfaction in retirement, in poverty, 
and in old age, when the common means of plea¬ 
sure can no longer delight or gratify. B. 


Minekal Magnetism is just now attracting at¬ 
tention in England, in consequence of experiments 
exhibited by a learned professor before the Royal 
Institution, by which it is shown, that magnetism, 
electricity, heat, and galvanism possess properties in 
common. The favorable effects of mineral mag¬ 
netism are not indeed of recent discovery on the 
continent of Europe. In its primitive form it was 
employed as a remedy in some cases, before artificiaS 
magnets were known. “ The amulets of former 
ages were of loadstone. And it was mineral mag¬ 
netism probably, which gave occasion to the wonder¬ 
ful stories of animal magnetism. The theory on 
which the supposed curvative property of the mag¬ 
net is founded is the close alliance of the magnetic 
fluid, which pervades the earth and man, with the 
nervous power of the animal system ; and it is said 
to operate by quieting irritated nerves and giving 
strength to those which are weak. The whole 
catalogue of nervous aflections comes under its 
influence. Its action is produced by directing a 
magnetic current through the diseased part.”—The 
most powerful magnets are also made by the advo¬ 
cate of the system in a few moments. It has 
heretofore been considered a powerful magnet which 
would lift its own weight; but some prepared by 
him sustain ten times their weight. And he gives 
it a permanent power of pure magnetic attraction, 
without the aid of the galvanic battery. 





148 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


SILKWORMS. 

DIRECTIONS FOR RAISING SILK WORMS FROM AN OUNCE 

OF EGGS. 

The eggs of the silkworm that are of a yellow 
colour in the spring, should oe rejected as useless. 
The other eggs are to be placed in a room warmed 
by the sun, at the time the mulberry trees begin to 
unfold their leaf-buds. The apartment in which 
they are placed for hatching must be particularly 
dry. Care must be taken that the sun’s rays do 
not reach them, (or the worm in any stage of its 
existence.) In this room the eggs will be hatched 
in about eight or ten days; before which there 
should be prepared tables, or shelves, or wicker 
draws, sufficient to afford the space of seven feet 
four inches square, ready for the reception of the 
worms as soon as hatched.' 

The following are the signs of hatching ; the ash- 
gray colour of the egg grows bluish, then purplish, 
then gray with a cast of yellow, and finally of a dingy 
white. When the eggs become of the last men¬ 
tioned colour, the worm is formed, and may be seen 
within the shell, by the aid of a glass. They should 
then be covered with white paper with holes pierced 
in it. As soon as the worms climb through the 
holes and appear on the upper surface of the paper, 
small twigs of mulberry, with a few leaves on them, 
should be laid on the paper to collect them. If they 
do not find food they will wander away, and may 
be lost. Their proper colour is dark hazel or chest¬ 
nut. If red at their coming out, the eggs are bad, 
or have been ill kept. Worms of this colour should 
be thrown away, since they do not produce cocoons. 

A stock of leaves should be in the house suffi¬ 
cient for several days, to secure food in the event of 
wet weather. Be careful not to expose the worms 
to the smell of tobacco. It is better to keep those 
that hatch each day by themselves. It will be bet¬ 
ter, though not perhaps indispensable, to have arti¬ 
ficial means of producing heat, in case any cold or 
rainy weather should set in. 

Those that have the means of extending the 
spaces allotted, may do so to advantage, for the 
more room the worms have, the better they eat, 
digest, (Lc. Any sudden change from heat to cold 
and Mce versa, is highly injurious. Some circum¬ 
stances may modify the proportions of food speci¬ 
fied ; but the cultivator must be supposed to have 
intelligence enough to judge in such cases. Over¬ 
feeding, as well as scanty feeding, must be guarded 
against. 

A great object is to obtain the greatest quantity 
of fine cocoons with the least quantity of leaves. 
The more leaves there are (within certain limits) 
the greater will be the proportion of cocoons. But 
be cautious,—over-feeding must always be guarded 
against. It is not only a waste of leaves, but an 
injury to the worm. 

The care required in its first four ages are nei¬ 
ther many nor puzzling; yet on these, and particu¬ 
larly the first two, their health or feebleness depends, 
upon which is based success or failure. 

The first two days after the worm has cast its 
skin, it eats sparingly, then it become voracious: 
but this hunger soon diminishes and even ceases. 
These occurrences are common to every age. 


1 If not treated with care, when it requires it, it 
sutlers, sickens and dies; therefore it is best to have 
an account of (he daily food requisite for its health. 

As a general rule, give the worms their daily 
food not in one, but four meals, dividing the time 
so as to allow six hours between each. 

Again, in the early part of each age, each meal 
should be larger than the preceding, and in the 
last part of each age, each meal should be less than 
the preceding. It is better not to give at once 
even what is allotted for a meal, but to keep back a 
part a short time in order to give it when it is most 
needed. Sometimes, too, it is good to give a little 
food at intermediate times. The quantity of food 
specified, is for the whole day. In about one hour 
and a half the worm eats its portion, and then 
remains more or less quiet. 

At the beginning of the fourth day many of the 
worms begin shaking their heads, which shows that 
their skin is too heavy for them. Some of them 
cat little, but keep their heads reared up, and to¬ 
ward the close of the day, most of them appear torpid. 

During the time of changing their skins, they 
must not be disturbed. The tables, or whatever 
they may be, on which they are kept, should be 
cleaned before and after each moulting, until the 
fourth age ; once during that age ; before and after 
the fourth moulting; and every two days during 
the fifth age. 

If the weather permits, gather the leaves several 
hours before they are given them, that they may 
lose their first sharpness. 

Second age—the worms must not be lifted from 
their litter until they are nearly all revived. There 
is no harm in waiting till they are well awake and 
stirring, even should that be twenty or thirty 
hours. Third age—when nearly all the worms are 
roused and begin moving their heads, some having 
already left the litter, preparation should be made 
to remove them, that the spaces they have littered 
maybe cleaned. Third day of second age; the 
leaves should be distributed in proportion as they 
are wanted, and with attention, because the greed¬ 
iness of the worm abates toward evening, and 
may show, by rearing their heads and not eating, 
that they are approaching the period of torpor, and 
some are already torpid. If between the moultings 
any worms should appear sick, they must be re¬ 
moved to another room, where the air is purer and 
a little warmer. As the worm grows, it breathes 
more freely, and its excrements are more plentiful, 
which makes it necessary that the air should be 
more frequently renovated. A sign that the worms 
have roused after their torpor, is an undulating mo¬ 
tion of their head when blown upon horizontally. 

To ensure the worms continuing of an equal 
size, particular care must be taken to distribute the 
food equally, that all may partake alike. 

In the third age, we shall hear, when the worms 
are fed, a little hissing noise; this does not pro¬ 
ceed from the motion of the mouth, but the feet. 

When the worms lie too thick, the food is wast¬ 
ed, but when they have room, they will eat every 
particle of the leaf. Besides, when crowded, the 
action of their breathing tubes is hindered, which 
must materially injure their health. 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


149 


Be careful not to give them branches with the 
fruit on. If they eat the fruit, they become sick. 

The fifth age of the silkworm is the longest and 
most decisive. Should the worm die in the first 
age, the loss is trilling; but should they perish in the 
fifth age, it is considerable. VVe ought then, dur¬ 
ing this age, to be particularly careful of them; 
their litter must be cleared away often, and the air 
which they breathe kept fresh, and plenty of room 
allowed them. 

After the fourth moulting the food should consist 
of the full grown leaves of the oldest trees. 

On the third day of the fifth age, they could eat 
a larger quantity tlian is specified, but it is best not 
to increase it, that they may thoroughly digest what 
they have—this course will strengthen and enliven 
them. On the fifth day of the fifth age, they should, 
if necessary, have food between the regular meals, 
when the specified quantity being given, is devour¬ 
ed in less than an hour and a half. They must not 
be suffered to fast five hours. Although the quan¬ 
tity is fixed, still exceptions are to be made by 
experience. 

Sixth day of fifth age. Should food be wanted 
between the specified meals, it must be given, and 
so of the seventh day and of the eighth. ‘ 

During these last days of the rearing, the worms 
should be fed with the best sort of leaves, culled 
from the oldest trees. Care should be taken to 
guard against too great heat: this would cause the 
worms to stop eating and to wander about in search 
of cool corners, to form their cocoons before the 
time; thus defeating all the care that has been be 
stowed on them. 

On the tenth day of the fifth age, the worms are 
usually perfected and ready to form their cocoons; 
this may be ascertained by the following signs; 

1. When, instead of eating, the worms rear their 
heads, as if in search of something. 

2. When held so that the light shines through 
them, they are of a whitish yellow colour. 

3. The worms move about slowly; instinct urg¬ 
ing them to seek change of place. 

4. Their rings draw in, and their greenish colour 
changes to a deep golden hue. 

5. Their skins become wrinkled about the neck, 
and their bodies are softer to the touch. 

The contrivances are various for their rising upon ; 
perhaps bundles of twigs placed archwise over them 
may be the simplest. 

Thus having conducted the cultivator through 
a course of feeding, we shall leave to him, to put 
the precepts in practice, wishing him the utmost 
prosperity, and at the same time warning him that 
to be successful, he must be patient and attentive 
to his charges. 

<IUANTITT OF FOOD NECESSARY FOR EACH DAY OF THE 

LIFE OF THE SILKWORM! ALSO THE SPACE REQUISITE 

FOR EACH OF ITS AGES, ADAPTED TO THE NUMBER 

WHICH ONE OUNCE OF EGGS WILL PRODUCE. 

First Age. 

First day.—Give in four meals, (six hours be¬ 
tween each) about three fourths of a pound of soft 
leaves; the first meal to be the smallest, the second 
larger, and so on, increasing gradually. 


Second day.—One pound and one fifth o* a 
pound. 

Third day.—Two and two fifths pounds. 

Fourth day.—One and sixth tenths pounds. 

Fifth day.—Three tenths of a pound will be about 
enough; these should be scattered lightly several 
times a day, where the worms appear to be still 
feeding. Should all have left off feeding, of course 
it will be unnecessary to distribute any more leaves. 

In the first age then, the worms from an ounce of 
eggs, require about six and a quarter pounds of 
leaves. Space required, seven feet four inches 
square. 

Toward the end of this day the wo/ms are torpid. 

Second Age. 

First day.—One and four fifths pounds tender 
shoots, and the same weight of leaves. 

Second day.—Six pounds of leaves will suffice. 

Third day.—Six and three fifths pounds. 

Fourth day.—One pound and four fifths of a 
pound. 

During the second age then, is required eighteen 
pounds of food. Space required, fourteen feet 
eight inches square. 

Third Age. 

First day.—Three pounds tender shoots, the 
same w'eight of leaves. 

Second day.—Eighteen pounds of leaves will be 
needed ; the last two meals being most plentiful. 

Third day.—Nineteen and two fifths pounds ; 
the first two meals being most plentiful. 

Fourth day.—Ten and one half pounds ; first 
meal largest—last, least; those only that seem to 
require it, being fed. 

Fifth day.—Five and two fifths pounds, or there¬ 
about. 

Sixth day.—The worms that have been torpid 
begin to rouse, and thus accomplish the third age, 
which requires fifty-three and four fifths pounds of 
food, and thirty-four feet ten inches square, of 
space. 

Fourth Age. 

First day.—Seven and a half pounds of shoots, 
twelve pounds of leaves. 

Second day.—Thirty-three pounds of leaves ; 
the last two meals being most copious. 

Third day.—Forty-five pounds of leaves. 

Fourth day.—Fifty-one pounds of leaves, fourth 
meal least. 

Fifth day.—Twenty-five and three fifths pounds 
leaves, last meal least. 

Sixth day.—Seven pounds are enough. It will 
be easy to find where and in what quantities 
needed. 

Seventh day.—The worms that have been torpid 
rouse, and thus accomplish the fourth age; which 
requires about one hundred and eighty-two pounds 
of food, and eighty-two feet six inches square of 
space. 

Fifth Age. 

First day.—Eighteen pounds of shoots, and the 
same weight of leaves. 

Second day.—Fifty-four pounds of leaves. 

Third day.—Eighty-four pounds. 



150 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Fourth day.—One hundred and eight pounds. 

Fifth day.—One hundred and sixty-two pounds. 

Sixth day.—One hundred and ninety-five pounds. 

Seventh day.—One hundred and eighty pounds. 

Eighth day.—One hundred and thirty-two pounds. 

Ninth day.—Ninety-nine pounds. 

Tenth day.—Forty-eight pounds. 

This accomplishes the fifth and last age of the 
worm in which food is required. This age requires 
ten hundred and ninety-eight pounds of food, and 
one hundred and eig 
of space. 

First age requires six and a quarter pounds of 
food; second age, eighteen pounds; third age, 
fifty-three four fifths pounds ; fourth age, one hun¬ 
dred and eighty-two pounds ; fifth age, ten hun¬ 
dred and ninety-eight pounds. Total, one thousand 
three hundred and fifty-eight pounds of food, for the 
worms produced from one ounce of eggs 

Some general directions will be given hereafter. 


THE CRUSADES. 

Few events in the history of man have so strongly 
indicated his natural disposition, or aptitude, to en¬ 
thusiasm, as the enterprises to the holy land, in 
the 12th and 13th centuries, called the Crusades. 
This term was applied to the wars for the conquest 
of Palestine from the Mahometans and Saracens, 
carried on by Christians, who followed the holy 
banner, and wore the sign of the cross. “ The 
people of Europe were grieved, that the Holy Land, 
where the Saviour lived and taught and suffered for 
mankind, should be polluted by infidels, or remain 
in their possession, and thus prevent the pilgrim¬ 
ages then desired to be made to the city of Jerusa¬ 
lem, and the sepulchre of the divine Redeemer.” 
Those who made the hazardous journey, related on 
their return the difficulties and the ill treatment 
which they met, and raised the indignation of the 
Christians in the west of Europe to a degree of fa¬ 
naticism against the infidel intruders, and they form¬ 
ed the extravagant plan of driving them from the 
sacred territory. The Mahometan chiefs, in gene¬ 
ral, treated the Christian visitors to Judea with great 
severity. 

The prejudices against the followers of Mahomet 
were increased by their cruelties as men ; the wars 
and confusion caused by the invasion of the west 
and south of Europe by barbarous hordes had also 
ceased ; and the disposition for enterprise was 
seeking occasions for action and display; an un¬ 
common excitement was produced : and men of all 
classes, but chiefly the honourable and the noble, 
poured forth from France, and other parts of Eu¬ 
rope, and zealously engaged in the holy Crusade. 
Constantinople was then in the hands of a Christian 
emperor, and was designated as the place of con¬ 
centrating the forces from the west. Great num¬ 
bers pressed on in the enterprise under the influ¬ 
ence of a blind zeal, without order, discretion or 
forethought: All suffered and many perished. But 
an army was finally collected of eighty thousand 
men, under the command of brave dukes and prin¬ 
ces, who traversed Germany and Hungary, con¬ 
quered Nice, Antioch, Edessa, and lastly Jerusa¬ 
lem, in 1099. This intelligence revived anew the 


hty-three feet five inches square 


zeal and fanaticism of the west of Europe. In 1102, 
an army of two hundred and fifty thousand was 
raised, and marched for the Holy Land ; but a part 
perished by disease on the journey, and a part fell 
by the sword of the Saracen chief of Iconium. 

The second principal Crusade was caused by the 
loss of Edessa, which the Saracens captured in 
1140; for it was feared that the Holy City would 
also fall into the hands of the infidels. The Pope 
called on the Emperor of Germany and the King 
of France to defend the cross. They readily 
obeyed the summons, and led large forces to the 
East; but they were not successful in their enter¬ 
prise, and they left Judea in a weaker state than 
they found it. This was about the year 1148: 
And in 1187, the Sultan Saladin took Jerusalem 
from the Christians, which again enkindled the 
fanaticism of Europe, and engaged the united forces 
of Germany, France and England in the holy warfare. 
This may be regarded as the third Crusade. The en¬ 
terprise under the Emperor was entirely unsuccessful; 
but the forces of France and England so far succeed¬ 
ed, that they took possession of Acre, which long 
remained the bulwark of the Christians to the East. 
Other similar enterprises were undertaken at later 
periods, under the King of Hungary and the Em¬ 
peror of Germany. The latter recaptured Jerusa¬ 
lem, but was not able to conquer the country of 
Judea. These Holy Wars were the occasion of 
numerous feats of bravery and heroism ; and served 
alike to introduce the age of Chivalry, and open 
a channel to the west for the literature of the east. 
These were the incidental benefits resulting from 
the Crusades ; while the direct object and the char¬ 
acter of the agents serve to show the weaknesses 
or vices of professing Christians; they thought to 
atone for their sins by visiting the place where the 
Saviour had suffered, rather than by imitating his 
example and copying his virtues ; and to display 
their zeal in his cause, by destroying rather than 
saving their fellow-men. 


COWPER’S COMPARISON OF VOLTAIRE TO A 
POOR COTTAGER. 

Yon cottager who weaves at her own door— 

Pillow and bobbins all her little store— 

Content though mean, and cheerful if not gay. 
Shuffling her threads about the live-long day, 

Just earns a scanty pittance, and at night, 

Lies down secure, her heart and pockets light: 

She for her humble sphere by nature fit, 

Has little understanding, and no wit; 

Receives no praise—but though her lot be such, 
(Toilsome and indigent) she renders much; 

Just knows, and knows no more, her bible true, 

A truth the brilliant Frenchman never knew. 

And in that charter reads, with sparkling eyes. 

Her title to a treasure in the skies. 

O happy peasant! Oh unhappy bard. 

His the mere tinsel, her’s the rich reward : 

He praised, perhaps, for ages yet to come. 

She never heard of, half a mile from home: 

He lost in errors, his vain heart prefers. 

She safe in the simplicity of hers 


Sir Isaac Newton was a poet as well as a math¬ 
ematician and jthilosopher. The following is the 
true language of poetry: “ The grain is God’s 
bounty, and the flowers are his smiles.^’ 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


151 


The 4th of October completed three centuries 
since the first English Bible was printed. The 
Bible had been printed before in German ; and the 
New Testament in English. This ter-centennial 
period was duly celebrated in England. And what 
can be greater cause of rejoicing, than the possession J 
of the holy scriptures, “ which are able to make us ! 
wise unto salvation,” in our vulgar language, so that i 
all may read and be sanctified and saved, by the ' 
belief of divine truth. We hope the time will soon 
come when all in Christian countries will enjoy this 
great privilege and right. There has been a great 
portion of the Christian world which have been de¬ 
nied this blessing, by those who hold the key of 
knowledge, and refuse to unlock the treasures of 
wisdom and grace. 


It appears by a letter of an English Missionary 
from the South Sea Islands, that there has lately 
been a great and lamentable falling oft' in the new 
converts there—not that they have relapsed into 
idolatry, but have become very immoral and disso¬ 
lute, which is chiefly attributed to the large intro¬ 
duction of arvlent spirits; and especially of New- 
England from the United States! The Missionary 
is probably correct in the opinion he gives, “ That 
the work of taming, civilizing and christianizing a 
barbarous people is very great and difficult.” Sud¬ 
den conversions seldom last long; and we may be 
deceived by the mere professions of the heathens. 
One great diiTu ulty is the barter in ardent sj)irits 
carried on by the English and Americans; and 
another is their immoral and licentious conduct. 



THE COMMON GOAT.— [capra.] 


The goat of the old continent is a very useful 
animal, and is found in most parts of Europe and 
Asia; particularly in the southern parts of the for¬ 
mer, and the western parts of the latter. There are 
several varieties of this animal, and all are valuable. 
The Ibex Capra is naturally very untractable, and 
yet it is from this species the common domestic 
goat has sprung. They require less watching and 
care than sheep, and are kept at less e.vpense. But 
their skin and hair are almost as valuable. The 
morocco leather is made from goat skins; it takes a 
dye better than any other skin, and is very exten¬ 
sively used. The milk is excellent, and in many 
parts of the world is that chiefly used. It is sup¬ 
posed to be very favourable in consumptive com¬ 
plaints. The flesh is much relished by some nations, 
but is far inferiour to mutton. They were domesti¬ 
cated in the most remote periods; and frequently 
were the chief support of families in retired places. 
They cannot endure extreme cold ; and yet they 
generally prefer high and bleak mountains. It is 
an agile and swift animal, and climbs the most pre¬ 
cipitous and abrupt heights. One would suppose 


they had claws like the fox or dog. The goat 
abounds in the Alps ; but that is the species called 
the Chamois goat, and its horns make a semicircle 
and are parallel. But the horns of the common 
goats are diverging, and less of a perfect curve. 
The Cashmere goat is found in Asia, in the kingdom 
of Cashmere, and is smaller than the common goat, 
but its hair is much more valuable, being long and 
fine. The Cashmere shawls are manufactured from 
the hair of this species. It has been introduced 
into France, where it has bred with another variety, 
much to the profit of the owners. The Cashmere 
is a noble species and descended from those of 
Thibet, which feed on the sides of the Himalaya 
mountains, the highest in the world. Thibet is on 
the north, and Cashmere on the south, and conse¬ 
quently warmer—but those in the colder and more 
mountainous regions produce the finest wool or hair. 
There is also the Angora goat, which has a soft, 
silky hair, of a white colour. The finest camlets 
are made of the hair of this species. The goat of 
Syria furnishes yet another species. It has remarks 
I ably long ears, and appears to have been known 














































152 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


to the Greeks at an early period. In North America 
there is a native goat of singular form and appearance. 
Some indeed, have chosen to rank it among the 
varieties of the sheep (ovis) and have given it the 
name of the mountain Sheep, as it is found on and 
about the Rocky Mountains. The first notice of 
this animal was by Clarke and Lewis. It has since 
been described by Dr. Richardson and Major Long. 
We have referred to this species in a former number. 

We give several specimens, though not of the 
Chamois or Cashmere species. It is sometimes 
asked, why the common goat or other species have 
not been more reared in this country. And per¬ 


haps, it is difficult to assign any other reason than 
that the early inhabitants accidentally had the cow 
and the sheep introduced among them, which ren¬ 
dered the keeping of goats unnecessary. The soil 
and faee of the country generally, is favourable to 
the support of the former. And yet there are some 
tracts better fitted for the goat kind. It will not 
be strange, such is the spirit of enterprise of our 
countrymen, if the Cashmere goat (or the variety 
now in France, which is partly of that species) 
should be reared in the United States for the 
manufacture of the hair. It was only fifteen years 
ago, they were carried to France. 



[goats.] 


ADVANTAGE OF DRINKING WATER. 

It is a great mistake to think that any drink is 
better for hard-working men than water. There 
was a party employed in draining by task work, in 
Richmond Park, who were patterns of English la¬ 
bourers. They worked hard from morning to night 
and in all weather, but drank only water or cof¬ 
fee. They did not even use beer. The expense 
of coffee was comparatively trifling; and they per¬ 
formed as hard a clay’s work as any men in England, 
and where often exposed to wet and cold. A proof 
of this may also be found in Capt. Ross’ recent voy¬ 
age to the Arctic regions. He says, that on a jour¬ 
ney of great difficulty and hardships, he was the 
only one of the party whose eyes were not inflamed, 
and he was the only one who did not drink grog. 
He was also the oldest of the party, yet for the same 
reason he bore the fatigue better than any of them. 
He adds, that whoever will make the experiment 
on two equal boats’ crews, rowing in a heavy sea, 
will soon be convinced that the water-drinkers will 
far out-do the others. No better testimony to this 
is required than the experience of men who work 
at iron foundries, which is the hardest labour done 
by man: But they know that they cannot perform 
it if they drink even beer, and their sole drink dur¬ 
ing the hours of this hot and heavy labour is water. 
It is a well attested fact, that when an armed brig 
was wrecked in Plymouth harbour in 1779 (the last 
of December) in a severe snow storm, the men who 
drank freely of spirits perished by the cold, while 
those who refrained wholly, or took very little, sqr- 
yjvecl till they were taken frorn the wreckf 


[From the Albany Zodiac.] 

“V^. VOBIS.”* 

“ Vse vobis,” ye, whose lip doth lave 
So deeply in the sparkling wine, 

Regardless though that passion-wave 

Shut from the soul Heaven's light divine; 

“ Vae vobis !”—heed the trumpet blast. 

Fly, ere the leprous taint is deep, 

Fly !—ere the hour of hope be past, 

And pitying angels cease to weep. 

“ Vae vobis,” ye, who fail to read 
That name which glows where’er ye tread. 

The Alpha of an infant creed. 

The Omega of the sainted dead. 

’Tis written where the pencill'd flower^ 

Their tablet to the desert show. 

And where the mountain’s rocky towers 
Frown darkly on the vale below : 

Where roll the wondrous orbs on high 
In glorious order strong and fair, 

In every letter of the sky 

That midnight graves, ’tis there—’tis there ! 

It gleams on Ocean’s wrinkled brow. 

And in the shell that gems its shore, 

And where the solemn forests bow 
“ Vse vobis,” ye, who scorn the lore. 

“ Vae vobis,” all who trust in earth. 

Who lean on reeds that peirce the breast. 

Who toss the bubble-cup of mirth. 

Or grasp ambition’s lightning-crest; 

Who early rise and late take rest. 

In mammon’s mine the care-worn slave. 

Who find each phantom race unblest, 

Yet shrink reluctant from the grave. 

- L. II. Sigourney. 

* “ Woe unto you.” 

The flagrant inconsistency of all protestant intol- 
lerance, is a poison in its veins which must de¬ 
stroy it. 














OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


153 



[a native house 

IDOLS AND IDOLATROUS HOUSE, IN WEST AFRICA. 

On an island at the mouth of the Rio Pongas, a 
river about 100 miles northwest of Sierra Leone, on 
wliich river the Church Missionary Society has a 
Siation, called Canoffee, is a small town, named 
Debora, inhabited by people of the Bagoe Nation. 
In this town there were more marks of superstition 
than usual. There were houses for the worship of 
the Devil, or of Departed Spirits, as is customary in 
the Native Towns ; and several images of Devils, to 
which they offer sacrifices. Besides these, there were 
Gregrees, or superstitious charms, on every house. 

The picture above given represents a house in 
this place. At the end of the pole which you see 
in the front, is a Gregree, which the inhabitants 
suppose will protect their dwelling from evil. Un¬ 
der the piazza, against the wall of the house, are two 
figures of Evil Spirits, the largest about a yard high. 

These figures are here drawn larger, that you 



IN WEST AFRICA.] 

may the better see how disgusting are those idols 
which these poor people worship. 

The face of the larger figure was defiled, when 
Mr. Bickersteth saw it, with the juice of the Kolah, 
a native fruit, which after having been chewed had 
been spit upon the face of the idol—the inhabitants 
thinking this an acceptable sacrifice! Tufts of 
grass are tied round, in different parts, as you see, 
of both figures; and a bag is hung in front of the 
larger. The horn which lies before It, is an offering. 
The smaller figure seemed to represent an Inferiour 
Deity. 

The natives have other superstitions connected 
with the worship of Spirits. 



This figure represents a post about a yard and 
a half high, into the head of which a small axe 
is stuck. The natives take hold of the handle of 
the axe, and repeal a form of words, in order to 
procure from the Spirits a prosperous day 1 This 
w’as seen among the Bulloms. 

The House of Spirits, or Devils’ House, which is 
found in every town, consists of a small hut, three 
or four feet high, raised on posts, and thatched with 
straw, far meaner than the poorest hovel. Beneath 
this roof is a nest of termites, or large ants; or 
there are sticks set upright. On the top of the 
nest or sticks are placed stones; a^id there are gen 
erally by the side a broken plate and a broken jug 
or bottle. 


20 











































































154 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Figures of two of these Houses :— 



Before these Houses the blood of bulls, goats, or 
r-ocks, is sprinkled; and a libation of palm-wine is 
poured out, and an offering of fruits or rice occa¬ 
sionally made. 

So degraded are these people in their notions of 
<iod and of his worship! 

Yet they are very kind and hospitable; and, if 
i^ie dreadful Slave Trade, carried on among them 
ijy Europeans, did not set one man against another, 
tney would soon gladly open their Towns for the 
» reaching of the Gospel, as the Missionaries have 
found by experience. 

When Mr. Bickersteth visited the Bagoe Town, 
v'here the House stood which you see in the first 
j icture, the people were very kind. They brought 
fish and a cock, as presents; and, in order to get 
sijme palm-wine for him and the Missionary Nylan- 
der who accompanied him, a man quickly mounted 
a high palm-tree, by the help of a hoop which goes 
round the tree, and against which he presses his 
I ack, as you see in the pictu-re. In this manner 
tiey mounted very rapidly, and fetch down the 
wine, which has distilled from gashes or holes which 
they make in the head of the tree, into a bottle 
[»laced to catch it. 

Mr. Nylander said to these people, in their own 
broken way of talking—“ Many good things in this 
place; but one thing bad I see here—people not 
know God, and therefore not love him, and not go 
to him when they die.” They said, those were 
true words. Mr. Bickersteth asked them—“ Would 
vou like that White Men should come, and tell you 
iibout God, and teach his book to you?”—They 
said they should like it very much: those were good 
words that he had said to them. 

Potatoes growing on a Cornstalk .—An Ohio 
editor says, he has in his possession a Cornstalk to 
which are attached firmly and growing, five or six 
potatoes, precisely similar to those on a potato root. 



PHENOMENON IN NATURAL HISTORY. 

We give the following 'statement without any 
alteration or addition: But we have no reason to 
doubt the truth of the account. ^ 

Mr. Editor,—Your Magazine being devoted, in 
a great measure to American, and natural curiosi¬ 
ties, I communicate for insertion, a sketch of what 
I conceive to be an anomalous production of nature. 

On the sixteenth day of August, 1821, as I was 
following the cradler in the harvest field, I found a 
head of wheat (summer wheat) on which was grow¬ 
ing, with the wheat, a grain of oats. The above 
picture will illustrate the manner in which the two 
different kinds of grain were growing. 

The w’heat and oats w'ere both perfect and plump, 
with full berries and chaff I kept the stalk several 
days as a great curiosity, and exhibited it to many, 
when a rude person, to satisfy a foolish freak, pick¬ 
ed it apart. 

The cause of this singular production is a subject 
that will puzzle the naturalist and philosopher. 

I shall venture a few hints as to the cause of this 
departure from the regular order of nature. 

All substances constituting the nourishment and 
growth of vegetables are carried from the roots 
through the various parts by capillary attraction . 
excepting such substances as may be absorbed 
through the external surface, which, however, is but 
a small proportion of the constituent substances. 
Oats are a coarser grain than wheat—formed of 
larger particles, which ascend in larger capillaries. 

The capillaries in the lower parts of plants are 
conceived to be larger than in the immediate vicin¬ 
ity of the fruit where the substances are refined for 
the fruit. This being the case, and an obstruction 
interposing in one of the capillaries, the fluid sub¬ 
stances burst forth and formed the coarser grain , 
not being able further to ascend to be digested for 
a superiour berry, the cruder substances formed the 
coarser grain. Thomas Barlow. 


For the ventilation of a stage coach, some one 
has suggested the following mode : That the sashes, 
instead of being glazed, as at present, and the panel 
formed by a pane of glass, should 1)6 of wire-gauze, 
such as is commonly used for window blinds. The 
coach would thus be amply ventilated without an¬ 
noyance to any one by a current of air; and in case 
of rain, the sashes might be kept up without the 
choice of evils at present experienced, either to be 
wet through or suffocated. 














































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


ir,5 



FRESH POND. 


This is a beautiful lake, or sheet of water, of about 
two miles circumference, lying in the west part of 
Cambridge, and near the northeastern bounds of 
Watertown. It is little more than a mile distant 
from the Colleges, and on the north side of a public 
road leading from Boston into the country. It is 
separated from Mount Auburn by this road, and a 
small tract of land. The land on the east and south 
of the pond is rich and well cultivated ; the margin 
on the northwest is low and wet, and covered with 
forest trees. This lake is visited by parties of young 
men from the University, and from Boston, for fish¬ 
ing and sport. It contains the small fish usually 
found in fresh ponds in this section of the country; 
as perch, shiners and pickerel. Large and conve¬ 
nient boats are kept for the accommodation of the 
visitors ; some with sails, and some with oars only. 
There is also a good house on the eastern side of 
the lake, for the entertainment of those who repair 
thither, for fishing or other recreation; and the 
early summer fruits may always be found there in 
abundance. It has long been a favourite resort for 
the inhabitants of Cambridge and Boston, and the 
students in the University. Most strangers, visiting 
Boston in spring and summer, go to Fresh-pond. 
It is a very pleasant ride of about four miles. But 
a few hours, generally, is a sufficient time to satisfy 
the visitors, unless they choose to go in the boats 
for fishing. The scenery is beautiful, and the vi¬ 
cinity of Mount Auburn, probably induces many to 
visit the Lake. Nahant, and other places on the 
seacoast in the vicinity of Boston, are now much fre- 
ouented by the citizens and strangers, especially in 


the summer months. The cooi sea-breezes and 
invigorating air of these jdaces invite to a residence, 
for a longer or shorter time, as business or conveti 
ience will permit. In spring, the e.vpeit angler 
prefers the running streams, to draw out the den 
cate trout; but in the hotter days of summer, he 
loiters on the projecting rocks and headlands round 
the salt bays, to seize the finny tribe of the ocean. 

An eighty feet Magnoli.v. —A resident of Mo¬ 
bile, Alabama, says, this is the land of flowers, of 
every variety, from the small picaroon Rose to the 
lofty and magnificent Magnolia. It is an ever¬ 
green, and here grows to the height of eighty feet 
and more. The leaves are of the deepest green, 
and so thick that the limbs are seldom seen. The 
blossom is of pure white, five or six inches diameter, 
and of very agreeable fragrance. This beautiful 
tree grows in great abundance in the forests near 
Mobile ; where also are found the cucumber tree, a 
species of the Magnolia, and bearing still larger 
flowers ; the acacia, &-c. 


We quote the following from a late paper; Tlie 
library, we believe, is much indebted to the late 
Emperor of Portugal. 

“ The public library at Rio Janeiro is an edifice 
connected with the Emperor’s palace, and contains 
about 70,000 volumes, most of which are very an¬ 
cient. It contains a copy of the first printed 
tion of the Bible, on parchment, impressed in 1471, 
by the wonderful mechanism of John Faust, the 
inventor of printing.” 





































































































































156 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE COMET. 

Halley’s Comet, of which so much has oee.i writ¬ 
ten and predicted for some time past, and which, 
according to the calculations of the most respectable 
astronomers, was to appear in August or Septem¬ 
ber, was discovered by the learned Professors of 
Yale College, in Connecticut, on the night follow¬ 
ing the 30th of August last, about two hours after 
midnight; and again the following night, at the 
same hour: and also for several successive nights, 
including the 3d of September. It was discovered 
by them through a telescope; and it was not then 
to be seen by the naked eye. The place in the 
heavens where it was discovered is very nearly that 
which had been previously pointed out by astrono¬ 
mers, who had calculated the period of its revolu¬ 
tion. It was in the northeast, and between the 
seven stars (pleiades) and the planet Jupiter; and 
nearest to the latter. Its apparent diameter two 
minutes ; its right ascension (at two o’clock, A. M.) 
was 5h. 51m. and its declination N. 

The Comet was also seen by a gentleman of Nan¬ 
tucket on the morning of the 4th of September, 
three o’clock, A. M. But it was so distant, that a 
glass of moderate power presented merely a faint 
light of triangular form. The Comet was seen by 
a citizen of Philadelphia, at half past three o’clock 
on the morning of 6th, with a telescope of three 
and a half feet, and a power of twenty. It was 
seen again on the morning of the 8th, from two to 
four o’clock, when it appeared brighter than on 
the 6th. 

The Comet was visible, without the help of a tele¬ 
scope, on the evening of the 8th of October, and 
continued to be distinctly seen, (with some tail, 
though faint,) for thirty days in the northwest and 
west, and nearer the western horizon every succeed¬ 
ing evening, till it was lost in the light of the Sun. 
Its motion was very rapid, and for a few nights, its 
appearance was very brilliant, yet without so spa¬ 
cious a tail as it had in its last visit seventy-five 
years ago, if vve may judge from the description 
then given of it. Mr. Downes of Boston, saw it 
the night between the 4th and 5th of September by 
help of a telescope. It was seen in Europe as early 
as the 5th of August, twenty-five days earlier than 
in America. Professor Farrar, of Harvard Univer¬ 
sity, saw the Comet the morning of the 19th of Sep¬ 
tember at three o’clock, through a telescope two 
feet long, with an object-glass of two and a half 
inches diameter, and magnifying twelve times; and 
also with a terrestrial telescope, of three and a half 
feet, having five glasses and magnifying forty times. 
He supposed it might be then seen with a good 
seaman’s glass, or day-glass. He found the body 
of the Comet to subtend an angle about five times 
greater than the planet Jupiter. The appearance 
agreed very nearly with the description before given 
of it. It was like the faint, diffuse light of a star 
seen though a thick mist. Mr. Farrar says he could 
discover nothing like a nucleus ; yet the light was 
stronger at and near the centre, and became fainter 
till it gradually vanished in an ill-defined and circu¬ 
lar outline. He adds, that it is six days later than 
most previous calculations had fixed on, but the last 
luid revised predictions qf Pontecouelaut fixing the 


perihelium of the Comet on the 13th of Novembec 
Mr. Farrar judged correct, from the time of its 
passing our globe. The Professor also noticed the 
Comet on the morning of the 21st of Septem¬ 
ber. Its right ascension was then (at three o’clock) 
estimated at 6h. 12’, and its declination 30® 17’ N 
W. The corresponding elements on the 19th, 6h. 
7’, and 29® 50’ N., at the same hour in the morn¬ 
ing. If it happen to pass over a star, he says, its 
place can be fixed with great precision ; and one may 
also decide something of the physical constitution 
of the Comet; for in some instances a star has been 
seen through the centre of one of these bodies; 
thus proving it probable the nucleus is not solid, 
like the eartli or planets. This remark has been 
made before, and by different astronomers. On 
the 21st September, the Comet was again observed, 
(and often still later) when it was brighter and ap¬ 
peared larger. It had approached nearer the earth- 
It was then also seen by a few persons with the 
naked eye. Its motion has been computed to be 
at the rate of 10,000,000 miles in a month, or more. 
The earth is distant from the Sun about 95,000,000, 
and the Comet, when nearest the earth, was about 
half that distance. 

Dr. Winthrop, professor in the University at 
Cambridge, when Halley’s Comet made its last ap¬ 
pearance, in 1759, observed it carefully, and de¬ 
scribed and spoke of its elements fully ; and he cal¬ 
culated its return at the close of 1834. In this he 
was mistaken, and so were some other Astronomers 
in England. These errors as to the exact time of 
its return, are imputed to the supposition that the 
Comet is disturbed and retarded in its motion by 
the attractive power of large planets, near which it 
may approach in some part of its path or orbit. In 
its aphelion it is computed to be 2,800,000,000, 
distant from the Sun ; in its perihelium 47,000,000. 
The motion of the Comet was supj)osed to be ac¬ 
celerated on its approach to our system. Its orbit 
is so elliptical, that its greatest distance is as 60 to 1, 
of its nearest approach to the Sun. In its course, 
it was within the orbit of Venus, but not within the 
orbit of Mercury. Dr. Winthrop says, its return in 
1759 was the seventh on record. It was then visi¬ 
ble here but a few days on its approach to the Sun ; 
but was seen again after passing its perihelium. 
The longest axis of its orbit, was reckoned seven¬ 
teen times greater than that of the earth. Its near¬ 
est approach to tlie Sun then, was April 25th, 1759. 
Now it is fixed at November 13th, 1835, making its 
period seventy-six years and nearly seven months. 
On its return from its perihelium point, it will be 
again visible for a short time. 

“ The d iscoveries and inventions of men, are but 
the results of mental efforts : they usually multiply 
with the exertions of reason. Free inquiry leads to 
important truths: And restraints on free inquiry 
must prevent the increase of knowledge.” 

Improvement in washing white clothes. —Take 
five gallons soft water, add half a gallon of lime 
water, a pint and a half of soft soap or a pound ol 
hard soap, and two ounces of caibonate of soda 
But it does not succeed in calicoes and woollens. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


157 



VIEW OF TREMONT STREET, BOSTOxN. 


The name of this Street is traced to that given 
the peninsula, in 1630, by the first settlers at Charles¬ 
town, on the north side of the river. They called it 
Trimontain, on account of three hills to be seen 
on it. The street ran by the eastern base of one 
of these hills. But the enterprising citizens have 
removed the mountain, near which the avenue 
wound its way. The street remains, but has been 
made of much greater width and reduced nearly to 
a level. The city has still the misfortune to have 
many narrow avenues. Great improvements have 


been made in this respect however, within a few 
years. But the work is not yet complete. From 
Court Street, Tremont Street extends southeast of 
Phillips-place, and the adjoining lots, which will 
soon be covered with elegant dwelling houses; 
passes the King’s Chapel, so yclept in ante-revolu¬ 
tionary times; the Cemetery inclosed with a plain, 
neat granite wall; the new block of buildings, on 
that and Beacon Streets ; the spacious and elegant 
Tremont-IIouse ; the new Theatre; another and 
larger Cemetery, crowded with sepulchral monuments 





















































































































































































































































































158 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


and stones; Park Street Church; Hamilton-place; 
when an extensive lawn, or common, ornamented 
with walks and trees, bursts upon the view on the 
right, with a distant prospect of the western bay 
and the country beyond ; on the left a large block 
of stone dwellinghouses, succeeded farther on, by 
a block of elegant brick buildings, St. Paul’s 
Chuich, the Masonic Temple, the entrance of Tem¬ 
ple-place, and a row of handsome houses for the 
distance of eighty rods still further, and the Common 
still lying on the west side of the street, with a wide 
mall studded with lofty elms, for a border between. 
This street is near the centre of the city. For bus¬ 
tle and business and crowds, State Street, Washing¬ 
ton Street (which extends from State Street to the 
extreme south part of the town) and Kilby Street 
and Broad Street, surpass it. But for neatness, and 
appearance, and for effect with stranger-visitors, 
Tremont Street, with its spacious edifices, and the 
Common, must be allowed far superiour. 


MAMMOTH CHEESES. 

We have received a long account from a com¬ 
mittee of Pulaski, of several uncommonly large 
Cheeses, made the last season by Col. T. S. Meach- 
am of Sandy Creek, Oswego County, N. Y. and 
near the flourishing village of Pulaski. We are 
happy to take notice of all instances indicating the 
agricultural prosperity of our country, and the spir¬ 
ited efforts of the people. The statement partakes 
a little of the boasting style, which is too common 
among us; but we sincerely rejoice to hear of the 
rich products of the United States, whether owing 
to the farmer or the manufacturer; and their enter¬ 
prises we cordially applaud and celebrate. 

The largest of these Cheeses is two feet thick and 
eleven feet in circumference, weighing 1400 pounds ; 
which is inscribed to Andreiv Jackson, President 
of the United States; and designed for a present to 
him. A belt incloses it, having a suitable inscrip¬ 
tion, referring to his great services for the Repub¬ 
lic. There are two others, weighing 750 pounds 
each; and intended as presents to Martin Van 
Buren, Vice President of the United States, and to 
William L. Marcy, Governor of the State of New 
York. The expense incurred for these articles is 
met by numerous citizens of New York, who have 
contributed for that purpose. There are several 
others, of 700 pounds each ; one for the Congress 
of the United States—one to the Legislature of 
New York; one to the City of Washington; and 
one to Daniel Webster, with the words following; 
“ Liberty and union, one and inseparable, now and 
forever.” The other Cheeses also have inscriptions 
appropriate to the individuals or corporations, to 
which they are presented. We hope they w’ill 
reach the persons for whom they are destined in 
good order; and serve to extend the fame of the 
industrious and generous architect, through the 
country. Oswego is a rich and fertile region, and 
is distinguished, in the empire State, for its good 
farms and enterprising inhabitants. The publishers 
of the American Magazine would be thankful for a 
cheese of half the weight of the smallest above de¬ 
scribed. Col. Meacham must excuse us for not giving 


all the inscriptions and embellishments: They wc'uld 
take up too much room; and we think they would 
not, if inserted, add any thing to the reputation or 
the value of his cheeses. 


[From tlie Nantucket Inquirer.—By W. Folger.] 
MAGNETIC NEEDLE. 

I noticed an article in some paper a short time 
since, stating that “ the polarity of any magnetite 
needle will be destroyed in a few minutes, by thrust¬ 
ing it into an onion.” Although I knew of no 
“ chemico magnetic principle ” in an onion that 
could produce the efl’ect alleged, I concluded to 
make the experiment. I communicated magnetism 
to a sewing needle, and floated it on a small piece 
of paper on water in a tea-cup; it immediately 
swung round, and rested in the magnetic meridian, 
with the eye end pointing towards the North. J 
then placed an onion so as to present difl’erent parts 
of its surface near the poles of the magnet; but 
could not discover the least change in the direction 
of the needle. I afterwards thrust the needle into 
the onion, and there suffered it to remain four 
hours; but its polarity did not appear to be at all 
affected. The other end of the needle was treated 
in the same way, with the same result; and after 
having reversed the experiment several times, [ 
could not perceive the polarity to be disturbed, or 
the strength of the magnet to be in any manner im¬ 
paired. At one time the needle remained in the 
onion about twenty hours. 


The Zodiac. —We are obliged by the receipt of 
the fourth number of a monthly publication with 
the above title, printed in Albany. We do not 
attach much importance to a name, and we rather 
doubt the propriety of such appellations, for papers 
or magazines, as ‘ the Globe,’ ‘ the Orb,’ ‘ the Sun,’ 
and ‘ the Zodiac,’ of a local and terrestrial circula¬ 
tion. The Zodiac, however, at least the portion 
we have explored, gives a bright and steady light. 
It does not glare like a meteor, nor astonish like a 
comet; but it aftbrds a mild and pleasant radiance. 
One may look upon it without being compelled to 
turn away on account of an overpowering lustre; 
but the light is sufficient to guide and to cheer, 
without dazzling to deceive. We hope it will con¬ 
tinue to shine with a uniform brightness ; which we 
think more useful, than temporary and fitful coi 
ruscations, succeeded as they generally are by 
greater darkness, and often by a pestilential atmos¬ 
phere. — 

A new mode of j>ropogating the Peach .—A 
peach stone sent from Ohio to Rerkshire Count), 
Massachusetts, by accident was broken, and in at 
tempting to separate the meat from the stone, that 
was also broken into two parts. Half of it was in 
sorted, by making an incision in the bark, into an 
egg-plumb tree, six inches from the ground. Th«- 
bark was closed over the meat, and earth throwi 
about the root of the tree, so as to compress tin 
bark and keep out the air. This was in April last 
and on the first of October, the shoot from the peaci 
had grown six feet, strong and erect; and a roo 
also from the plumb of little more than six feet. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


159 


INNOVATION. 

One of the greatest dangers which menace the 
welfare of our country, arises from a general and 
uncontrolled desire of innovation. The advocates 
of rational and constitutional liberty are the sin¬ 
cere friends of improvement; and they are gene¬ 
rally in favour of change, so far as it is called for 
by the present state of society, and so far as it 
promises an amelioration of the condition of the 
whole people. But they fear the effects of an in¬ 
judicious change, which is urged by the reckless 
and inexperienced, without a calculation of the 
evils and mischiefs which are likely to ensue, or a 
due regard to the nature of man, as proved by facts 
ever since civil society was formed. Because some 
changes have proved useful and may be justified, it 
is concluded that other and greater alterations in 
human governments will be for the benefit of man¬ 
kind. Our fathers resisted arbitrary power and 
oppressive laws; and this is made a plea for op¬ 
posing all law and order. Our fathers contended 
for liberty; and therefore we are ready to think it 
our duty or right to contend for freedom to any 
extent, and under any circumstances. But they 
were the advocates of constitutional liberty; liberty 
with law, and regulated by law; they condemned 
misrule and licentiousness, and violence and mobs, 
with as much zeal and decision as they opposed 
tyranny and oppression. Their conduct can never 
be justly pleaded as an apology for the reck¬ 
less spirit of innovation which many now manifest 
in our country, or for weakening the legal provi¬ 
sions which protect the innocent from the vicious, 
and preserve the peace of the community. 

In the old governments of Europe, no doubt, 
changes are required in many laws and institutions 
which had their origin in times of feudal oppression. 
These governments were founded in conquest and 
power ; and have been maintained by force, with¬ 
out regard to the rights or happiness of the people. 
Numerous abuses had long existed, owing to the 
unjust prerogatives of princes, and the exclusive 
privileges enjoyed by the nobles. The great mass 
of the people had no more power or liberty than 
kings and lords were pleased to allow them. Great 
abuses have also existed, in the old continent, in 
ecclesiastical institutions. The people were kept 
in ignorance, as the best way to deceive and oppress 
them. What the prince and barons spared was 
seized by the priests ; and the treasures of the 
church were augmented through the poverty and 
distress of the lower classes, for whose relief and 
comfort religion is designed. 

Every true republican and every benevolent man 
must rejoice that light is pouring into these coun¬ 
tries, where darkness and error have long brood¬ 
ed ; that the spirit of civil liberty is awake and ac¬ 
tive ; and that changes are taking place, so far as 
they are favourable to the rights and happiness of 
men. We rejoice, that the power of princes has 
been in some measure restrained and regulated ; 
that feudal lords have less authority over their vas¬ 
sals, and that the claims of ecclesiastical usurpation 
are resisted and lessening. We rejoice even that 
the oppressions and abuses which have long af¬ 
flicted our father-land are being gradually correct¬ 


ed and removed. We shotdd regret to witness a 
sudden and entire revolution of the British gov¬ 
ernment; for we think it would be attended with 
great extravagances and great sufferings, and we 
believe that there is much liberty and much enjoyment 
in that kingdom, so that a gradual reform would pro¬ 
duce all the good desired, without convulsion and 
without violence. But we think we see reasons 
for many changes in tha\ country, and that real 
reforms may be effected, in several departments. 
Some have already been brought about within a few' 
years; and others probably w'ill follow, producing 
results favourable to the liberty and comfort of the 
whole people. 

In this country, there is no such call for change 
in the law's and institutions under which we have 
lived and prospered for many years past. Inno¬ 
vations in this land of republican freedom would 
not promote our happiness, would not prove a real 
reform, except perhaps, in a very few cases. The dis¬ 
position for innovation and change then, among us, 
is rather ominous of mischief than of improvement; 
and the friends of republican freedom are called 
upon to oppose the radical spirit of the day. 

We would hope that this desire of change and 
alteration, so frequently manifested, does not arise 
from a really bad spirit, seeking misrule and anar¬ 
chy, or a levelling of the necessary and natural dis¬ 
tinctions in society; but from a mistaken opinion, 
hastily adopted, that great changes are required by 
the spirit of the age, and would result in the greater 
happiness of the people, for whose benefit all laws 
and governments should be designed. But the 
plans of well-disposed men, if contrary to past ex¬ 
perience, and founded in erroneous views of society 
and of man, are not only visionary but dangerous; 
and should be opposed by the w ise and prudent, as 
well as the radical theories of those who would 
throw society into confusion that they might de¬ 
rive benefit from the plunder. 

Our present danger lies in the wild plans of pre¬ 
tended reform from the young and inexperienced, 
or from foreigners who have settled in the country, 
but do not fully understand the nature and princi¬ 
ples of our institutions. Let us be cautious how 
we change the “ laws and customs ” which have 
given us so much liberty and security. The chan¬ 
ges which would be real improvements are proba¬ 
bly very few. Crimes must be punished, laws must 
be executed, government must be upheld, our reli¬ 
gious and literary institutions must be continued. 
Still it becomes the people to see that the criminal 
is not punished too severely ; that the laws are 
agreeable to the spirit of the Constitution ; that the 
men who administer the government do not assume 
and exercise more power than the Constitution and 
the laws give them ; and that literary and religious 
institutions do not become exclusive, so as to give 
greater privileges and benefits to one class of citi¬ 
zens than to others. The Constitution is designed 
to guarantee equal rights and privileges to all. One 
great preventive of radical and frequent changes is 
to pass only equal laws, and such as will be for the 
benefit of all w'ho are virtuous, sober and industri¬ 
ous, be they poor or rich. We should guard 
against all monopolies, and all legislation for the 



160 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


benefit of a few. For as surely as we do this, 
changes will follow, or be attempted; and discon¬ 
tents will arise, and struggles be made to remove 
what unequal laws have produced; and revolution 
or distressing reforms will close the scene. 


AND NOW ABIDE FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY-THESE THREE 

-BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY. 

Faith holds tlie lamp which guides our feet 
To him who fills the mercy-seal; 

And Hope supports the pilgrim weary, 

To make this earth appear less dreary; 

Life’s travels these, with life they ’re gone! 

Yet, still exists a nobler one; 

Love fills, on earth, the Christian’s breast, 

And dwells in heaven among the blest. 

ANIMAL MAGNETISM. 

Considerable interest was e.xcited on this subject, 
about half a century ago, in France, and e.xperi- 
ments were made to test the existence and power 
of such a principle. But nothing was decided by 
the experiments then made. For though some ef¬ 
fects were produced which led the advocates of the 
doctrine to believe in it, others resolved the appear¬ 
ances and motions into imagination or deception. 
Still there have been a few, during the period men¬ 
tioned, who have favoured the theory; and some 
of them men of science and philosophy. They 
contend, that there is an attractive power or sympa¬ 
thy between all homogeneous bodies. The great 
and universal law of the universe affords proof of 
this fact. There is every where in operation an at¬ 
tractive power or influence. Electricity is of a 
similar power, and produces similar effects. There 
is also a magnetic power in certain bodies, which 
produces astonishing results. Why may there not 
be a corresponding power in animals, or of which 
animals are susceptible ? Animal heat, as is well 
known, may be communicated from one animal to 
another: and the suspended or dormant powers of 
the animal are revived by the application of animal 
heat. The aged are sometimes advised to keep the 
young and healthy in contact with them, for the 
purpose of giving heat and strength to the system. 

All this may be admitted, for it is supported by 
facts ; but the question recurs,—to what extent 
can this animal power operate, and is it capable of 
quickening any one of the senses, as hearing, or 
seeing? The supposition is, that the magnetizer 
or operator imparts a vivifying, strengthening power 
to the magnetizee: And it is therefore only the more 
healthy and robust who are able to produce any 
benefit to those more feeble, or diseased. The 
operation is generally by close contact and rubbing: 
but sometimes by passing the hand near the mag¬ 
netizee : And thus one who has animal powers p/ws, 
communicates a portion to one who is minus: as 
in electricity or metallic magnetism. Something 
of the temper and disposition is said to be thus im¬ 
parted ; and it is even pretended, that the magni- 
tizer is sensible of losing a portion of his former 
usual power. The magnetizee gradually perceives 
an increase of strength, and also a serene and 
pleasant sensation, which leads to sleep, but not to 
a suspension of the senses. For in this state of 
apparent sleep, they converse as though they saw, 
and perform and predict many things of a very won- 


I derful character; too extraordinary to be credited 
except that they are verified by respectable wit¬ 
nesses. 

Some cases recently narrated in a publication 
of the French Academy, with the sanction of re¬ 
spectable characters as to the truth in their opinion, 
are thought worthy of record ; nor do we perceive 
how they can be considered as the ctfects of the 
imagination alone. 

A lady, afflicted with a cancer in her breast, sub¬ 
mitted to be magnetized to remove the pain, or to 
weaken the sense of sufi’ering. Magnetizing, it 
should be observed, produces apparent sleep, or 
somnambulism, as one of its efi'ects. A celebrated 
surgeon who visited the lady, though not an ope¬ 
rator in magnetism, w’as willing the experiment 
should be tried, as he saw no other hope of saving 
her life. The lady was magnetized, and a state of 
sleep followed, when the surgeon cut out the can¬ 
cer. The patient was not sensible of the opera¬ 
tion, being kept asleep for two days by the mag¬ 
netizer. 

It is still more surprising, that a person magnet¬ 
ized into a state of apparent sleep, or somnam¬ 
bulism, will perform acts requiring the greatest 
attention and judgment, and is able to see, or to act 
as one who has his sight, when the sense of seeing 
is thus suspended. A case is stated of a Mr. Petit, 
who being magnetized into a state of sleep, could 
play at picquet with great dexterity. It w'as im¬ 
possible to deceive or embarrass him. His eyes 
were closed, but the ball of the eye seemed to 
move under the eyelids, and to follow the motions 
of the hands. Wide and thick bandages were 
placed over the eyes, still the man attended to th/} 
game, in all respects as one who saw. When after¬ 
wards he was suffered to take repose, and the mag¬ 
netizer ceased his operations, and the man awoke, 
he said he had no recollection of any thing which 
took place while he was asleep. 

What is even more wonderful, it is stated, that a 
person thus magnetized into sleep is able to de¬ 
termine what his disease or debility is owing to, and 
what will operate a cure. He can even predict when 
and what disease would afflict him, and the best 
remedy for his disorder. 

Another magnetized person was able by a touch 
to determine the disease and constitutional temper¬ 
ament of any one presented to him. These are 
wonderful relations; too strange, perhaps, to be 
credited, or to be repeated. But they are stated in 
a report of learned men appointed to investigate the 
subject. The wonders performed by a somnambu¬ 
list in this country which have been publicly related, 
are somewhat similar to those above referred to. 
But the state of apparent sleep was not produced 
by animal magnetism; and remains a wonder to be 
explained. To say that these persons are very deli¬ 
cately constituted, and of extraordinary suscepti¬ 
bility, is not sufficient to account for these wonders. 
For the patients do not feel and suffer exquisitely; 
but they see, discern and discriminate with more 
power and accuracy than those in health. Not 
only are their senses more acute; but they can see 
with closed eyes, and judge correctly without pre¬ 
vious knowledge ’ • 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


161 



PASSAGE BETWEEN ICE ISLANDS.—[From a Design of Capt. Ross.] 


Soon after the discovery of America by Columbus, 
near the close of the fifteenth century, several expe¬ 
ditions were undertaken to seek for a passage to 
India, by sailing westerly from Euro[)e. There was 
an opinion prevailing, tliat such a passage might be 
found in the high northern latitudes. The ships of 
discovery fitted out for this purpose in England, in 
the sixteenth, and early in the seventeenth century, 
went far north, and they discovered Hudson’s Bay, 
Baffin’s Bay, and Davis’s Straits, visited a great part 
of Labrador coast and Greenland, even to the 80th 
degree.* But they were not able to find a passage 
to India or Asia, in that direction, as many had 
hoped and expected. And as the survey of the 
coast was chiefly made, a long period intervened, 
without much attention or efibrt towards such a 
discovery. In 1789, Mackenzie, who had visited 
the English Fur Companies north of Canada, de¬ 
scended the river now bearing his name, and dis¬ 
covered the Arctic Sea, which revived the hope of 
finding a passage by water to the north of Asia, in 
a high northern latitude of the American continent. 
July, 1818, a project was formed, for an expedition 

* Greenland was visited and settled hy Danes and Norwegians as 
early as the tenth or eleventh century : but was afterwards long 
neglacted, and wlien search was made for the inhabitants in the 
seventeenth century, none could he found. Since, however, it is 
said some of the race remain in the interimir. An opinion has also 
been given by some writers, that Norlli .Xmerica was first settled 
by this early company from the north of Europe. Some Esqui¬ 
maux have been found tliere. But those people are very different 
from the Indians of the more northern parts of North America. 
Whether Greenland is an island, or is joined to the Continent, is 
uncertain, though now supposed to he an island. 


to seek a passage by Davis’s Strait, round the north 
extremity of America, and westward to Behring’s 
Straits: And also another to proceed north and 
northeast to the sea of Spitzbergen, or polar sea, 
and if possible to reach Behring’s Straits round the 
north of Europe and Asia. The latter expedition 
consisted of two ships under Captains Franklin and 
Buchan, and proceeded north to latitude 80° 30’, 
when the ship commanded by Capt. Buchan, was 
driven by a storm among ice-bergs, and so much 
injured as to be unable to continue on the expedi¬ 
tion. She returned, and Capt. Franklin judged it 
proper to accompany her back to Englaml. 

Captains Ross and Parry, in two ships, left 
Shetland in April, 1818, and passed Cape Farewell, 
the southern extremity of Greenland, in latitude 60®, 
the last of May. They soon met numerous islands of 
ice of different dimensions, and of great height. 
After passing some distance up Davis’s Straits, on the 
west of Greenland, the ice-bergs were more nume¬ 
rous, and obliged them to pass near the Greenland 
coast. The navigation, in 70 and 73° lat., became 
very dangerous, on account both of the fields and 
islands of ice. We may form some idea of the ob¬ 
stacles they met and the dangers which surrounded 
them, from a view given by Capt. Ross of the 
mountains of ice lying in their passage, which is 
here presented. Tlie utmost skill and activity were 
necessary to preserve the ships from destruction. 
And yet ships from Europe often visit these parts 
for wliale-fishing. At the lime Captains Ross and 
Parry were there, about forty whale ships were iq 
the vicinity. Both Captains Ross and Parry have 

21 































































162 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


made several voyages for the purpose of discov¬ 
ery in the north part of America since, in which 
they have displayed g/eat courage and perseverance, 
but without success as to the object they had in 
view. Accounts of these voyages have been pub¬ 
lished. But it appears pretty well settled, that there 
is no passage by water,which can ever be of prac¬ 
tical utility : For it must be so far north, as to be 
attended with almost insuperable difficult’es, and 
most imminent danger. Whether the continent 
continues to the north pole, or very near it, then is 
of little importance to be known. 

WOOD FLOUR. 

It has been of late clearly proved that all the chief 
alimentary matters employed by man may be redu¬ 
ced to three classes, viz., saccharine, oily, and albu¬ 
minous substances, the most perfect specimens of 
which are respectively sugar, butter, and white of 
egg. The saccharine principle, in its extended 
sense, includes all those substances which are chiefly 
derived from the vegetable kingdom—means, in 
fact, the same thing as what we commonly call vege¬ 
table diet. It comprehends all those substances, 
whatever their sensible properties may be, into the 
composition of which the hydrogen and oxygen 
enter in the proportion in which they form water;— 
for example—what perhaps may not a little surprise 
the reader—the fibre of wood, which chemists call 
lignin. Much skilful manipulation and delicacy of 
experiment were required to establish this result; 
but the nutritive property of the woody fibre—in 
short, that a tolerably good quartern loaf can be 
made out of a deal board—has been proved by the 
recent labours of a German Professor, and may be 
verified by any one who will take the trouble to re¬ 
peat them :— 

To make wood-flour in perfection, according to 
Professor Autenrieth, the wood, after being thor¬ 
oughly stripped of its bark, is to be sawed trans¬ 
versely into disks of about an inch in diameter. 
The saw-dust is to be preserved, and the disks are 
to be beaten to fibres in a pounding-mill. The 
fibres and saw-dust, mixed together, are next to be 
deprived of every thing harsh and bitter which is 
soluble in water, by boiling them, where fuel is 
abundant, or by subjecting them for a longer time 
to the action of cold water, which is easily done by 
enclosing them in a strong sack, which they only 
half fill, and beating the sack with a stick, or tread¬ 
ing it with the feet in a rivulet. The whole is then 
to be completely dried, either in the sun or by fire, 
and repeatedly ground in a flour-mill. The ground 
wood is next baked into small flat cakes, with water 
rendered slightly mucilaginous by the addition of 
some decoction of linseed, mallow stalks and leaves, 
lime-tree bark, or any other such substance. Pro¬ 
fessor Autenrieth prefers marshmallow roots, of 
which one ounce renders eighteen quarts of water 
sufficiently mucilaginous, and these serve to form 
four pounds and a half of wood-flour into cakes. 
These cakes are baked until they are brown on the 
surface. After this they are broken to pieces, and 
again ground, until the flour pass through a fine 
boulting-cloth, and upon the fineness of the flour 
jloes its fitness to make bread depend. The flour of 


a hard wood, such as beech, requires the process of 
baking and grinding to be repeated. Wood-flour 
does not ferment so readily as wheaten-flour, but 
the Professor found fifteen pounds of birv.h-wood 
flour, with three pounds of sour wheat-leaven, and 
two pounds of wheat-flour, mixed up with eight 
measures of new milk, yielded thirty-six pounds of 
very good bread. The learned Professor tried the 
nutritious properties of wood-flour, in the first in¬ 
stance, upon a young dog; afterwards he fed two 
pigs upon it; and then, taking courage from the 
success of the experiment, he attacked it himself. 
His family party, he says, ate it in the form of gruels 
or soup, dumplings and pancakes, all made with as 
little of any other ingredient as possible; and found 
them palatable and quite wholesome. Are„we, 
then, instead of looking upon a human being stretch¬ 
ed upon a bare plank as the picture of extreme 
want and wretchedness, "to regard him as reposing 
in the lap of abundance, and consider, henceforth, 
the common phrase ‘ bed and board ’ as compounded 
of synonymous terms ?—London Cluarterly. 


MAMMOTH VEGETABLES : PRODUCTS OF WESTERN 

OHIO. 

The following list and description of mammoth 
growths are taken from papers published in the 
IState of Ohio. Some of the statements almost ex¬ 
ceed belief; but they are said to be given on author¬ 
ity sufficient to entitle them to credit. 

A Radish in Clark County, weighing twenty 
pounds; girth two feet two inches, length three feet 
nine inches. 

A Beet raised in Highland County, weighing 
eighteen pounds, and measuring two feet five inches 
in circumference. 

A single stalk of Buckwheat, raised in Clark 
County, produced three thousand six hundred and 
fourteen kernels. 

An Apple raised in Green County, weighing two 
pounds two ounces: fifteen selected filled a half 
bushel measure. 

A Pear raised in Warren County, weighing two 
pounds. 

A Tomato raised in Green County, weighing 
twenty-four ounces. 

A Pumpkin raised in Clark County, weighing one 
hundred and sixteen pounds, girth six feet six in¬ 
ches, length of vine on which it grew seventy feet. 

A Potato raised in Huron County, near the lake, 
weighing three pounds ten ounces. 


A mountain has been lately discovered in the 
State of North Carolina ; perhaps, we should rather 
say described; which is higher than any other in the 
United States. It is in Yancey County, and is 6,750 
feet in height. It had been supposed that Mount 
Washington, one of the White Hills in New Hamp¬ 
shire, w^as the highest; but that is only 6,230. It 
appears strange, that the mountain in North Carolina 
had not been measured and described before. 

The younger Michaux, on his way from the val¬ 
ley of the Mississippi, thirty years ago, passed 
through the County of Yancey; and afterwards 
stated that the Alleghany ridge was probably the 
highest in that county. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


163 


THE THOMPSON RIOT OF 1835 . 

We have thought that some persons might be 
desirous of having a correct account of a pre¬ 
tended mob in Boston, in October, 1835, on the 
day of a proposed meeting of “ The Anti-Slavery 
Society.” We speak of it as a pretended, or re¬ 
ported riot; because it 1ms been called a riot by 
some, and been denied to be such by others, and 
because the facts will enable every one to decide 
the character of the meeting of citizens on that 
occasion. 

The occasion of the meeting of the citizens, 
which has been called a mob, was a public notice 
that the Female Anti-Slavery Society would assem¬ 
ble, and that addresses would be made by several 
gentlemen: And it was generally believed the no¬ 
torious Thompson, a foreigner, would address the 
meeting. It is proper here to state, that about a 
week before, an attempt to get up a similar meeting 
in the city failed, by the influence of the discreet 
individuals who owned the hall, where the meetinof 
was proposed to be : that Thompson’s character and 
spirit had become more fully known, by the well- 
authenticated charge of dishonesty and fraud in 
England, and his late declaration at Andover, “ that 
the slave-holders ought to have their throats cut.’’ 
The already strong feelings of disgust and indigna¬ 
tion against Thompson for his imprudent interfe¬ 
rence with our political concerns, and highly incen¬ 
diary speeches, tending to mislead, and deceive the 
ignorant, and drive them to deeds of misrule, oppo¬ 
sition to government, and law and constitutional 
provisions; were now greatly sharpened by the 
fresh proofs of his immoral character and reckless 
and sanguinary spirit and designs; and it is said, 
many truly worthy citizens were resolved to pre¬ 
vent his again addressing the deluded and ignorant 
in this place, if it were possible to prevent it. He 
and his friends were frequently and publicly warned 
of such a feeling in the people generally; in that 
his object must be mischievous and incendiary, and 
would excite a mob, or some violent act. Garrison 
also, by his activity in the same revolutionary cause, 
in the same incendiary measures, and second only 
to Thompson, in recklessly braving public opinion, 
and publishing in his paper, the most provoking, 
vituperative and libellous paragraphs, not only 
against slave-holders, but against all the citizens of 
Boston and Massachusetts who were in favour of 
law, and order, and the Constitution, in opposition 
to his and Thompson’s truly incendiary declarations, 
and speeches, and measures; he too, had made 
himself highly obnoxious to the people—the sober, 
quiet people of Boston and elsewhere. But, as if 
to court danger and persecution, as if to brave pub¬ 
lic opinion, and nine-tenths of the respectable citi¬ 
zens, and to seek for martyrdom, a second meeting 
was notified, and it was reported that Thompson 
and Garrison, or one of them, would be present and 
dare to repeat their incendiary and revolutionary 
doctrine. The feelings of many were highly excited 
and provoked. But still, it was hoped, and said, 
and believed, that no personal violence would be 
offered . that all that would be done would be to 
prevent their delivering another of their inflamma¬ 
tory speeches in the city, with as little force or 
alarm as possible. 


Such was the state of tilings and such the feel¬ 
ings of many, who assembled near the place of the 
society’s meeting, at the appointed hour. Walking 
to the post office, at half past three, we saw the 
collection, and turned a little from a direct course, 
to behold the crowd. We saw many we knew to 
be very orderly and quiet citizens, whose character 
seemed to be a pledge that no serious riot or mob 
was intended or would be permitted : but we did not 
linger on the spot scarcely a single minute. About 
this time, the sign-board of the society was taken 
down, but with little noise, or other violence or an¬ 
gry threats, except that there were calls for d'homp- 
son. Some went up into the room, (as we after¬ 
wards learned,) and ordered or advised the females 
to disperse; which they soon did without any thing 
being said or done to injure, or even to alarm them. 
Some tracts were also thrown out into the street 
and destroyed. A call for Thompson, it is said, 
was often made ; but the Mayor, who through the 
whole affair conducted with equal firmness and 
moderation, assured them Thompson was not pre¬ 
sent ; and probably not in the city. Soon after, 
as the report is, a call was made for Garrison ; when 
it was also said by one of the sherifts, that he be¬ 
lieved Garrison was not present. Some, however, 
still believed he had been there, and was secreted 
somewhere in the building, when a search was made ; 
and after a few minutes he was found in a carpen¬ 
ter’s shop adjoining, in a place of intended con¬ 
cealment. He was taken and let down by a rope 
about his body, under his arms, into the street or 
lane, and dragged or forced along toward State 
Street and the City Hall, where probably some 
injury might have been inflicted on his person or 
clothes. Either the persons who found him, or 
others who were by, took him to the City Hail, 
where the Mayor, &-c. were, for the laudable pur¬ 
pose of preventing any serious harm being done 
him, by any one at that moment of excitement, less 
discreet than the rest: And it is said, some were 
really desirous of carrying him to the common, to 
give him a suit of tar and feathers, as was done in 
olden times to very obnoxious individuals. The 
majority present, it is confidently said, had no such 
design or wish ; and were satisfied in having pre¬ 
vented the meeting, or the speeches of Thompson 
and Garrison, and were averse to any further pro¬ 
ceedings against Garrison or his accomplices. The 
Mayor had the prudence to have Garrison conveyed 
in a carriage to the jail for safe keeping, till the 
following day; in the mean time he was let off, 
and probably left the city. 

This we believe to be a correct version of this 
unfortunate affair. We pretend not to justify it; 
really moderate and harmless as it was. We think 
mobs should never be encouraged in any state of 
things ; for they lead to great and incalculable mis¬ 
chief ; and law is always the best, and safest, and 
only proper remedy of all evils. And even on the 
late occasion, in this city, there w'as at one moment, 
after the people were excited and worked up, as is 
always the case, danger perhaps of committing per¬ 
sonal violence, which would have been a deep and 
lasting disgrace to the people of Boston. Let us 
learn then to avoiti mobs, as the greatest, or one of 
the greatest of evils. But, on the other hand, and 




164 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


it is proper to speak out on this point, let the im¬ 
prudent incendiary, and reckless despiser and op- 
poscr of public opinion, where that opinion is for 
order and justice, consider that they are ree.lly the 
authors of the violence and riots which ensue. They 
know what will be the consequence of their con¬ 
duct, of their attempts to exasperate the people 
against the Constitution and the laws, and if they 
pursue it, they are the mob; they make the riot; 
they are the real authors of the violence and mis¬ 
chiefs which follow ; and if they get up a mob, and 
suffer themselves by it, they have only themselves 
to blame. It is not the overt act, in all cases, which 
makes a crime, it is the design, the tendency of 
an act to produce crime, which is often criminal and 
the n)ost criminal. Therefore, an accessory before 
the act, is a criminal in the eye of the law. The 
drunkard is ready for violence and insult; and if he 
puts himself in a state of intoxication may be forci¬ 
bly prevented from doing mischief. It is treason 
to plot against the peace and laws of the Govern¬ 
ment. And speeches and writings tending to ex¬ 
cite rebellion or insurrection, are crimes against the 
majesty of law, and the peace and dignity of the 
Commonwealth. We have the highest authority to 
support us in saying, that the writings and speeches 
and measures of the violent Abolitionists are rev¬ 
olutionary, and incendiary. And we therefore 
think there is law enough to prevent them in 
their reckless course. And we would have law 
processes, and nothing but law. But, if these men 
are so mad and so regardless of the peace and welfare 
of society as to continue their measures after all 
which has been said and predicted and forewarned, 
they at least cannot justly complain of any harsh 
treatment. The peaceable may complain and ought 
to complain of mobs, and we sincerely hope will 
always have resort to law for a remedy, instead of 
to force and violence. 


THE PROVINCE OF WOMAN. 

BY HANNAH MORE. 

As some fair violet, loveliest of the glade, 

Sheds its mild fragrance on the lonely shade. 
Withdraws its modest head from public sight. 

Nor courts the sun, nor seeks the glare of light; 
Should some rude hand profanely dare intrude. 

And bear its beauties from its native wood. 

Exposed abroad its languid colours fly, 

Its form decays, and all its odours die. 

So woman, born to dignify retreat, 

Unknown to flourish, and unseen be great; 

To give domestic life its sweetest charm; 

With softness polish, and with virtue warm; 

Fearful of fame, unwilling to be known. 

Should seek but Heaven’s applauses and her own; 
Should dread no blame but that which crimes impart. 
The censures of a self-condemning heart. 

O 


MAHOGANY. 

The Mahogany tree is found in Honduras, the 
eastern part of Guatemala, and a peninsula which 
separates it from Yucatan. A great part of this 
territory is covered with thick forests, containing 
Mahogany and logwood. The Mahogany trees, 
however, are but thinly scattered ; and the expense of 
transporting them to the coast is very great, on ac¬ 
count of the distance, and the thickets and mountains 
which must be passed. A great number of slaves are 


employed in this labour. The logs are so large, that 
those of seventeen feet long, weigh six and seven 
tons. One has been got out weighing seventeen 
tons. The tree has immense spreading branches, 
and a very large trunk, which make it one of the 
most magnificent trees of tlie forest; but in height 
some other trees exceed it. The largest trees are 
said to be of the value of l^dOOO or ^'5000. 

The Mahogany also grows in Jamaica, Cuba 
and St. Domingo: and the English have found it 
a profitable trade. But there are now quite few 
remaining in the islands. The trunk is most valua¬ 
ble, as it produces the wide boards ; but the limbs 
are preferred for ornamental work. The process of 
veneering is of recent origin, and a great portion of 
Mahogany is thus saved. In Philadelphia it is sawed 
into thin veneers by steam ; a process of reducing, 
and yet saving appearances, which will be aj)plied, 
probably, to marble for building, to a far greater 
extent than it has been. 

The account of the first introduction of Mahog- 
any to England is curious. A physician of the 
name of Gibbons was building a house in Covent 
Garden in 1724, when he received a present of 
some mahogany plank from his brother, a West 
India captain, and he desired his carpenter to work 
up the wood. The carpenter had no tool hard 
enough to touch it, and the planks were laid aside. 
The doctor’s wife, after the house was finished, 
wanted a candle box, but the cabinet maker who 
was applied to, to work the planks, also complained 
his tools were too soft. But he persevered, and the 
candle box was completed after a rude fashion, but 
it was so much admired that the physician resolved 
to have a mahogany bureau, and when it was fin¬ 
ished, all the people of fashion came to see it. The 
cabinet maker procured some planks and made a 
fortune. From that time the use of Mahogany 
furniture went forward, and the drawers and bu¬ 
reaus of walnut and pear wood were superseded in 
the houses of the rich. In 1829, the importation of 
Mahogany to England exceeded one thousand nine 
hundred tons. 


The celebrated German poet and scholar, Goethe, 
says his father frequently employed him at an early 
age, to superintend the workmen which he had in 
his service. “ He gave me to understand, that he 
expected the work would be seasonably and well 
executed, and that I must inspect and quicken the 
workmen. This, he adds, was of much advantage 
to me; as it gave me an opportunity of gaining a 
knowledge of many arts and trades; and I found 
pleasure in thus identifying myself with the feelings 
and views of others. I passed many agreeable 
hours in this employment; and learned to judge of 
every condition of life, and to estimate the plea¬ 
sures and pains, the difficulties and enjoyments of 
each. 


The first instance of the name ‘ America’ occur¬ 
ring in print, is in a geography published in 1529, 
at Basil. And it seems to refer only to South Amer¬ 
ica. Where would be the impropriety of giving 
the name of Cabota to North America ? 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


165 


PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION IN 1779. 

Few of the present generation can recollect the 
Penobscot expedition ; and as it was unfortunate 
to the American arms, there was less said of it, at 
the time, and has been since, than of other affairs of 
similar preparation and promise. British vessels of 
force were hovering on the coasts of Maine most of 
the Revolutionary war, from its commencement; 
and they took possession of Penobscot, (since called 
Castine,) in June, 1779. They were a great annoy¬ 
ance to the people far and near, and prevented all in¬ 
tercourse by water, between that section of the State, 
and Boston and vicinity. A plan was therefore soon 
formed, to drive off the British forces, and take 
possession of the town and harbour of Penobscot; 
And the enterprise was wholly undertaken and pre¬ 
pared by Massachusetts. The Continental Con¬ 
gress however, was consulted, and consented to the 
expedition ; declaring, at the same time, that it 
could not subject the Union to the expense, and that 
there was little hope of success. Many in Massa¬ 
chusetts urged the importance of the project; and 
heavy as were the burdens on the people and great 
as was the number of men in the public service, it 
was concluded to make the attempt. As the Brit¬ 
ish had several vessels of war there, a naval force 
was necessary on the part of the Americans. And 
this was the most difficult part of the expedition ; 
though men were so scarce, that an impressment 
was resorted to, on this occasion ; and apprentices 
and young men were taken in the streets in Boston 
and compelled to go on board the vessels and en¬ 
gage in the expedition. Some of them never re¬ 
turned : they found untimely graves on the Penin¬ 
sula of Penobscot. 

The British troops were about one thousand, 
under General M’Lane, and nine vessels of war, 
commanded by Commodore Barclay. The expedi¬ 
tion sailed from Boston, in August, and was com¬ 
posed of nine hundred men, besides those belong¬ 
ing to the vessels. General Lovell, of Weymouth, 
had command of the land forces, and Commodore 
Saltonstal of the fleet; consisting of one frigate, 
ten other ships, several of them sloops of war of 
sixteen or twenty guns; seven armed brigs, and 
twenty-four other vessels for transporting the troops. 
This appears a formidable armament; but the ex¬ 
pedition was too much hastened ; and besides, 
there was a want of good understanding or concert 
between Salstonstal and Lovell. An assault, how¬ 
ever, was made on the fort of the enemy: But in 
doing this, the Americans had to ascend a high 
cliff, which for the greater distance was almost per¬ 
pendicular, exposed to the heavy fire of the British 
troops. They succeeded, however, in reaching the 
heights, and in driving the advance of the enemy 
into their intrenchments. Many of the Americans 
were killed or wounded at this time ; and the Com¬ 
modore failed to send recruits to their aid, as was 
expected ; and it became necessary to retire to some 
distance from the British fort. A stand was made and 
a request sent to Boston fora reinforcement; which 
was immediately ordered; but before they arrived, the 
British received a large additional foice, and it was 
in vain to oppose them. The Americans burnt 
several of their own vessels, but most of them fe'l 


into the hands of the enemy. Colonel Henry Jack¬ 
son’s regiment was ordered to Penobscot, as a part ol 
the reinforcement; but the retreat was commenced 
when they were on their march. There was great 
loss of property and of lives ; and some blame at¬ 
tached to the principal officers. The General 
Court ordered an investigation of the affair. The 
Commodore was censured for want of energy and 
decision ; but General Lovell, and General Wads¬ 
worth (the second in command of the land forces,) 
were fully acquitted. The men suffered a good 
deal in travelling through the country from Penob¬ 
scot Bay to Portland, which was then almost a wil¬ 
derness. The Legislature of Massachusetts applied 
to Congress for a reimbursement of the expenses of 
the expedition ; or a consideration thereof, by re¬ 
mitting a part of the requisition just before made by 
Congress on Massachusetts for a large amount. 
There were three .'arge State ships in the expedi¬ 
tion, and many vessels were hired for the purpose, 
most of which were taken or burnt. The expedi¬ 
tion was altogether unfortunate, and added much 
to the debt of the State. 


ORANGE LODGES. 

There has lately been a good deal of excitement 
in England on account of the lodges or societies of 
Orangemen, as they are called. They are chiefly 
among the military, and the Duke of Cumberland 
is at their head. He and others, when questioned on 
the subject, have given evasive answers, or have re¬ 
fused to answer at all. There are bishops and priests 
also belonging to the society. The Bishop of Sal¬ 
isbury is the present Lord Prelate and Grand Chap¬ 
lain of the order. The members are under oath , 
and the oaths are taken in secret. It is said that 
there are three hundred and sixty thousand mem- 
be’s, who are capable of bearing arms, in the King¬ 
dom and its colonies; many of them in Ireland, 
where they were put down, in a great measure, sev¬ 
eral years ago. Lord Kenyon declared the order 
illegal in 1821. 

Parliament has lately taken up the subject. For 
such a number of men, whether military or not, 
who are under oath taken in secret, may well excite 
alarm. It is said their design is to resist or prevent 
all reform in the Government, and all plans for the 
greater liberty of the people. 'I'he sword and the 
mitre are united against the rights of man. A Com¬ 
mittee of Parliament has just reported, “ that an 
organized institution or society exists, pervading 
Great Britain and her colonies to an extent never 
contemplated as possible, highly injurious to the 
discipline’of the army, and dangerous to the peace 
of the State ; and that the lodges or societies have 
lately much increased.” 


Lord Brougham lately presented a petition in the 
Upper House of Parliament, praying that the bill 
for abolishing imprisonment for debt, before the 
House, might be passed ; and in the remarks he 
made, he stated that there was a man in prison for 
debt, who had been confined thirty-eight years; and 
that far a debt which he did not himself contract 







166 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE CLEARNESS 07 SOUNDS AT NIGHT. 

The greater clearness with which distant sounds 
are heard during night, is an interesting phenome¬ 
non. It was noticed by the ancients, and ascribed 
to the repose of animated nature. When Hum¬ 
boldt first heard the noise of the great cataracts of 
the Oronoco, his attention was directed to this 
curious fact, and he was of opinion that the noise was 
three times louder during the night, than in the day. 
As the humming of insects was much greater at 
night than in the day, and as the breeze which 
might have agitated the leaves of the trees, never 
rose till after sunset, he w'as led to seek for another 
cause of the phenomenon. In a hot day, when 
w arm currents of air ascend from the heated ground 
and mix with the cold air above of a difi’erent den¬ 
sity, the transparency of the air is so much affected, 
that every object seen through it appears to be in 
motion, just as when we look at an object over *a 
fire, or the flame of a candle. The air, therefore, 
during the day is a mixed medium, in which the 
sounds are reflected and scattered in passing through 
streams of air of different densities, as in the ex¬ 
periment of mixing atmospheric air and hydrogen. 
At midnight, on the contrary, when the air is trans¬ 
parent and oL uniform density, as may be seen by 
the brilliancy and number of tlie stars, the slightest 
sound reaches the ear without interruption. M. 
Cliladni has illustrated the effect of a mixed medium 
by an experiment of easy repetition. If w'e pour 
sparkling Champaigne into a tall glass till it is half 
full, the glass cannot be made to ring by a stroke on 
its edge, but admits a dull, disagreeable and puffy 
sound. This effect continues as long as the effer¬ 
vescence lasts, and while the wine is filled with air- 
bubbles. But as the effervescence subsides, the 
sound becomes clearer and clearer, till at last the 
glass rings as usual, when the air bubbles have dis¬ 
appeared. By reproducing the effervescence, the 
sound is deadened as before. The same experi¬ 
ment may be made with effervescing malt liquors ; 
and w'ith still more effect by putting a piece of 
sponge, or a little wool or tow, into a tumbler of 
water. The cause of the result obtained by M. 
Chladni is, that the glass and the liquid contained, 
in order to give a musical tone, must vibrate regu¬ 
larly in unison as a system ; and if any considera¬ 
ble part of a system is unsusceptible of regular 
vibration, the whole must be so. This experiment 
has oeen employed by Humboldt to illustrate and 
explain the phenomenon of distant sounds being 
more distinctly heard during the night. 

Encyclopcedia Americana. 


ALCOHOL. 

We lately received the following note :—“ To the 
Boston Bewick Company. Gentlemen, I wish you 
to stop my American Magazine, as it has cost me 
more the last year than all my alcohol and tobacco, 
which you have a tack,—” 

(Signed) S. H. H- m. 

With reference to this frank and laconic letter, 
w'e deem it our duty to say a w’ord for the benefit 
of those who shall continue to take the Magazine : 
As our old friend “ S. H.” has given up the work. 


we cannot expect that he will ever see our remarks. 
It is true, that we have referred to the common use 
of tobacco as useless, and in some respects as un¬ 
favourable to health ; and therefore have ventured to 
advise to its discontinuance. We believe we are 
supported, in this opinion, by all resjjectable and 
learned physicians. Still, we have discriminated 
between “ the nauseous weed,” and alcohol. No sen¬ 
tence of condemnation has been uttered by us, no 
blast of denunciation has been sounded from our 
pages, against the lovers of nicotia. And yet we 
do say, seriously, that it had better be abandoned. 
But with the free and common use of alcohol, as a 
drink, in every form, we do mean to wage open 
war. For, after all that has been said and done, 
there is still a great amount of mischief and suffer¬ 
ing arising from the consumption of rum, brandy, 
gin, and whiskey. We shall continue to speak and 
write against; “ to cry aloud and spare not.” 
And we appeal to the love of happiness, and the 
aversion to misery, in every one ; to their pride and 
selfishness even ; to their regard for personal reputa¬ 
tion and comfort; and to their affection for family ,wMfe, 
and children and friends; to avoid all ardent spirits, 
and whatever intoxicates. And we would speak par¬ 
ticularly, to the mechanic and the labourer. For, if 
the rich choose to make brutes of themselves, and 
to dishonour themselves, they must take the conse¬ 
quences. But no poor man, or labouring man can 
afford to spend time and money in taking strong 
drink. He is bringing misery,—present as well as 
future misery, on himself and family. And he is 
bound to provide for their comfort. In no w'ay can 
he so directly do this, if he has been a follower of 
strong drink, as by reforming wholly and imme¬ 
diately. By his prudence, and saving, and his so¬ 
briety of conduct, he can do much for the peace and 
welfare of his family. And this he may do, if he is 
not able to make them rich, or give them worldly 
distinction. He can set them a good example ; 
and he may save ten or twelve cents a day by de¬ 
nying his depraved appetite for alcohol, which will 
be something for their enjoyment. Why should 
the labourer make himself miserable, because some 
rich men destroy their health and good name, by 
excessive drinking ? This is a poor apology, and as 
poor a consolation. The honest, industrious and 
sober labourer is far more happy in himself, and far 
more respected, by those whose esteem is worth 
having, than the rich who are dissipated, idle and 

intemperate. - 

WOMAN’S ATTACHMENT. 

Why should she cling so fondly to his breast?— 

Go ask the moss on which thy foot is pressed, 

Why it adheres so closely tr the rock, 

Whose iron surface but appears to mock 
The feeble efforts by these tendrils shown. 

To fix their roots within a barren stone, 

While all their food is drawn from night’s cold tears aloB* ' 

AN ENIGMA. 

My complexion’s dull and dark. 

Yet I have a lovely sire : 

I am wingless, but the lark 

Through the skies ascends not higher. 

Griefless tears I cause the fair. 

Yet at my birth dissolve in air. 

THE ANSWER. 

T^pon my word, ’tis quite a joke. 

That six such lines should end in smokt. 










OF FSEFUL INFORMATION, 


167 



THE ESQUIMAUX HUTS OF SNOW. 


This is a view of the Village composed of low 
mounds or huts of snow, visited by Capt. Parry in 
one of his voyages to the northern regions of Amer¬ 
ica, and to which reference is made in the article 
relating to his wintering there with the ships Ilecla 
and Griper. It was in the north part of Hudson’s 
Bay, in latitude 68®. The visit to these huts afford¬ 
ed some relief to the monotonous scene and em¬ 
ployments of his winter confinement; and it served 
to gratify curiosity, to examine these snowy abodes 
of liiiman beings. He is not very full in his de¬ 
scription of their manners or occupation ; but it 
appears from his statement, that the burrows were 
made of snow and ice ; and that the interiour of each 
was about six or seven feet, and so low as to pre¬ 
vent one standing erect. The snow and ice are 
constantly melting, which makes these cabins very 
uncomfortable and dirty places of residence. But 
it is proper to take Capt. Parry’s description in his 
own words:—“Hone recollects that these habita¬ 
tions were within sight of our vessels, that many 
eyes were watching for whatever could break the 
monotony of our life, he may conceive of the admi¬ 
ration which was excited in us by this collection of 
huts together, with the assetnblage of seventy per¬ 
sons, men, women, and children, who, surrounded 
by canoes, sleds and dogs, seemed to be fixed in 
winter quarters. The snow and ice were the only 
material employed in the building of their strange 
dwellings. Oblong blocks, from six to seven inches 
thick, and about two feel long, placed lengthwise, 
were united so as to form a circular wall. Every 
layer was slightly inclined inward, until at the top 
of the building, they were so near as to allow only 
a small opening at the summit, over which the key¬ 
stone or rather ice, was skilfully laid. The inte¬ 


riour was not less remarkable: After sliding through 
two passages, ten feet long and four or five high, 
arched overhead, we reached a small circular space 
from which there were pa.ssages into three sleeping 
rooms. The females were sitting on their beds, 
with a lamp near them, and surrounded by their 
children and instruments of labour.” Afterward 
Parry speaks of another encampment, that “some 
of their huts were covered with skins, and others 
built entirely of snow' cemented w'iih water.” 

WELCOME WINTER. 

Come Winter, come, with freezing blast, 

And spread around a dreary waste— 

Come give a hint of simple truth. 

Of outward beauty’s transient worth. 

The flower has fall’n within its grave. 

The stream is chill’d like polar wave: 

The trees have laid their leaves aside— 

Mountain and vale have lost their pride. 

Has all that’s beauty lost its hue ? 

Has virtue faded from the view ? 

Has warmth of heart ceas’d or decay’d, 

As outward loveliness did fade ? 

These fade not, like the summer flowers ; 

They flourish still in M'inter’s showers;— 

Though beauty ’s faded from the sight. 

These give their fragrance and delight. 

The form loses beauty and grace. 

The eye and cheek give not a trace 
Of that which onee was bright and fair— 

But pure the mind, and beauty's there. 

Then brighter and lovelier the heart. 

As wider its love we impart— 

As we kindle the ’therial ray, 

Which Winter's storms do not decay 

The winter of age comes with power, 

To chill us and change us yet more ; 

He will shtoud and bind us till late. 

Then waft to the skies, when Spring shall awane 






























































































































































108 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


SWITZERLAND. 

This justly celebrated country, situated between 
Germany, France and Italy, though of small extent, 
is one of peculiar interest to the friends of civil and 
religious liberty. It is only about 140 miles from 
east to west, and 120 from north to south, with 
2,000,000 inhabitants. Switzerland was formerly 
divided into thirteen cantons, or districts; since the 
time of Napoleon, Emperor of France, it has been 
divided into twenty cantons. The largest of these 
is Berne, which contains d50,000. The largest 
city is Geneva, which has 2G/J00 inhabitants. 
Each canton manages its own internal concerns, 
and their government is partly democratic and partly 
aristocratic; some being more and some less demo¬ 
cratic, but all styled republics, and the federal gov¬ 
ernment of the whole is composed of a diet or con¬ 
gress, composed of one member from each canton. 
Switzerland is the Helvetia of the ancients, and was 
formerly, for many centuries, a part of the German 
Empire, till the tyranny and oppressions of the 
emperors, caused a revolt in the 14th century. The 
suflerings of the people were very great, but they 
finally obtained independence, and long maintained 
it by brilliant victories over their cruel oppressors. 
The Swiss, though bordering on Germany and Italy, 
are different, in many respects, from the people of 
both those countries; and lor many ages served 
as a barrier between them.—But the characters and 
manners of the Swiss are the most entitled to con¬ 
sideration. From early times, they were an indus¬ 
trious and hardy people. Manufactures flourished 
among them, and in their manners, they were dis¬ 
tinguished from the neighbouring nations by so¬ 
briety and frugality. Geneva and Lausanne, and 
Zurich and Basle, became thriving towns. The 
families of Savoy and Hapsburg were among the 
most distinguished and powerful. The counts of 
Hapsburg and of Savoy were among the most emi¬ 
nent military men of the times. But Switzerland 
has been most interesting in a moral and religious 
view. The work of reformation began there at a 
very early period. In 1518, Zwingle opposed the 
corruptions and oppressions of the Romish church. 
Two years before indeed, which was the year pre¬ 
vious to Luther’s opposition, he had attacked pil¬ 
grimages, and the invocation of the Virgin Mary. 
The people, however, were long distracted by re¬ 
ligious and political controversies. Aristocracy and 
democracy struggled for the superiority, and the 
disputes between the papists ami reformers engen¬ 
dered in some places an unhappy spirit of fanaticism. 
During the persecution of the protestants in France, 
near the close of the 17th century, the Swiss gave 
them an asylum and pecuniary aid. They have 
generally been the advocates of toleration, and the 
friends of protestantism. And they can also boast 
of a great number of learned men within the last 
hundred years—as Haller, Bonnet, Rousseau, La- 
vater, Gessner, Hottinger, Muller and Pestalozzi. 
The common people enjoyed a greater degree of 
freedom, than any others on the continent, except¬ 
ing perhaps, the citizens of some of the United 
Provinces of Holland. But the French revolution 
extended its baleful influence even to those retired 
and peaceful regions; and the inhabitants were 


plundered and oppressed by self-styled Republicans, 
as much as they had before been by kings and em¬ 
perors. In the southeastern part of France, and in 
Sardinia, which included Savoy and Piedmont, and 
borders on Switzerland, the people early opposed 
the Roman hierarchy; and were known by the 
name of Waldenses: And in all this country, north¬ 
west of Italy, remonstrants were found against the 
arbitrary claims and absurd tenets of the Popes, long 
before Luther raised his powerful voice in condemn¬ 
ing the shameful sale of indulgences by the papal 

missionaries. - 

REDEEMING THE TIME. 

If those who are occupied in the proper busi¬ 
ness concerns of life, and its .severest toils, had 
really no time for study, then would the great mass 
of society be doomed to perpetual mental degrada¬ 
tion. But every man can spare at least one hour 
in twenty-four, for the improvement of his mind; 
and one hour a day is equal to four years in twenty; 
which, as far as time is concerned, is sufficient to 
complete as extensive and varied a course of study 
as can be pursued, from entering to leaving the 
university. With an hour at his command, in 
every day, (and often it might be two hours) each 
man has the principle and power of freedom in his 
own bosom ; and will be a nobleman and gentle¬ 
man, a scholar and a philosopher, though he toiled 
at the desk or shop, or in the field, for his support. 

Freedom of the Mind. 


I am acquainted with a great many very good 
wives, who are so notable and so managing, that 
they make a man every thing but happy :—and I 
know a great many others, who sing, and play, and 
paint, and cut paper, and are so accomplished, that 
they have no time to be useful. Pictures, and fid¬ 
dles, and every thing but agreeableness and good¬ 
ness, can be had for money ! but as there is no mar¬ 
ket where pleasant manners, and engaging conver¬ 
sation, and Christian virtues, are to be bought, me- 
thinks it is a pity the ladies do not oftener try to 
provide them at home.— Hannah More. 

Dyspepsia is to be attributed to want of suffi¬ 
cient exercise, or high-seasoned food, or excess in 
quantity, or eating fast, or not masticating food 
properly. All these are causes of dyspepsia; the 
tv\m last, as well as the others; and yet very little 
attention is paid to the subject. 

The Stranguary. —This afflictive, and at some 
stages of life very common disease, in a great ma¬ 
jority of cases, is cured by the use of Gum Ara¬ 
bic. Two ounces dissolved in boiling water, and 
taken in several successive draughts, are abundantly 
sufficient to cure this formidable complaint—it may 
be sweetened without lessening the effect. It is 
believed that even when this disease is connected 
with the stone, it would be much relieved by this 
prescription;—at least, it will be harmless in all 
cases. - 

It is supposed that 25,000 persons are employed 
in the manufacture of hats, in the United States, 
and the annual amount of this manufacture is six¬ 
teen millions of dollars. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


169 





THE WINTERING OF THE HECLA AND THE GRIPER, AT MELVILLE ISLAND. 


Captain Parry, who had been a lieutenant under 
Capt. Ross, in his voyage of discovery to the north¬ 
west parts of the American Continent in 1818, and 
who was not fully satisfied with Capt. Ross’ return, 
without greater and further efforts, was selected to 
command an expedition for a similar purpose in 
1819. It consisted of the Hecla of 375 tons and 
fifty-eight men ; and the Griper, a brig of 180 tons 
and thirty-six men, under command of Lieutenant 
Liddon. They sailed from England in May, (1819,) 
and passed Cape Farewell, the south point of Green¬ 
land, about the middle of June, where they met the 
ice-bergs, which were great obstacles to their pro¬ 
gress up Davis’s Strait, to Lancaster Sound, in 73° 
N. latitude, through which they proposed to pass 
westwards. By great effort, they proceeded west¬ 
ward to Melville Island, in latitude 74°, and longi¬ 
tude 110° west. In this route, several islands, 
capes, and inlets were discovered and named by 
Capt. Parry; among these was a large island, to 
which they gave the name of Melville. In a harbour 
of this island the Hecla and Griper wintered. They 
reached the harbour with difficulty the 24th of Sep¬ 
tember ; for the ice had then already been making 
for nearly twenty days. The ships were moored 
near the shore, where they remained till the last of 
May following. Capt. Parry conducted with great 
prudence and judgment amidst all these difficulties 
and dangers. He got up plays and other recrea¬ 
tions, some of which were of an athletic kind, to 
employ and amuse the sailors. He was also atten¬ 
tive to their diet, clothing and cleanliness, by which 
their lives and health were preserved. He lost but 
one man of both vessels’ crews. 

In a subsequent voyage (1821) Capt. Parry ex¬ 
plored the northern parts of Hudson’s Bay, and 


wintered in about 68° north latitude. Here he was 
unexpectedly visited by a company of Esquimaux. 
They lived at a little distance, in a sort of village or 
group of huts made of snow. Being invited to visit 
them, several of the English accompanied the na¬ 
tives; but in order to enter their snow huts, they 
were obliged to creep on their hands and knees. 
The huts are low, smoky and dirty ; and yet aflbrd 
a shelter to the natives; who, however, are in a 
most degraded state, little superiour to the brute 
creation. 


CAPTAIN BACK’S EXPEDITION, IN 1833 ’34. 

The several expeditions undertaken, within a few 
years past by individuals from England, are gener¬ 
ally known by the reading public in the United 
States. They give evidence of uncommon courage 
and resolution in the brave men who were engaged 
in these adventures. The objects were laudable; 
being either for the purposes of discovery and sci¬ 
ence ; or for relief to those who are supposed to be 
suffering in a desolate region without the means of 
returning. Capt. Back’s last adventure commenced 
in 1833, for the benevolent purpose of finding Cap¬ 
tain Ross, who had been then absent more than 
two years, without any information from him; and 
of assisting him and his company in returning to 
England, if they still survived. Capt. Back took 
passage from England for New-York; and imme¬ 
diately, on arriving at that place, proceeded to 
Montreal, and thence to the north and w-est over 
an immense territory (of nearly 2000 miles) to Fort 
Reliance, at the northeast extremity of the Great 
Slave Lake, in about 64 degrees of latitude. The 
following winter v\'as passed at this place; but early 
in June, 1834, he departed for the river Thewcecho, 

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PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


a distance of 200 miles, transporting his boat and 
stores on rollers; there to embark for the Arctic Sea. 
This service was performed in thirty days; and 
Capt. Back, Mr. King his surgeon, and eight men 
proceeded down the river. They passed down, 
with some interruptions, till they reached the 65th 
degree of latitude, and i06 west longitude, where 
the river turned to the east, and destroyed the hope 
of soon reaching the ocean at the north. The 
river now became broad, and broken, as it were, 
into small lakes, till they reached one so large as to 
show a clear horizon on several points of the com¬ 
pass, but in which the ice proved a great hind¬ 
rance, even in midsummer. After passing some 
distance farther, in which the river held an eastern 
direction, so as not to be far from the western shore 
of Hudson’s Bay, when its course was again north ; 
and on the 29th of July they reached the sea in lati¬ 
tude 67 and longitude 94. They found the river 
very wide in some places, and disturbed by rapids. 
They met some Esquimaux near the sea, who at 
first appeared hostile, but afterwards became friendly 
and useful. 

The river first terminated in a narrow estuary, 
much embarrassed by shoals and sandbanks; and 
the view to the north was in some measure closed 
in by a lofty headland belonging to the eastern 
mountains, (afterwards called the Victoria head¬ 
land.) The opposite shores, however, speedily in¬ 
creased their distance from each other; that to the 
westward falling back in a direction nearly north¬ 
west, while that to the eastward trended off to 
northeast 3-4 east, and as Capt. Back was now to 
the eastward of Capt. James Ross’s Pillar, he con¬ 
sidered it to be his duty to proceed to the westward, 
and so endeavour to approach it. But the drift ice 
was so closely packed on the shore in this direction, 
and was at the same time so frequently and dan¬ 
gerously set in motion by heavy northwest gales, 
that he was unable to ad\’ance beyond latitude 68 
deg., 45 min. long. N., 96 deg. 22 min. W., when 
it bore N. W. by N. distant 83 miles. From this 
point a clear icy horizon was seen in the N. N. W., 
in about which direction there seemed no doubt that 
there was a passage to the open sea, the tides com¬ 
ing up from this quarter, and the vertebrae of a 
whale being found driven on the coast opposite to 
it, with several pieces of drift wood, little sodden 
with water, and of a kind (the white pine) known 
to be peculiar to the banks of McKenzie river. 
Due north were two blue objects, which seemed to 
be large islands. In the northeast were water and 
ice, with what is denominated a water sky beyond 
them. In the east the sea was clear, with one small 
island bearing E. by S. from fifteen to twenty miles 
distant; and to the right of this was also a wide 
open space before coming to the eastern land. 

The packed ice seemed chiefly confined to the 
western shore ; and beyond it, especially to the 
eastward, the passage appeared quite free. Had 
Capt. Back not known, therefore, of Capt. Ross’s 
return, he would have proceeded in that direction : 
and so, probably, have set at rest a question which 
he has now rather raised than decided, viz. whether 
Capt. Ross was not merely on an island, and never 
on the main land of America at all. Under his cir¬ 


cumstances, however, and with the extremely severe 
task before him of reascending so rapid and broken 
a river as the Thowcecho, to his winter quarters, 
he would have been inexcusable had he quitted the 
coast in his solitary, and by this time also damaged 
boat. Accordingly, he set out on his return on the 
15th of August, having previously obtained from his 
friendly Esquimaux a delineation after their manner, 
of the adjoining coast, which he has brought home 
with him, and which, as far as he went, was remark¬ 
ably corroborated by the results of his own survey. 
He also ascended the most favourably placed of the 
neighbouring hills, so as to extend his sphere of 
vision ; and thus took every step possible, in his cir¬ 
cumstances, to render the result of his journey sat¬ 
isfactory. In ascending the river, on his return, he 
was obliged to abandon his boat, and proceed on 
foot over the young ice; but his people, being well 
supplied with provisions, did not sufl'er materially 
under this additional fatigue. They arrived at Fort 
Reliance on the 27th of Sentember, after an ab¬ 
sence of three months and a half on their arduous 
service. 


A Church restored to Light .—A part of the 
British coast, in the County of Cornwall, within 550 
years has been overwhelmed with sand by the force 
of the tides and the winds. An ancient Church 
has thus been nearly covered ; leaving a small por¬ 
tion of its walls visible. The interiour has been 
lately restored to light, and is found to be as com¬ 
plete as when first erected, except the doors and 
roof. It may amuse our readers to know its dimen¬ 
sions. The length is thirty feet, the breadth twelve 
and a half, and the height of the walls the same. 
The altar (at the east end as usual) is of stone, four 
feet by two and a half, and three feet high. There 
is a small recess in the wall above the centre of the 
a.tar, in which a crucifix was probably placed. The 
chancel was six feet, leaving nineteen feet for 
the congregation, who were accommodated with 
stone seats. The floor was composed of sand and 
lime, under which the dead were no doubt deposit¬ 
ed. No vestige of a window is to be seen, unless a 
small aperture on the south wall of the chancel may 
be one. Cornwall County lies at the southwest ex¬ 
tremity of England ; and it is on the western part of 
the cape or peninsula that the church is located, 
where the sands have been washed up by the force 
of the current, which is very great on account of 
the projection of the land. There are many other 
instances similar to this; but few, perhaps, where 
the sands have accumulated to such a height. 


THE FROZEN TEAR. 

On beds of snow the moon-beam slept. 

And chilling was the midnight’s gloom. 

When by the damp grave Ellen wept ; 

Sweet maid ! it was her lover’s tomb. 

A warm tear gush’d—the wintry air 
Congealed it as it flowed away ; 

All night it lay an ice drop there— 

At morn it glittered in the ray. 

An angel, wandering from his sphere. 

Who saw this bright, this frozen gem, 

To dew-eyed beauty brought the tear. 

And hung it on her diadem. 

Albany Daily AdvtrMm 





OF USEFUL information. 


ni 


Ancient Mexican Cotton Manufacture. —The 
Cotton manufacture was found existing in consid- 
erabh3 perfection in America on the discovery of 
that continent by the Spaniards. Cotton formed 
tlie principal article of clothing among the Mexi¬ 
cans, as they had neither wool, hemp, nor silk ; nor 
did they use the flax which they possessed for pur¬ 
poses of clothing; and their only materials for 
making cloth, besides cotton, were feathers, the wool 
of rabbits and hares, (known in commerce as coney’s 
wool,) and the fibrous plant called the maguei. 
We are informed by the Abbe Clavigero, that ‘of 
cotton the Mexicans made large webs, and as delicate 
and fine as those of Holland, which were with much 
reason highly esteemed in Europe. They wove 
their cloths in different figures and colours, repre¬ 
senting different animals and flowers. Of feathers 
interwoven with cotton they made mantles and bed 
curtains, carpets, and other things, not less great 
than beautiful. With cotton also they interwove 
the finest hair of the belly of rabbits and hares, after 
having made and spun it into thread: of this they 
made most beautiful cloths, and in particular winter 
waistcoats for the lords.’ Among the presents sent 
by Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, to Charles V. 
were ‘ cotton mantles, some all white, others mixed 
with white and black, or red, green, yellow, and 
blue ; waistcoats, handkerchiefs, counterpanes, tap¬ 
estries, and carpets of cotton ; and the colours of 
the cotton were extremely fine,’ as the Mexicans 
had both indigo and cochineal among their native 
dyes. They also used cotton in making a species 
of paper; one of their kinds of money consisted in 
small cloths and cotton ; and their warriors wore 
cuirasses of cotton, covering the body from the neck 
to the waist.— Baine's History of the Cotton Man¬ 
ufactures. — 

Intoxicating Liquor not a Friend any where .— 
When the attempt was first made to prove that 
ardent spirits as a drink on board of ships is un¬ 
necessary, serious objections on the part of seamen, 
at least of those who on shore manifested such love 
for it, might have been anticipated. Seamen who, 
when exposed to the temptation, had exhibited 
themselves its constant victims—victims to men who 
can make the health and happiness, temporal and 
eternal, of their fellow citizens a prey to their unprin¬ 
cipled and greedy avarice—we repeat, that from 
such seamen serious objections might have been 
anticipated to this experiment in the cause of tem¬ 
perance ; we have heard of no such objection—on 
the contrary, how often have we witnessed from the 
lips of many of this noble yet injured class of men 
an entire approval of the reform. Their own choice, 
when embarking on a three years’ voyage, is to be 
free from the temptation at least while at sea. What 
a comment this on the motives and conduct of the 
dram seller!! What a practical comment addressed 
to the serious and moral reflection of the citizen, 
of the legislator, who can talk of the right, of the 
expediency of vending intoxicating drink, and of 
sanctioning such right and such expediency by law ! 
What a comment addressed to the man who be¬ 
lieves that intoxicating drink is ever necessary or 
useful!—for where can it be necessary, useful, or 
excusable, if it is not so to guard against the effects 
of the pitiless ocean? Our seamen by hundreds 


and by thousands have now tried the experiment; 
they have drank ardent spirits at sea and on shore, 
they have met the tempest every where, they have 
endured the cold of the frozen regions and the burn¬ 
ing sun of the troi)ics without it, and this not once, 
but for years. Ask them in a sober and reflecting 
moment, and they will tell you that every where, 
and under every circumstance, it is no friend of 
theirs, but an enemy. 

What encouragement is thus afforded to faithful 
untiring efforts to withdraw the victims of intem¬ 
perance from the gulf into w'hich they may have 
fallen ! 

What encouragement never to despair in such 
efforts! Yet more than all, how imperative is the 
obligation on all our citizens to endeavour by every 
means to guard the yet virtuous and temperate from 
every temptation which may plunge them into such 
a vortex; to endeavour by all means in our pow er, 
to remove such temptation from amongst us; and 
to endeavour that they shall never again receive a 
public sanction.—New Bedford Report. 

Tendency of the Temperance Reform. —1. It 
will tend to check the spirit of gambling. 

2. It will tend to check midnight cabals, and pre¬ 
vent the keeping of late hours. 

3. It will restrain vulgarity, and promote decorum 
in social intercourse. 

4. It w'ill prevent many amusements which are 
of immoral character, and chasten those which are 
in themselves innocent. 

5. It will elevate the character of social inter¬ 
course, and promote kindness and affection among 
the members of families and neighbourhoods. 

6. It will elevate the national character in tlie 
eyes of foreign countries, and fix upon an immov¬ 
able basis our highly valued and cherished institu¬ 
tions. 

7. It will increase the productive industry of our 
country, and render crime and want, almost, if not 
entirely, unknown among us. 

Otto of Roses. —The royal society of Edinburgh 
received from Dr. Monro the following account of 
the manner in which this costly perfume is prepared 
in the East. Steep a large quantity of the petals 
of rose, freed from every extraneous matter, in pure 
water, in an earthen or wooden vessel, which is 
exposed daily to the sun, and housed at night, till 
a scum rises to the surface. This is the otto, which 
is carefully absorbed by a very small piece of cotton 
tied to the end of a stick. 4'he oil collected, squeeze 
out of the cotton into a very diminutive vial, stop it 
for use. The collection of it should be continued 
whilst any scum is produced. 

Intoxication. —A Bangor paper of 27th of Novem¬ 
ber states that on Sunday morning the 22d, a man 
was found dead in the dock; and that on Monday 
morning the 23d, another w'as found dead, and the 
body much bruised, near the bridge and that boll 
w'ere in the habit of intemperate drinking, and no 
doubt were intoxicated at the time of their death. 
What a lesson! What a warning! AVhy will not 
rational man avoid the poison of alcohol, which de¬ 
stroys both soul and body in-? 








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OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


173 


A VIEW OF PORTLAND. 

This very pleasant and Nourishing city, tlie com¬ 
mercial metropolis, and for twelve years the capital 
of Maine, is situated in latitude 43“^ 40’. It is about 
110 miles north by east from Boston, and 55 from 
Portsmouth, N. H. Its population in 1830 was 
12,600: It is now estimated to be between 15,000 
and 16,000. It is an ancient settlement; and was 
first called Casco, after the name of the bay, at the 
entrance of which it is situated. It was early in¬ 
corporated by the name of Falmouth, which it 
retained till 1786, when it received that of Portland. 
The water almost surrounds the city, making it a 
peninsula, not very unlike the site of Boston. There 
are two long toll bridges leading to the city ; one 
from the southwest, and the other from northeast; the 
entrance from the country west and northwest is 
nearly midway between the two bridges. The land 
rises gradually from the harbour at the southeast, 
and from the bay or large cove on the northwest. 
The tow'n is well laid out, and is built in a con¬ 
venient and elegant style. Few towns in the coun¬ 
try appear so pleasant to the eye of the traveller. 
There are now sixteen religious Societies and places 
of worship. There is a Branch Bank of the United 
States, and five other banking companies. The 
harbour is large and safe, and is very seldom frozen 
over below Portland. On Cape Elizabeth, which is 
the southeast bound of the harbour, there is a stone 
Lighthouse seventy feet high. The town is de¬ 
fended by forts Preble and Scammel, on opposite 
sides of the ship channel, about a mile from the 
Lighthouse. The islands around the harbour are 
quite numerous and beautiful, and serve to protect 
it against the violence of the storms. The shipping 
of Portland is about 43,000 tons; 210 schooners, 
100 brigs, 25 ships, 33 sloops, &,c. And there is 
a very laudable spirit of enterprise in the citizens. 
With their wealth they appear disposed to improve 
the city by literary institutions and abundant means 
of education. There is an Athenaeum, with a 
library of 3000. There is one public High School, 
in addition to several common schools; and there 
is an Academy, two High Schools for females, and 
several others, supported at private expense. The 
prosperity of the place has been aided by the stated 
and frequent running of steam-boats to and from 
Boston, and Bangor, a flourishing town on the Pe¬ 
nobscot. The boats run between Portland and 
Boston in about ten hours, a distance of thirty-three 
leagues. A survey has been lately made, with a 
view to a Rail-Road from Portland to Q.nebec. 
But it is probable the rout will be from Belfast or 
Bangor, as the distance is less than from Portland. 

BUFFALO. 

No place in the West perhaps, is rising more rap¬ 
idly in importance than Buffalo. Its situation for 
business and trade is peculiarly favourable; and the 
population and enterprise of the city have much 
increased within two years past. It was burnt by 
the British in 1813; but has been rebuilt, and con¬ 
tains fifteen thousand inhabitants. Several exten¬ 
sive blocks of stores are in building of four stories, 
and many elegant dwellinghouses. It is situated 
at the extreme east end of lake Erie, near the mouth 


of Buffalo creek or river, and not far from the 
mouth of the river Niagara. The great New 
York Canal, from Hudson through the state, termi¬ 
nates near this flourishing city ; and adds much to 
the business of the place. It is thus a great thor 
oughfare from New York and the Atlantic States 
to the western parts of the United States, and to 
Canada. The number of steam-boats going and 
coming is immense. To Detroit it is nearly two 
days sail; and the boats touch at Cleaveland and 
other places on the route. The inconvenience of a 
narrow entrance into the harbour opposite Buffalo, is 
sensibly felt, though the harbour itself is large. 
There is a plan to remedy this difficulty already 
adopted, and soon to be executed ; which is to cut 
a canal from the river nearly opposite the city to 
the lake, where is a bay or indentation not more 
than eighty rods from the river. The canal is to be 
one hundred feet wide, and of sufficient depth for 
steam-boats of the common size. This entrance 
will be about a mile from the mouth of the creek, 
and will make tlie ingress and egress sufficiently 
accommodating. It is proposed to extend a pier 
into the lake on one side of the mouth of the canal, 
so as to form a smooth harbour. The plan and 
work are of individual enterprise. 

Sheet Iron Steam-Boat. —A sheet iron Steam¬ 
boat has recently been put in successful operation 
on the Canal. It was built in Poughkeepsie, and is 
reported to be owned by Mr. Parrnalee of that place, 
and some gentlemen in this city. It is propelled 
by an Engine somewhat on the Locomotive plan, 
acting upon a central wheel forward of the ma¬ 
chinery. She has a very sharp bow, and runs at 
the rate of seven miles an hour, without making any 
swell or w’ash against the banks of the canal. 

We learn that she has proceeilcd on to Buffalo, 
and if the project succeeds, it will effect a great 
change in the system of canal Iransjjortation. Mr. 
Thaddeus Joy, one of our oldest forwarders, and a 
gentleman whose opinions are entitled to great re¬ 
spect, states his confidence in the invention. 

Albany Daily Advertiser. 

Bare Birds. —There are at this time to be seen 
at Mr. Henry Beckham’s house in this village, two 
singularly coloured Robins, one black, the other so 
dark that it w'ould not be known by its colour— 
they are in every other respect like our ordinary 
Redbreasted Robin ; the black one has a yellow bill, 
the bill of the other is much lighter; their note pre¬ 
cisely like that of the common Robin—they do not 
appear to be a mixed breed v\ ith any other species. 
They were taken last summer with three others 
from a nest in this vicinity, and tamed—the others 
are dead ; they were of similar colour, one black, 
the other two like the lightest now living. 

Fall Biver Becorder. 


Omnibus Umbrella. —A French mechanic has 
invented a kind of parapluie, which has received 
the name of omnibus. The umbrella is light and 
of ordinary dimensions ; but by means of a spring 
may be extended at pleasure, so as to cover two, 
four, or even six per.sons at once. 








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THE SOUTHERN CHARACTER. 

The following tribute to the character of the 
South, is copied from an essay in the Portland 
Courier: 

‘‘ The writer has travelled thousands of miles in 
the Southern country, and for several years he has 
been an attentive observer of character as it is de¬ 
veloped beneath a Southern sun. He has mingled 
in the various grades of society. He has met her 
citizens under all circumstances, favourable and un¬ 
favourable. With these opportunities of judging, 
he would certainly come to a very ditferent conclu¬ 
sion. Wherever he has wandered, the hand of hos¬ 
pitality has been extended towards him. How 
sweetly has the cheering voice of welcome fallen 
upon his ear! Many are the offices of kindness he 
has experienced, and not unfrequently from the 
hands of entire strangers. Grateful is the recollec¬ 
tion he will ever cherish of scenes that are past, but 
which have obtained the most hallowed place in his 
memory. He is aware that his pen is incapable of 
doing justice to this subject; but he would do vio¬ 
lence to his feelings, were he to sutler this opportu¬ 
nity to pass without recording his testimony in fa¬ 
vour of the citizens among whom he resides. Af- 
ter w'andering through the distant parts of our 
wide extended land, he feels authorized to say that, 
go where you will, you cannot find a more gener¬ 
ous and patriotic, a more enlightened and high 
minded people than those who have received such 
a liberal share of abuse from the northern aboli¬ 
tionists. Does any one doubt this assertion ? Let 
him come and examine for himself, and he will find 
this to be the language of truth and soberness.” 

By the last accounts from Spain, it appears that the 
Cortes have been assembled, composed of a majority 
of liberals. A new ministry has been formed of 
a similar political character, the members of which 
will go forward resolutely in the path of reform of 
ancient abuses, both in civil and ecclesiastical affairs. 
The conservatives appear to have lost all confidence, 
and are too few and feeble to oppose any formida¬ 
ble hindrances to the progress of liberal measures. 
The young Queen favours and sanctions this policy, 
whether from her personal sentiments, or the influ¬ 
ence of others may be doubtful. The prospect now 
is highly favourable for the cause of liberty in priest- 
ridden and king-ridden Spain, after more than three 
centuries of frightful despotism, “ during which, all 
sense of individual independence, and all the ele¬ 
ments of public prosperity, had disappeared.” 

The late cold weather.— The whole autumn 
down to the 23d of November, has been remarkably 
mild and pleasant. On Monday morning, Nov. 23, 
it began to snow, followed by rain in the afternoon. 
The weather then became cold and continued uni¬ 
formly so until Friday, the 4th of December. On 
Friday the 27th Nov. the Thermometer fell to 15 
degrees, in the morning, and rose no higher than 23 
at any part of the day. Monday the 30th was still 
colder; the lowest point, during the twenty-four hours, 
being 11®, and the highest 21°. On Wednesday, 
Dec. 2, the highest was 18°, and the lowest (in the 
evening) 8°. And on Thursday morning the mer¬ 


cury stood at 6°. On Friday, Dec. 4th, the weather 
moderated, and the snow melted from the roofs of 
the houses. Icicles hanging from the south side of 
the roofs of houses, lully exposed to the sun and 
sheltered frorn the northwest winds, which formed 
on Monday, Nov. 23, retained their situation and 
size until Friday afternoon, Dec. 4,—eleven days. 
The Thermometer rose once during that period, 
above the freezing point, to 34°, but it was only 
for so short a time as not to melt the icicles on the 
eaves of houses, or to cause the snow generally to slide 
from the roofs. On Friday Dec. 4, the Thermom¬ 
eter rose no higher than 34°, but it continued above 
the freezing point through the day and night, and 
in that time melted the snow so as to destroy the 
sleighing, which before was tolerably good in this 
neighbourhood. On Saturday it again became cold 
—in the evening the Thermometer fell to 18®, and 
on Sunday morning to 12®. 

Rochester. —This youthful city is constantly 
and rapidly augmenting its population, its business, 
and its wealth. Possessing, as it does, every possi¬ 
ble manufacturing facility, and surrounded by the 
richest agricultural soil in the world, it is destined to 
become, within twenty years, a city of twice as 
many thousand inhabitants. 

The Rochester papers are furnishing valuable 
statistical tables of their manufactures. From these 
we learn that they have twenty-one Flouring-Mills, 
with ninety-six runs of stone, now in operation. 
These mills cost ^540,000. They consume daily, 
20,000 bushels of Wheat, making 5000 barrels of 
Flour. The annual value of Flour manufactured 
there, amounts to Three Millions of Dollars. 


Late American Patents. —Lever Press. Plat¬ 
form for Rail-Road. Hydraulic Cement. Applica¬ 
tion of Water to Mills. Steam Engine. Rail-Road 
Cars. Coffee Mill. Bedstead for Invalids. Sup¬ 
plying Air to Fires. Cooking Stoves. Ploughs, 
and Churns. Time-pieces, propelled by Air. Chim¬ 
ney and Fire-place. Washing Machines, several. 
Writing Ink. Candles Making. Tanning. Pot¬ 
ash Making. Ship Building. Brick Machine. 
Bricks for roofs. Wire Door-spring. Saddle Tree. 
Brushes. Vapour-Bath. Chairs, making. Steam- 
boilers. Forcing Pump. Neck Stocks. Grates. 
Fire Engine. Saddles. Ever-pointed Pencils. 
Water-proof Shoes. Making Vinegar. Steam-ac¬ 
cidents prevented. Water-pumps. Locks and 
Latches. Chisels. Piano Fortes. Handles for 
Stoves. Fire-proof Chests. Fire-place. Bridges. 
Cheese Press. Warming Buildings. Oven. Bee- 
house. Truss. Time-pieces. Printing Press. 
Cooking Stove. Boiler for Kitchens. 

An English Review, referring to Col. Poussin’s 
work on Internal Improvements in the United 
States, since 1824, says, “It will impress its Eu¬ 
ropean readers with some idea of the Gigantic La¬ 
bours of a nation, to which we are the progenitors:” 
—and again, “ The only feeling we have towards 
Brother Jonathan’s improvements is a sort of half- 
surprised, half-jealous uneasiness at their magnifi¬ 
cence and extent.” 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 17f- 


Improvement in Steam Engines.— Mr. Price, of 
the Durham Glassworks, (England,) has published 
a plate of a steam safety-valve and chest, which has 
been in constant use for upwards of seven years 
without accident. Instead of the common valve, 
there is a cup placed on the top of the steam-chest, 
with an aperture for the steam to escape. In the 
cup is placed a loose brass ball, weighted to the 
pressure the boiler can bear. When the steam rises 
above that pressure, the ball rises also, and allows 
the steam to escape. Connected with the steam- 
chest below the ball-seat, there is an elbow pipe, 
which also enters the waste-pipe. In this is a han¬ 
dled valve, by which the engineer can blow ofl'his 
steam, or regulate it. It must be understood the 
ball cannot be weighted by the engineer. So soon 
as the steam rises above the safety pressure, it 
escapes; and when sufficiently blown off, the ball 
returns to its place. 


HOW TO GET RICH. 

“Yet truest riches, would mankind their breasts 
Bend to the precept, in a little lie, 

With mind well poised ; here want can never come.” 

The Morning Chronicle of July 3d, 1841, copied 
the following article from Galignani’s Messenger; 
it is of too singular an interest to be omitted in 
this collection ; — 

“ Margaret Bondet, a single woman, seventy- 
six years of age, living in the Rue Contrescarpe, 
was taken ill about a fortnight ago, and was sed- 
uously attended by two of her nieces. The morn¬ 
ing before last, she perceived death approaching, 
and desired that a notary should be sent for to 
make her will. As she had always lived as if 
she were in a state of poverty, her two attendants, 
believing that she was delirious, hesitated, and 
reminded her that this would create an expense, 
which they had no means of paying. The dying 
woman replied that she knew what she was about, 
and insisted on the man of tiie law being brought. 
A notary and a sufficient number of witnesses 
being collected, she commenced by dictating lega¬ 
cies of 100,000 francs to each of her nieces then 
present, who, on hearing these bequests, were only 
the more confirmed in their notion of the weak¬ 
ness of their aunt’s intellect; nor were their con¬ 
victions lessened when she went on making further 
dispositions of property to an amount in the whole 
of 500,000 francs. Their scepticism, however, 
was somewhat removed, when she added the fol¬ 
lowing account of herself and her property: ‘At 
the early age of thirteen I began to earn money. 
I never have had any useless expenses, and, dur¬ 
ing the sixty-three years since elapsed, have never 
passed a day without laying by something. Here 
are my titles and documents,’ taking from under 
her bolster an old portfolio filled with papers, 
which she placed in the hands of the notary. 

‘ You will find that I have 23,000 francs a year 
in the public funds, two houses in the Rue St. 
Jaques, one on the Boulevard du Temple, and 
one on the Q.uai St. Paul. I recommend my ten¬ 
ants to your care, for they are all honest people, 


and pay their rents regularly.’ These were her 
last words, for she expired almost immediately 
after. Yesterday her body was lying in a coffin, 
covered with a rich pall, and surrounded by one 
hundred and fifty lighted tapers, in the narrow 
alley leading to the house in which she lodged, 
and thence was borne away for interment by 
a splendid hearse, followed by ten mourning 
coaches.” 

BENEVOLENCE. 

“ Behold a record which together binds 
Past deeds and offices of charity.” — Wordsworth. 

“ Grasp the whole worlds of reason, life, and sense. 

In one close system of benevolence.” — Pope. 

“ The love of benevolence, in its utmost extent, 
embraces all beings capable of enjoying any por¬ 
tion of good; and thus it becomes universal benev¬ 
olence ; which manifests itself by being pleased 
with the share of good every creature enjoys; in 
a disposition to increase it; in feeling an uneasi¬ 
ness at their sufferings; and in the abhorrence of 
cruelty, under every disguise or pretext.” 


ODE, 

In commemoration of the Landing of the Pilgrims 
IN Plymoitth, Dec. 22nd, 1620. 

By Mrs. Sigourney. 

A bark is moor’d below,— 

’Mid the tossings of the bay ; 

What seeks it, where the hunter’s bow 
Hath evermore held sway ? 

They stand on Plymouth rock, 

A feeble, pilgrim band. 

Why bide they thus the wintry shock. 

In a wild, stranger land ? 

Their welcome who can tell. 

Save the bitter blast that blew 
And the snows that coldly fell. 

Ere their lowly cabins grew ?- 
An axe amid the trees !— 

The rugged hearth-stone flames— 

Yon dreary, shapeless huts !—are these » 

For England’s high-born dames? 

Hark !—to the war-whoop wild ! 

Look ! ’tis the Indian’s crest ; 

The Pilgrim-Mother clasps her child. 

And girds the warrior’s breast. 

No corn upon the vale,— 

No vessel o’er the wave,— 

What cheers them when their cheek is pale ? 

What lights the alien’s grave ? 

Old Harvard hath a voice. 

Within its classick halls, 

A whisper from their hallow’d dust. 

Who rear’d its ancient walls ; 

’Mid all their weary toil, 

’Mid all their wasting woe, 

They cast an acorn in the soil 
For this lordly Oak to grow. 

Recount their deeds of yore. 

Sons of those glorious sires. 

And kindle on this sacred shore 
High Freedom’s beacon-fires. 

And praise ye Him, whose hand 
Sustain’d them with his grace. 

And made this rock whereon ya stand. 

The Mecca of their race. 








FAE, FAR O’ER HILL AND DELL. 


A SPANISH MELODY. 


Lento. 















































































































































































































































































































































































































DE WITT CLINTON, AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 


If the late Governor Clinton, of New York, did 
not originally suggest the project of a Canal from 
Hudson to Lake Erie, it was owing to his influence 
that that great work of internal improvement was 
prosecuted with energy and success. It was under 
his auspices, as Chief Magistrate of that great State, 
- that the plan was so promptly undertaken and ac¬ 
complished. It required a large amount, and tliis 
could not be obtained, but from tlie public treasury, 
or on the credit of the State. Governor Clinton 
gave all his influence and support to the project, 
and it was by his recommendation that the Legisla¬ 
ture voted large sums of money for the purpose. 
Mr. Clinton was not a mere theorist; he was also a 
practical man ; and the union of these two traits of 


character enabled him to accomplish what a specu¬ 
lative person, though a genius, would have failed to 
perform. To construct a Canal of 365 miles, in 
the situation of the country ten years ago, and 
when only a single project of the kind had been 
undertaken in the country, and that on compara¬ 
tively a small scale, required uncommon talents, 
and great personal influence, arising from a confi¬ 
dence in the wise direction of those talents. The 
character of De Witt Clinton, for intelligence, de¬ 
cision and perseverance, stands high on the list of 
great men which have arisen in the United States, 
since the era of our National Independence. He 
was in public life at an uncommonly early age. As 
Mayor of the city of New York, at a critical period, 

23 


















































178 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


as Senator in Congress, and as Governor of the 
Empire State, his powers were called forth on ma¬ 
ny trying occasions; and he always proved himself 
able, faithful, and efficient. Dr. Hosack’s Eulogy 
on the life and character of Governor Clinton, 
though written by a personal friend, is a proud 
monument to the memory of that eminent States- 
n)an. The Erie Canal and other plans for inter¬ 
nal improvements in the State of New York, are 
chiefly indebted to Governor Clinton for their rapid 
execution, if not for their original contemplation. 
Without his powerful mind to arrange and carry 
forward these great works, it is not too much to 
say, perhaps, that they would not have been 
completed, even at the present time. His na¬ 
tive State is much indebted to his decision and re¬ 
solution o'f character, for its present high fame for 
public enterprise and improvements. Others have 
caught the generous spirit for public works; and 
Pennsylvania and other Stales have been cheer¬ 
ed on in the march of improvement by the success¬ 
ful example of New York. These public works 
serve to form a new era in the history of the United 
States; and those who took the lead in such 
enterprises will richly deserve the grateful remem¬ 
brance of posterity, for their promptness and zeal. 


A Short Sermon. — “ It is not for kings, O 
Lemuel, to drink wine ; nor for princes, strong 
drink.” We do not recollect the opinion of com¬ 
mentators on this text: but from our own acquaint¬ 
ance with scripture phraseology, we venture to say, 
that the terms are to be taken with some qualifica¬ 
tion, as many other passages must evidently be, to 
avoid an absurd or unreasonable doctrine. We are 
told, we must turn our cheek to him who smites us, 
and give our coat to him who asks it; nor take 
thought for the morrow, and even hate our own family 
and relations. All these and similar texts must be 
interpreted so as to be reasonable. Paul says, ‘ it is 
best not to marry.’ Yet we do not consider him 
as doing evil, who marries ; nor celibacy better than 
wedlock. The Scriptures bear testimony against 
drunkenness, and all other excess, in drink, meat, 
or apparel. Kings and rulers, as well as priests, 
should be temperate, and not set long at the wine ; 
nor take it so as to intoxicate, or to injure and 
weaken the intellect. Such indulgence would be 
improper in any ; but more so in men in public 
stations, as it would unfit them for their duty ; and 
others would suffer as well as themselves. We be¬ 
lieve drinking wine to excess, was a practice in for¬ 
mer times, and that men of wealth and leisure in¬ 
dulged in using too much strong drink and wine. 
The wise and prudent monitor would dissuade rul¬ 
ers and kings to avoid such a habit, as undignified, 
and inconsistent with their station and usefulness. 
It is not believed, that the writer here meant to give 
an opinion to one who was a professor of religion. 
The exhortation then is, not to drink much wine. 


or strong drink, and not to refrain entirely, as 
though it was an immorality. How can the advice 
of St. Paul to Timothy be justified on any other 
supposition or qualification than the above; And 
yet we would certainly advise all to abstain from 
wine and strong drink, except recommended by an 
able physician, to be taken for sickness and infir¬ 
mity. 


THE HONEY BEE, OR DOMESTIC BEE. 

[apis mellifica.] 

It is brown, covered with yellowish gray hairs, 
thicker on the breast than on the other parts of the 
body. The female is much larger than the male, 
longer in the belly, wings shorter. The eyes of the 
male are very large, and occupy the whole upper 
part of the head. The working Bees are smaller 
than the others. This Bee is raised in hives, and 
furnishes us with honey and wax. 

The Bees that we call domestic, live in a society 
which has been named a monarchy. We are igno¬ 
rant what places they inhabit naturally. They are 
found wild in different parts of Asia, in Italy, and 
in the southern parts of France. 

One hive is commonly inhabited by one single 
female; by males, to the number of from one to 
two hundred, and by five or six thousand working 
Bees, sometimes more. The females who have been 
honoured by many naturalists, with the names of 
kings and queens, have the belly much longer than 
those of the males; but these are more large. The 
sting of the female is longer than that of the work¬ 
ing Bee, and a little bent under the belly. They 
live inclosed in the interiour of the hive, and do not 
go out but under two circumstances. They are 
occupied there in laying eggs. The working Bees 
are smaller than the male or female. They are 
those which are charged with the work. They 
construct the honey-comb, with which the hives are 
filled. These honey-combs are composed of hexa¬ 
gonal cells, situated one against the other; each 
side of the comb containing nearly an equal num¬ 
ber of cells, of which some serve to contain the 
honey, others the eggs, that the female there depos¬ 
its, and in which the larva) have their growth, and 
undergo their changes. Cells of different sizes, are 
found in the hive. Those that are to contain the 
males are more spacious than those that are to con¬ 
tain the larvae of the working Bees. The Bees us¬ 
ually place their combs parallel to one another, and 
leave between a passage of sufficient breadth for 
two Bees to pass at a time. Formerly, it was 
thought that the matter, which the Bees employed 
in the construction of the comb, was the dust that 
they are seen to collect on the stamens of flowers: 
that they transformed this dust, which is what we 
call pollen, into real wax. Some authors thought, 
that they mixed it with honey. Swammerdam 
thought, they moistened it with a poisonous liquor, 
that they had in vessie. Now it is known, by the 
experiments of M. Huber, that the wax is produced 
from the honey which has undergone an operation 
in the stomach of the bees. 

The Bees must guard themselves from the insects 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


179 


that seek their wax, their honey, and themselves, 
and make a shelter against the weather. Thus 
their first care, when established in a new hive, is to 
stop all the holes. They do not use wax for this ; 
nature has taught them to serve themselves with a 
substance more proper, which spreads and attaches 
itself better. This is called propolis. They draw 
this matter from young buds of poplar, willow, and 
other trees. They do not content themselves with 
stopping the holes in the hive with this. They 
harden with it the supports that sustain the comb, 
and often extend it over the interiour walls. 

The honey that they gather from the flowers in 
their trunk, is conducted by this organ into the 
mouth, where the tongue is, which pushes into the 
throat the honey that is brought there, and which, 
in its turn, passes it into the stomach. When a Bee 
has filled his stomach with honey, he returns to the 
hive, and then when he has entered, looks for a cell 
into which to deposit it. Often, one of these Bees is 
met on the way, by some of the working Bees who 
have not collected any honey. Then she is stop¬ 
ped, straightens and extends her trunk, and thrusts 
some honey to her mouth. The others put up the 
end of their trunk and draw it away. Often she 
does the same service to those who are at work in 
the hive. 

The honey which the Bees collect, generally from 
the flowers, sometimes from the leaves, as well as 
other parts of trees and vegetables, is carefully put 
in reserve at the bottom of the hive, to be more 
easily guarded against foreign Bees. Hence the 
great difficulty of collecting it in the hives of the 
old form; that is to say, in the hives of a single 
piece, and the impossibility almost of effecting it 
without raising the brood, injuring many of the Bees, 
irritating them, and receiving their stings ; and hence 
the utility, or to speak more correctly, the necessity 
of using the hives of several pieces. 

The pollen is the matter which the Bees bring 
continually on their feet, and which serves, (after 
having undergone one change in the stomach of the 
artificers) for nourishment to the brood, which is 
deposited near it. 

The brood is the progeny of the queen. It makes 
the pleasure and delight of the working Bees, and 
is the hope of the whole population. It is com¬ 
monly in the centre of the hive, that the Bees may 
take care of it, feed it, and keep it warm more 
easily. The manner in which it is formed, is as 
follows:—The queen lays her eggs, where, at the end 
of several days, they hatch, and three small worms 
come forth. These worms, nourished by the work¬ 
ing Bees, grow so large as to fill, in a very short 
time, the cells which contain them. At this time, 
the bees cover the cells with a roof of wax, slightly 
convex, and the worms thus enclosed, spin their 
shells, and are transformed to young bees, who 
after a certain period, thrust aside their covering, 
and come out. The cells containing the young 
worm are easily distinguished from those containing 
honey, in that, the wax roofs of the honey cells are 
flat and thin, while those of the brood are convex, 
thicker, and consequently less transparent, and 
more yellow. 

The propolis is a red or yellow gum, which serves 


the Bees to harden the interiour of the hive and 
thereby to defend them from their enemies. 

The fear of their stings is the principal cause that 
keeps away many persons from the culture of Bees. 
To avoid them, it is almost always sufficient to be 
fortified with sn)oking linen. 

The Bees that have lost their queen, replace her; 
if they find in their hive eggs, or young worms of 
three days or less, giving them a different nourish¬ 
ment, more abundant and suited to their growth. 

M. Huber has ascertained by certain experiments, 
that the honey is the basis of the wax, and that the 
pollen is indispensable to the nourishment of the 
brood. 

Among the cells which are filled with honey, 
some contain that which is designed for daily con¬ 
sumption ; the others, that which is to nourish the 
Bees, in times when they go in vain to seek it 
among the flowers. This last is contained in the 
small cells which have each a roof of wax, and the 
Bees do not touch it, but in case of necessity. The 
other remains uncovered. 

The other cells of the hive are destined to con¬ 
tain the eggs. The first eggs that the female lays, 
are those that will produce the working Bees; and 
she continues during eleven months to lay almost 
wholly, eggs of this sort. It is not till the end of 
eleven months that she begins to make a considera¬ 
ble laying, producing eggs of drones. It is in spring 
that the laying of the drones takes place. There 
are about two thousand. She has a second laying 
less considerable of the same eggs, toward the mid¬ 
dle of summer: and in the interval, between these 
two layings, she lays scarcely any thing else but 
eggs of the working Bee. She lays her eggs in the 
cells designed for the different individuals to come 
from them. Commonly, beside the eggs of the 
working bees and drones, the female lays some 
which are to produce females. These eggs are de¬ 
posited in cells of a different form, and larger than 
the others. They are not hexagonal: their form is 
oblong. In the year the female lays fifteen or 
twenty eggs destined to produce queens ; sometimes 
three or four; or none at all. In the last case the hive 
will not swarm. - 

If all history be not false, if there be any philoso¬ 
phy teaching by example, collected by faithful ob¬ 
servation of the past, and recorded for the instruc¬ 
tion of the future, this truth is certain, that the 
general and eager pursuit of riches, must bring on 
the downfall of republican liberty. The excessive 
selfishness and the laxity of moral principles, which 
it invariably induces, while they withdraw from the 
concerns of the Commonwealth, the affections and 
attentions of the great body of the people, will leave 
them to the management of intriguing, caballing, 
and mercenary politicians, at once rapacious, cun¬ 
ning and base, and pursuing wicked ends by worse 
means. Instead of public virtue, and a general re¬ 
gard for the Commonwealth, a spirit of avarice and 
corruption will increase, and eventually undermine 
the fair fabric of our freedom. Gaston. 


Of 1^1,800,000 for repairs of forts, provided by a 
late act of Congress, ^350,000 are appropriated to 
forts Independence and Warren, in Boston harbour. 






180 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



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OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


181 


MOUNT ARARAT. 

This is the name of the mountain, on which the 
Ark of Noah rested, after the deluge, according to 
the tradition and belief of ancient nations in that 
part of Asia. There are, however, different opin¬ 
ions on the subject; and it is wholly a matter of 
conjecture, farther than that, there is evidence the 
early abode of the present race of men was in the 
vicinity of the group of mountains, of which this is 
one, and the most elevated. This mountain and 
this group are in the south of Armenia, and north 
of Mesopotamia. One of the range of Mount 
Taurus, which rises in the middle of Armenia, is 
also supposed to be that on which the ark rested, 
when the waters subsided. There is still another 
mountain in Armenia, standing alone, some distance 
from the range above mentioned, which the people 
of the country pretend is the Ararat of sacred his¬ 
tory. This is so high, that it is generally covered 
with snow (lying in latitude N. 3°,) and has seldom 
if ever been fully explored. But a modern Dutch 
traveller says, he went five days’ journey up into 
this mountain and saw a Roman Catholic hermit; 
that he passed three regions of clouds—and that he 
advanced five miles each day. The mountain last 
mentioned may be seen at the distance of five or 
six days’ journey. Near this mountain are the re¬ 
mains of a very ancient settlement, which some pre¬ 
tend was made by Noah and his sons, before Babel 
was built, which was not till more than 100 years 
after the deluge, and probably by the grand children, 
chiefly of that patriarch. Some have supposed 
Noah remained in the vicinity of Ararat the residue 
of his life ; for it is a fertile country ; while others 
conjecture, that he removed far cast to India. The 
stories of relics of the Ark, still found in the Moun¬ 
tain, are entitled to no credit. And the reports, 
made 2000 years, of their being seen, are no more 
authentic. 

Note. The Ark is supposed to have been 450 or 
500 feet long, 75 or 80 wide, and 50 high,—and the 
interiour capacity 300,000 cubits, of cubic measure. 


ASTRONOMY.—THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF 
THE SUN. 

When viewed with a telescope, the Sun is often 
found to have black spots on its disc, surrounded 
with a kind of border, less completely dark, called 
the penumbra. They are not stationary or perma¬ 
nent: they appear to enlarge or contract from day 
to day, and even from hour to hour, to change 
their forms, and at length to disappear altogether, 
or to break out anew in parts of the surface where 
none were seen before. In such cases of disap¬ 
pearances, the central dark spot always contracts 
into a point, and vanishes before the border. Some¬ 
times they separate or divide into two or more, 
and offer every evidence of the extreme mobility 
which belongs only to fluids, and that very violent 
agitation which seems to indicate a gaseous or at¬ 
mospheric state of matter. The scale is immense 
on which their movements take place. A single 
second of angular measure, as seen from the earth, 
corresponds with the Sun’s disk to 465 miles; and 
a circle of this diameter, containing nearly 220,000 
square miles, is the least space which can be dis¬ 


tinctly discerned on the Sun as a visible area. Spots 
have been discovered, however, whose linear diam- 
ameter has been upwards of 45,000 miles, and ac¬ 
cording to some, of still greater extent. That such 
a spot should close up in the space of six weeks, 
(and they seldom last a longer time,) its borders 
must approach at the rate of 1000 miles or more in 
a day.* 

There are other circumstances which confirm this 
view of the subject. The part of the Sun’s disc 
not occupied by spots, is far from uniform bright¬ 
ness. Its ground is finely mottled with an appear¬ 
ance of minute, dark spots, or pores, which, when 
attentively observed, are found to be in a constant 
state of change. There is nothing which so nearly 
represents this appearance as the slow subsidence 
of the flocculent chymical precipitates in a transpar¬ 
ent fluid, when viewed perpendicularly from above; 
so nearly, indeed, that it is hardly possible not to 
be impressed with the idea of a luminous medium 
intermixed, but not confounded, with a transparent 
and non-luminous atmosphere, either floating as 
clouds in our air, or pervading it in vast sheets or 
columns like flame, or the streams of our northern 
lights. 

“ But what are the spots ? Many fanciful no¬ 
tions have been broached on this subject, but only 
one seems to have any degree of physical proba¬ 
bility, viz. that they are the dark, or at least com¬ 
paratively dark, solid body of the Sun itself, laid 
bare to our view by those immense fluctuations in 
the luminous regions of its atmosphere, to which it 
appears to be subject. Respecting the manner in 
which this disclosure takes place, different ideas 
again have been advocated. Lalande suggests, that 
eminences in the nature of mountains are actually 
laid bare, and project above the luminous ocean, 
appearing black above it, while their shoaling de¬ 
clivities produce the penumbrae, where the luminous 
fluid is less deep. A fatal objection to this theory 
is the perfectly uniform shade of the penumbra and 
its sharp termination, both inwards, where it joins 
the spot, and outwards, where it borders on the 
bright surface. A more probable view has been 
taken by Sir William Herschel, who considers the 
luminous strata of the atmosphere to be sustained 
far above the level of the solid body by a trans¬ 
parent elastic medium, carrying on its upper surface 
(or rather, to avoid the former objection, at some 
considerably lower level within its depth,^ a clou¬ 
dy stratum which, being strongly illuminated from 
above, reflects a considerable portion of the light to 
our eyes, and forms a penumbra, while the solid 
body, shaded by the clouds, reflects none. The 
temporary removal of both the strata, but more of 
the upper than the lower, he supposes effected by 
powerful upward currents of the atmosphere, aris¬ 
ing, perhaps, from spiracles in the body, or from 
local agitations. 

“ The region of the spots is confined within 
about 30° of the Sun’s equator, and, from their 
motion on the surface, carefully measured with 

• The diameter of the Sun is estimated to be 882,000 mites, 
white that of the earth is titUe more than 9,000. The Sun is sup¬ 
posed to revotve on its own axis in twentj-five days, and in the 
same direotion as the earth, from west to east. 






182 


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micrometers, is ascertained the position of the 
equator, which is a plane inclined 7® 20’ to the 
ecliptic, and intersecting it in a line whose direction 
makes an angle of 80® 21’ with that or the equi¬ 
noxes. It has been also noticed (not, we think, 
w'ithout great need of further confirmation,) that 
extinct spots have again broken out, after long in¬ 
tervals of time, on the same identical points of the 
Sun’s globe. Our knowledge of the period of its 
rotation (which, according to Delambre’s calcula¬ 
tions, is 25‘‘' 01154, but, according to others, mate¬ 
rially different,) can hardly be regarded as suffi¬ 
ciently precise to establish a point of so much 
nicety. 

“ That the temperature at the visible surface of 
the Sun cannot be otherwise than very elevated, 
much more so than any artificial heat produced in 
our furnaces, or by chemical or galvanic processes, 
we have indications of several distinct kinds: 1st, 
From the law of decrease of radiant heat and liglit, 
which, being inversely as the squares of the distan¬ 
ces, it follows, that the heat received on a given 
area exposed at the distance of the earth, and on an 
equal area at the visible surface of the Sun, must 
be in the proportion of the area of the sky occupied 
by the Sun’s apparent disc to the whole hemis¬ 
phere, or as 1 to about 300000. A far less inten¬ 
sity of solar radiation, collected in the focus of a 
burning glass, suffices to dissipate gold and platina 
in vapour. 2dly, From the facility with which the 
calorific rays of the Sun traverse glass, a property 
which is found to belong to the heat of artificial 
fires in the direct proportion of their intensity. 3dly, 
From the fact, that the most vivid flanres disappear, 
and the most intensely ignited solids appear only as 
black spots on the disc of the Sun when held be¬ 
tween it and the eye. From this last remark it fol¬ 
lows, that the body of the Sun, however dark it 
may appear when seen through its spots, may, 
nevertheless, be in a state of most intense ignition. 
It does not, however, follow of necessity that it 
must be so. The contrary is at least physically 
possible. A perfectly reflective canopy would ef¬ 
fectually defend it from the radiation of the lumin¬ 
ous regions above its atmosphere, and no heat would 
be conducted downwards through a gaseous medi¬ 
um increasing rapidly in density. That the pe- 
numbral clouds are highly reflective, the fact of 
their visibility in such a situation can leave no 
doubt. 

“ This immense escape of heat by radiation, we 
may also remark, will fully explain the constant state 
of tumultuous agitation in which the fluids compos¬ 
ing the visible surface are maintained, and the con- 
tinual generation and filling in of pores, without 
having recourse to internal causes. The mode of 
action here alluded to is perfectly represented to 
the eye in the disturbed subsidence of a precipitate, 
when the fluid from which it subsides is warm, and 
losing heat from its surface. 

“ The Sun’s rays are the ultimate source of 
almost every motion which takes place on the sur¬ 
face of the earth. By its heat are produced all 
wands, and those disturbances in the electric equi¬ 
librium of the atmosphere which give rise to the 
phenomena of terrestrial magnetism. By their vivi¬ 


fying action vegetables are elaborated from inorganic 
matter, and become, in their turn, the support of 
animals and of man, and the sources of those great 
deposites of dinamical efficiency which are laid up 
for human use in our coal strata. By them the 
waters of the sea are made to circulate in vapour 
through the air, and irrigate the land, producing 
springs and rivers. By them are produced all dis¬ 
turbances of the chymical equilibrium of the ele¬ 
ments of nature, which, by a series of compositions 
and decompositions, give rise to new products, and 
originate a transfer of materials. Even the slow 
degradation of the solid constituents of the surface, 
in which its chief geological changes consist, and 
their diffusion among the waters of the ocean, are 
entirely due to the abrasion of the wind and rain, 
and the alternate action of the seasons ; and when 
we consider the immense transfer of matter so pro¬ 
duced, the increase of pressure over large spaces in 
the bed of the ocean, and diminution over corres¬ 
ponding portions of the land, we are not at a loss 
to perceive how the elastic power of subterranean 
fires, thus repressed on the one hand and relieved 
on the other, may break forth in points when the 
resistance is barely adequate to their retention, and 
thus bring the phenomena of even volcanic activity 
under the general law of solar influence. 

“ The great mystery, however, is to conceive how 
so enormous a conflagration (if such it be) can be 
kept up. Every discovery in chymical science here 
leaves us completely at a loss, or rather, seems to 
remove farther the prospect of probable explanation. 
If conjecture might be hazarded, we should look 
rather to the known possibility of an indefinite gen¬ 
eration of heat by friction, or to its excitement by 
the electric discharge, than to any actual combus¬ 
tion of ponderable fuel, w hether solid or gaseous 
for the origin of the solar radiation.*” 

* “ Electricity traversing excessively rarefied air or vapours, gives 
out light, and, doubtless, also heat. May not a continual current 
of electric matter be constantly circulating in the Sun’s immediate 
neighbourhood, or traversing the planetary space, and exciting, in 
the upper regions of its atmosphere, those phenomena of which, on 
however diminutive a scale, we have yet an unequivocal manifes 
tation in our aurora borealis ? The possible analogy of the solar 
light to that of the aurora has been distinctly insisted on by my 
father, in his paper already cited. It would be a highly curious 
subject of experimental inquiry, how far a mere reduplication of 
sheets of tlame, at a distance one behind the other (by which their 
light might be brought to any required intensity,) would com¬ 
municate to the heat of the resulting compound ray the penetrating 
character which distinguishes the solar calorific rays. XV'e may 
also observe, that the tranquillity of the Sun’s polar, as compared 
with its equatorial regions (if its spots be really atmospheric,) can¬ 
not be accounted for by its rotation on its axis only, butri/vst arise 
from some cause external to the Sun, as we see the belts of Jupi¬ 
ter and Saturn, and our trade-wind.s, arise from a cause, external 
to these planets, combining itself with their rotation, which alone 
can produce no motions when once the form of equilibrium is at¬ 
tained.” 


Mr. Lindsay, late lecturer in the Watt Institu¬ 
tion, Scotland, has succeeded in obtaining a con¬ 
stant electric light. It surpasses all other in beauty, 
has no smell, emits no smoke, is incapable of explo¬ 
sion ; and as it does not require air for combustion 
can be kept in sealed glass jars. It ignites without 
the aid of a taper. It can be sent to a distance, 
and the apparatus for producing it may be kept in 
a common chest. 





183 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


SILK MANUFACTURE, IN ENGLAND. 

In 1785, the increased use of cotton cloths les¬ 
sened the demand for silk fabrics; and the Spital- 
field weavers, being forbidden to work at reduced 
wages, were thrown entirely out of employment. 
In 1793, more than 4000 looms were quite idle. 
In 1798, the trade again revived, and improved 
slowly till 1815, when the weavers were plunged in 
greater distress than before. 

It began about this time to be evident that the 
legislative protection afforded to the manufacture 
had almost wholly checked the progress of improve¬ 
ment ; that the art continued stationary in England, 
while on the Continent it was steadily advancing. 
In 1826, it was stated in the House of Commons, 
that the looms were of the worst possible construc¬ 
tion ; that the improved loom in France, would, in 
a given time, produce five times as much riband as 
the English, with the same labour, and that in Ger¬ 
many forty-seven times as much velvet could be 
made in the same time as in England. At length 
the principal manufacturers themselves addressed 
petitions to Parliament for a change of the system. 
At this time (1824) the duty on foreign thrown silk 
amounted to 14s. 17 l-2d per lb.; that on raw silk 
from Bengal to 4s., and from other places to 5s. 
7 l-2d. Through the exertions of Mr. Huskisson, 
the former duty was reduced to 7s. Gd. and subse¬ 
quently to 5s, and both the latter to 3d. At the 
same time, the restriction of the foreign manufac¬ 
ture was lessened to a duty of 30 per cent, ad valo¬ 
rem. These laws passed in 1824, were to take ef¬ 
fect two years after. As might have been expected, 
active preparations were made in France for the 
approaching change, and a large stock of silk goods 
accumulated. To avoid the threatened inundation, 
another act was passed, prohibiting silks of certain 
lengths, known to be the dimensions of the French 
fabrics ! This illiberal proceeding caused a great 
loss on the accumulated stock, but failed wholly of 
its ultimate purpose. Before tlie ports were open¬ 
ed a new supply had been raised ta meet the new 
conditions; while the goods thus rendered unsalea¬ 
ble were purchased at a low rate by smugglers, and 
almost without exception found their way into the 
English market. 

It is not the least evil of the restrictive system, 
that when once established, however injurious in it¬ 
self, it cannot be abandoned for a more liberal policy 
without producing much individual suffering. The 
operation of this principle was shown in the effects 
of the regulation just quoted. Some branches of 
the silk manufacture, which had been pursued in the 
face of great natural disadvantages, were broken up 
by the influx of foreign competition. This was 
particularly the case with the riband manufacture, 
in which the French, principally from their superi¬ 
ority in dyeing, maintain the ascendancy. With 
this exception the operation of the law was every 
way salutary. Between 1823, when the monopoly 
was in its vigour, and 1828, the amount of raw silk 
imported into England was doubled. The proces¬ 
ses of the manufacture were rapidly improved. The 
best foreign machines were adopted, and in many in- , 
stances improved upon. It was found that in many 
descriptions of goods, the English, under the reduc¬ 
ed duty on the material, could compete with their ' 


rivals in foreign markets. From 1823 to 1830, the 
exports of English silks increased from £140,320 to 
£437,880, and since that time the augmentation has 
continued. The condition of the artisans, with the 
exceptions above mentioned, has decidedly improv¬ 
ed ; and of course, the number of persons maintain¬ 
ed by the trade has greatly augmented. Mean 
while it is a fact worth observing, that the quantity 
of French goods imported under the new system 
was scarcely greater than the atnount smuggled into 
the country while the prohibition continued ! It is 
generally admitted that a gradual reduction of the 
duty, from its present rate to 12 or 15 per cent, 
would be attended with the best effects.* 

* The advocates for a restrictive system, relating to the manu¬ 
factures, will find some judicious remarks of a practical bearing in 
the above. 


CAPTAIN DALE, OF THE AMERICAN NAVY. 

Richard Dale was a native of Virginia, and was 
born in the year 1756. He entered the sea faring 
life at an early age, and before he was twenty, had 
command of a merchant ship. The second year of 
the revolutionary war, he was an officer in the naval 
service, under Capt. Barry. In 1777, the ship he 
was in, was captured by the British, and he was 
kept a prisoner more than a year. He escaped 
from his imprisonment and entered the Bon Hom¬ 
me Richard, commanded by Paul Jones. He was 
first Lieutenant of that ship, in the desperate en¬ 
gagement with the British frigate Serapis. His bra¬ 
very was conspicuous, among the many brave men 
and officers of the American ship, and he was the 
first to board the English frigate. In 1781, Dale 
was transferred to the frigate Trumbull, under the 
command of James Nicholson. In 1795, he receiv¬ 
ed a Captain’s commission in the navy of the Unit¬ 
ed States. In 1801, he commanded a squadron to 
the Mediterranean, for the protection of American 
vessels in that sea; and his services were highly 
useful. Courage was not his only good quality ; 
he discovered good judgment on many difficult oc¬ 
casions, and was much esteemed in private life. 
Those who best knew him, gave him the character 
of an honest and honourable man. Most of those 
who engaged in the war of the revolution, were 
patriotic as well as brave. He retired from the 
naval service in 1802, and died in 1826. 

The Tent of Alexander the Great con¬ 
tained a hundred couches, and w’as supported by 
eight columns of solid gold. A cloth of gold was 
stretched overhead, wrought with various devices, 
and expanded so as to cover the whole ceiling. 
Within, in a semi-circle, stood five hundred Persians 
bearing lances ; their dress was purple and orange. 
Next w'ere drawn up a thousand archers, clothed in 
scarlet and flame-coloured dresses. In front of 
these were five hundred soldiers {argyvaspides) 
with silver shields. In the middle was the golden 
throne, on which Alexander sat and gave audience. 
The tent on the outside was encircled by elephants, 
drawn up in order, and a thousand Macedonians in 
their native dress. Beyond, were the Persian guard 
of ten thousand men, and five hundred courtiers 
allowed to wear purple robes.—This surpasses the 
parade of all modern Princes or Conquerors. 









184 


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A VIEW OF ALBANY. N. Y, 
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


185 


ALBANY, N. Y. 

We present a view of the Capital of New York, 
as it now appears :—What it will be in years, il 
is difficult to say, or to estimate. But if it in¬ 
creases as it has done for years past, it will rank as 
the fifth, for population and trade and elegance, in 
the United States. The number of inhabitants at 
present is about thirty thousand, and ten years ago, 
it was but about half that amount. If it should be 
contrasted with the settlement fifty years ago, it 
would be found to have increased almost as much 
as any in the country. It is a very ancient settle¬ 
ment ; second only to Jamestown in Virginia; and 
ten or twelve years before Plymoutli, which is the 
oldest town in Massachusetts, or New England. 
Albany was early inhabited by the Dutch, who were 
always an industrious and thriving people. The 
local situation is favourable, being on the land as it 
rises moderately from the North River; and the 
streets generally lying either parallel with or per¬ 
pendicular to it. The country on both sides of the 
river, and at a great distance, presents a pleasant 
view ; for it is generally highly cultivated, and con¬ 
taining many handsome houses and villas. In the 
city of Albany, the private and public buildings are 
very numerous. The public buildings are the Capitol 
or State House, State Hall, City Hall, Albany Acade¬ 
my, Female Academy, Female Seminary, Lancaster 
School House, Orphan Asylum, Museum, Theatre, 
Alms-house, several Banks, and eleven Churches 
or Houses for religious worship. In the Albany 
Directory for 1831, it is said, that the charter to in¬ 
corporate the city was granted in IC86, and that it 
is the oldest city incorporation in the United States. 
But if we mistake not, New York was endowed 
with city privileges in 1665, by the Commissioners 
of Charles II., and Thomas Willet, (who had li'’ed 
some time before at Plymouth) was appointed the 
Mayor. In all respects, Albany takes a high rank 
among the cities of the United States. Its literary, 
charitable and religious institutions are well sup¬ 
ported : and no one, who knew the place thirty 
years ago, and now visits it, and is so happy as to 
become well acquainted with the people and their 
manners, and with the police and government of 
the city, but must be astonished to witness the great 
and favourable changes which have been made. 

LEAP YEAR. 

The period of the seasons, or the year according 
to civil computation, is not precisely the same as 
the apparent revolution of the Sun. It is also 
found, that the year of the seasons does not consist 
of a certain number of complete days, but of 365 
days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 50 seconds: and 
this fact has caused some difficulty in defining or 
fixing the number of days of which the year con¬ 
sists. To approach very nearly to the truth, it has 
been assumed that the year was 365 days and six 
hours, thus allowing more time for a year, or a com¬ 
plete revolution of the earth, by eleven minutes and 
ten seconds, than in truth it is. The object was to 
allow for the fraction of a day, and yet keep the 
months to the same season. It is also important, 
in civil reckoning, to have the year consist of a cer¬ 
tain number of whole days. The Julian period, 


settled by Julius Ccesar, Emperour of Rome, a short 
time belore our era, was on the supposition that 
365 days and six hours were necessary to constitute 
the year; and it was ordered, that three years in 
succession should be composed of 365 days; and 
that the fourth year should consist of 366 days. 
This theory was a near approximation to the truth, 
and sufficient for civil reckonings for a great num¬ 
ber of years, and yet not strictly accurate. The 
year was thus made too long by eleven minutes 
and ten seconds, and in one hundred and twenty- 
five years would amount to a whole day. And this 
last errour long remained, while the other was cor¬ 
rected, by making every fourth year to be 366 days, 
(which was called Leap-year;) and has been so 
calculated, by adding a day to the month of Feb¬ 
ruary accordingly. The other errour, which made 
the year too long by eleven minutes, and ten sec¬ 
onds, was not corrected till near the close of the 
16th century, when the excess (from the time of 
Caesar) of the year as usually calculated, at 365 
days and six hours, over the true year, amounted to 
ten days. The correction was made by the Pope of 
Rome, on account of the change of the day of some 
festivals of the church. On inquiry, it was found 
that the vernal equinox was on the 11th of March, 
which should be on the 21st. A correction of ten 
days was accordingly made, and adopted in Roman 
Catholic countries ; but it was not introduced into 
Great Britain, nor the British Colonies in America, 
till 1752. 

It has been stated, that the ancient errour (in ex¬ 
cess) amounted to a day in about one hundred and 
twenty-five years; but instead of suppressing a day 
for that period of years, (whether common or leap 
year) it was concluded to make the correction only 
in leap-year, thus always having 365 days in each 
year. Besides, as the centurial years 1600, 1700, 
&-C. would be leap-years, it was concluded that the 
errour of a day should be omitted in those years, and 
thus reduce them to the number of days in a com¬ 
mon year. It may be further observed, that the 
errour of a day in 125 or 30 years, is nearly equiva¬ 
lent to three days in 400 years; and thus omitting 
a day every centurial year for three such periods 
successively, and retaining the fourth centurial 
year as a leap-year (with 366 days) the desired 
effect would be produced, and the civil year, by a 
simple process, would be very nearly equal to the 
year of the seasons, or the tropical year. By this 
reckoning or theory, the errour would not be more 
than a day in four thousand years. 


‘ Vain end of human strength, of human skill, 
Conquests, and triumph, and domain, and pomp. 
And ease and luxury ! O luxury. 

Bane of elated life, of affluent states. 

What dreary change, what ruin is not thine I 
How doth thy bowl intoxicate the mind 
To the soft entrance of thy rosy cave 
How dost thou lure the fortunate and great! 

Dreadful attraction ! while behind thee gapes 
Th’ unfathomable gulf where Ashur lies 
O’erwhelm’d, forgotten ; and high boasting Cham ; 
And Elam’s haughty pomp ; and beauteous Greece , 
And the great queen of earth, imperial Rome 

24 








186 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


MINERALS MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE. 

[From Moore’s Ancient Mineralogy.] 

The design of the sacied Scriptures was not to 
teach us Natural Science ; but to make us wise 
unto salvation. Accordingly, and in consistence 
with the simplicity of those early times to which the 
books of the Old Testament relate, we find in them 
few indications of any acquaintance with minerals, 
other than six metals, and various precious stones. 

Besides these, indeed, the mineral substances 
mentioned in the Bible amount in number to no more 
than nine ; which are marble, alabaster, lime, flint, 
brimstone, amber, vermilion, nitre, and salt. To 
these we should perhaps add two others, the one 
bdellium; mention of which twice occurs;* and as 
to the nature of which interpreters are wholly at a 
loss: the other bitumen; for a word in the six¬ 
teenth chapter of Genesis, translated pitch, and 
twice afterwards, in the same book, slime, is thought 
by the learned to signify, not the vegetable sub¬ 
stance, but mineral pitch, a species of bitumen. 

The only metals spoken of in Scripture as known 
previous to the Deluge, are copper and iron. Be¬ 
sides which, we find mentioned in the Bible, gold, 
silver, tin and lead. Ores of two other metals 
appear to have been employed as pigments from the 
earliest times ; the one a sulphuret of mercury, 
which furnished a native vermilion; the other a 
sulphuret of antimony, from which was prepared a 
black paint, very generally used by women in the 
East, even at this day, to improve the beauty of the 
eye, by heightening its lustre, and increasing its 
apparent size. 

In the short list just now given of mineral sub¬ 
stances mentioned in the Bible, there are three only 
that require at present further notice. These are 
alabaster, salt, and nitre. The alabaster of the 
ancients was not the substance now usually desig¬ 
nated by that name, and used to form small figures, 
vases, and other ornaments, which is a granular or 
compact gypsum ; that of the ancients was more 
commonly a stalagmitic carbonate of lime. The 
name was applied both to the material and to the 
vessels made of it, for the purpose commonly of 
preserving unguents and odoriferous liquids. This 
is the purpose to which Pliny speaks of it as pecu¬ 
liarly adapted. We find it mentioned in the New- 
Testament as applied to this use, and so it continues 
to be in Egypt, even to the present day. 

Table salt is a mineral with which all are familiarly 
acquainted ; but a knowledge of the character of 
that spoken of in the New Testament may throw 
light upon the text in which our Lord’s disciples 
are compared to the salt of the earth ; which, if it 
lose its savor, is cast out and trodden under foot. 
The salt alluded to was probably fossil salt, which 
containing, as such salt generally does, a large pro¬ 
portion of ochrey clay or other earthy matter, was 
liable by exposure to become insipid. Accordingly 
Maundrell, in his journey to Jerusalem, tell us that 
in the valley of Salt, on the side towards Gibul, 
from a small precipice formed by the continual tak¬ 
ing away of the salt, he broke out a piece, of which 
the part that had been exposed to the sun, rain, and 
air, though it contained sparks and particles of salt, 
‘Pen. 2,12. Numb. 11,7. 


had entirely lost its savor, while that part next the 
rock still retained, as he found, its saltness. Salt 
which had thus become insipid might be used for 
the purpose of repairing roads; or cast out to be 
trodden under foot. 

The niti'e repeatedly mentioned in Scripture was 
not our nitre, or salt petre; but an impure carbo¬ 
nate of soda, procured from certain lakes in Egypt, 
which appear from recent accounts to furnish it still 
in great abundance. These lakes, six in number, 
lie west of the Delta of the Nile, and are called the 
Lakes of Natron. Hence the Greeks and Romans 
derived the names nitron, nitrum ; which the Lat¬ 
ins, as we shall hereafter see, applied, not to natron 
only, but to a considerable variety of substances 
containing more or less alkaline salts ; and, accord- 
ing to the opinion of some mineralogists, to two 
othernvholly diflerent compounds, muriate of am¬ 
monia, or sal ammoniac, and nitrate of potash, or 
salt petre; to which last only is the name now con¬ 
fined. 

The natron, or ancient nitre, was used for the 
purpose to which we continue to apply the same 
alkali when combined with oils, in the form of soap. 
The prophet Jeremiah, therefore, speaks of one 
washing himself with nitre. And the violent action 
which ensues the pouring of an acid on an alkali 
suggested to Solomon his comparison between one 
“ that singeth songs to a heavy heart,” and vinegai 
upon nitre.* When vinegar and the salt which we 
call nitre are brought together, there is no apparent 
discrepance between them ; but pour vinegar on 
the nitre of Scripture, and there follows an effer¬ 
vescence, that shows the propriety of the royal pen¬ 
man’s simile. 

Let us now turn our attention to those valued 
productions of the mineral kingdom, which furnish 
the sacred writers with so many images to express 
beauty, magnificence, purity, solidity, and strength. 
As when Isaiah, foretelling the future greatness of 
Jerusalem, says, “Behold,! will lay thy stones with 
fair colours, and lay thy foundation with sapphires; 
and I will make thy windows of agates, and thy 
gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant 
stones.” The gems mentioned here and elsewhere 
in the Bible, we have every reason to believe were, 
collectively taken, the same which the East contin¬ 
ues still to furnish in their highest perfection ; but 
it is impossible at this day to ascertain the species 
of each individual stone. In the case of some, as 
of the agate, the onyx, and the beryl ; where the 
name is evidently the same in the ancient languages 
and now ; while the characters ascribed by ancients 
and moderns to the stone agree, we cannot be in 
doubt; but as to others, again, a comparison of 
circumstances makes it evident that the ancient 
name, retained by us, is no longer applied to the 
same substance. Thus it may be inferred that the 
ancient chry.solite was either a deep coloured variety 
of the oriental topaz, or the gem called hyacinth by 
us ; while the topaz of the ancients w’as the stone 
which w'e call chrysolite. Learned critics generally 
agree that the diamond w'as not known in the time 
of Moses. The word translated diamond in the 
description of the breast-plate signifies, as is thought, 

Prov. 25, 20. 



OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


187 


a stone hard to break ; or used in breaking others; 
a description applicable to many oriental gems. 
The diamond was known at a later period among 
the ancients, and possessed a high value, but de¬ 
rived chiefly from its extreme rarity and unrivalled 
hardness. It was a gem of no extraordinary bril¬ 
liancy nor beauty, since to display these qualities it 
must be cut and polished, and that art was not dis¬ 
covered until near the end of the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury. ^ 

The frequent allusion made by the sacred writers 
to precious stones, as objects of comparison, or 
otherwise, may have been owing in part to their 
dwelling in countries near to those whence, chiefly, 
the most precious gems have always been obtained, 
and in which we may suppose them to have been 
less rare in those early ages than at the present day; 
and therefore to have furnished more familiar im¬ 
ages of those natural qualities for which they are 
admired. And it is for this purpose only, of orna¬ 
ment and illustration, as learned commentators 
think, that their names are introduced. For al¬ 
though pagan antiquity ascribed various mystical 
virtues to certain precious stones, it is not intended 
that those mentioned in Scripture should be “strict¬ 
ly scrutinized, or minutely and particularly explain¬ 
ed as if they had each of them some precise and 
spiritual meaning.” 

It ought not to escape our notice while upon this 
subject, that at the early period of the Exodus, the 
art of polishing, setting, and even engraving precious 
stones was, as we learn from the description of the 
ephod and breast-plate, already known and prac¬ 
tised. It is true, that to engrave merely the names 
of the children of Israel, there was not required the 
same degree of skill that we find afterwards display¬ 
ed amongst the Greeks ; but the principles of the 
art, and the means of execution were probably the 
same. And this may suggest an illustration of the 
difference between ancients and moderns, both as to 
arts and sciences; for in regard to gems, as to other 
matters, it may be said, that the ancients possessed 
less science; but very superior art. They were 
wholly ignorant of the chemical composition of 
these stones; but engraved them with a consum¬ 
mate taste and skill that have been rarely, if ever, 
equalled in modern times. 

The ancients, regarding the external characters 
alone, and especially the colour, distinguished, as 
was natural, by different names, the sapphire, the 
ruby, the emerald, the topaz, and other oriental 
stones, which now the mineralogist, determined by 
the results of analysis, classes together, as belong¬ 
ing all of them to a single species. One who in 
ancient times possessed a colourless sapphire and a 
polished diamond (if the ancients had been ac¬ 
quainted with any such) might, from their resem¬ 
blance in transparency, lustre, superiour w'eight, 
and hardness, have been led to place them among 
his treasures side by side; while the modern, in ar¬ 
ranging ivs cabinet according to the true composi¬ 
tion of minerals, would degrade the diamond from 
the brilliant society in which it has been used to 
shine, to take its place with plumbago, anthracite, 
and coal. 


FREDERICTON, N. B. 

Fredericton, the capital of the British Province 
of New-Brunswick, lies on the river St. John’s, 
ninety miles from its mouth, and in north latitude 
46® 10’. It is but a short distance (about fifty miles) 
from the eastern line of Maine; but seventy miles 
above it, the river is within that State, according to 
the claim and the opinion of the people of the 
United States. Fredericton is only an inconsidera¬ 
ble village, but vessels of fifty tons can approach it; 
St. John’s, near the mouth of the river, is the 
largest town in the province, and has 12,000 in¬ 
habitants. The St. John’s is a noble river; more 
extensive than Penobscot or Kennebec, in Maine. 
What are now the British Provinces of Nova Scotia 
'■and New Brunswick, was the ancient Acadie of the 
French, and included the country westward, as far 
even as Penobscot. The territory in dispute be¬ 
tween the United States and the British govern¬ 
ment is of great extent, nearly 120 miles square. 
According to the most obvious construction of the 
terms of the treaty of 1783, and the actual position 
of the river and high-lands, the claims of our gov¬ 
ernment are well founded ; but what the decision 
will be, is matter of conjecture at present. The 
British want a large slice of the north part of 
Maine, so as to give them a straight road from 
Fredericton to Quebec; and will probably consent 
to give up to the United States, a strip between the 
river St. John’s, and our present eastern line, lower 
down on that river, and to have the river the bounds 
for more distance. In some respects, it would be 
convenient if Maine could bound on that river for 
a great distance, and lower down. As the line now 
is, it crosses the St. John’s, at about 150 or 160 
miles from its mouth ; and the upper part is within 
Maine. 

Toronto. —This is the present name of the cap¬ 
ital of Upper Canada. It was formerly called York, 
(or little York;) and the name has been changed, 
because of several other cities and towns bearing 
the same. Toronto is situated on the north-west 
coast of Lake Ontario. The first officer of the 
Province of Upper Canada resides here; and 
there is part of a regiment of British regulars sta¬ 
tioned at the place. Some companies belonging 
to the regiment are stationed in other and more 
western parts of the Province. Toronto is increas¬ 
ing, and the population is now about 9,000. 

MUSINGS. 

Mortal ! when thy heart is riven, 

By the shaft of earthly pain, 

Grieve not—for the hand of heaven. 

While it bruises, will sustain. 

Mourner ! when thy home is dreary. 

By a friend estranged, or dead. 

Weep not—for the lone and weary. 

Find a heavenly friend instead. 

When the raging thunder crashes— 

When the lightning stroke is near— 

Start not—Him that guides the flashes 
We can trxmt as well as fear. 

When, in justice, he appals us. 

By the threat of endless pain. 

Sink not—soon his mercy calls us 
To his pard’ning arms again. 

Father ! oh, with patience bless us. 

Till each seeming ill be past— 

For whatever gloom oppress us. 

All must end in light at last. [A'*. Y. .^erican.^ 







188 


PICTOPxTAL LTHRARY 



WIDOWS’ AND ORPHANS’ ASYLUMS, IN PHILADELPHIA. 


One of the distinguished characteristics of the 
present age, is attention to charitable institutions 
and to the interests of humanity. This benevolent 
spirit is not indeed to be recorded to the exclusive 
honour of those now on the stage of action. It is 
to be traced to the influence of Christianity; and 
has, more or less, always marked Christian societies. 
But far more institutions for the relief of the poor, 
the destitute and unfortunate, have been formed 
within forty or fifty years, than in any former simi¬ 
lar period. Philadelphia has been often mentioned 
as taking the lead of these institutions in our coun¬ 
try. But other cities can now perhaps, justly claim 
equal merit in providing establishments for the re¬ 
lief of the poor; And rivalry in this respect can pro¬ 
duce no evil. As Christians and friends of human¬ 
ity, we ought to provoke one another to good works 
and deeds of charity. 

The Asylum for the relief of Indigent Widows 
and single Women, in Philadelphia, was estab¬ 
lished in 1820. The building erected for this pur¬ 
pose is designed and constructed with a special 
view to the comfort of its venerable occupants. 
Upwards of one hundred females have been receiv¬ 
ed into the Asylum since it was opened ; and lately, 
at one time, there were forty. ‘ The design of this 
Asylum is to protect the unprotected, and to minis¬ 
ter to the wants of those, vvhnm Providence has 
permitted to fall into a destitute condition,’ 

The Philadelphia Orphan’s Asylum was instituted 
in 1814, but was not fitted to receive children till 
1817 ; and the first building was burnt in 1822, 
when twenty-three of the little inmates perished in 
the flames! No event is recollected which excited 
BO deep and general sympathy, as the sudden and 
awful death of these cliildren. The loss of the 
building was- soon made up, by the donations of 
liberal individuals, many of whom were ladies, 


amounting to nearly 30,000 dollars; and the Legis¬ 
lature of Pennsylvania, made a grant of ^5000. 
The present Asylum is so constructed as to prevent 
fire communicating from one apartment to another. 
The number of orphans belonging to this institution, 
at a very recent period, was ninety-six. Both these 
charitable institutions are managed with great pru¬ 
dence and good judgment; and the fruits of benevo¬ 
lence here displayed are cheering to the hearts ol 
those who have been donors, as well as to those 
who are the recipients of their bounty. We be¬ 
lieve we may add here, without the charge of par¬ 
tiality, that no place exceeds Boston, at present, 
in its charitable societies, and institutions; and that 
in no other city, is there greater or more judicious 
attention given, in providing for the relief of the 
virtuous poor. In bestowing charity, great judg¬ 
ment is necessary, that the idle, the extravagant, 
or the improvident be not encouraged : And due 
caution, we can truly say, is now exercised in 

this respect. - 

Prairies west of the Mississippi, which are 
extensive tracts of low land and destitute of trees, 
it is generally supposed were caused by great fires, 
which destroyed even the roots. This may be true 
as to some tracts where there were repeated fires 
in dry seasons. The great flocks of Buffalo are also 
mentioned as a cause of destroying some plants. 
A geologist who has lately visited the western parts 
of the United States, where the prairies are found, 
has started a new idea as to the cause. He conjec¬ 
tures they were, at some former period, the floors 
of the ocean. When the waters subsided and left the 
land bare, it was in his opinion without plants or 
trees, and has not since been covered by any vege¬ 
table of more importance than the gramina. It is 
further said, that trees transplanted in some of the 
prairie lands have flourished vIbW. 



















































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


189 



THE LYNX. 


This animal is of the cat (or felis) genus, of 
which there is as great a variety as of any family in 
zoology. Several species of the Lynx have been 
mentioned, and yet the most correct accounts go to 
prove but one; the other animals resembling it, be¬ 
ing a ditl'ereiit sjiecies of the cat kind : One pecu¬ 
liarity of the Lynx is a short tail. The ancients had 
some fabulous stories about this animal, and repre¬ 
sented it as very ferocious ; vvliich seems not to be 
true; and it is considered rather timid than fierce, 
as its sharp eyes would indicate. It however [)reys 
on small animals, while it declines to attack the larger 
ones. It is from two and a half to three feet in 
length. The Lynx is found in Eiiro[)e, Asia, and 
North America. The largest are in Russia and the 
north of Asia. They are now uncommon in Eu¬ 
rope, except in Russia and in the Pyrenees. They 
are known in great numbers in the vast regions of 
Canada; and it is a question whether they are of 
the same species as those found in Europe. Some 
are larger, and some more beautiful or less ugly 
than otliers; but the diflerence is iK)t sufficient to 
form a distinct species. The Canadians generally 
give it tlie name of cat or wolf. It makes a show 
of resistance when attacked, by spitting and raising 
the hair on its back ; but is easily subdued. The 
fur is valuable; but differs in length and fineness: 
The diflerence of the latitudes they inhabit, pro¬ 
duces this efTect. Some years, eight or nine thou¬ 
sand are exported from different parts of Hudson’s 
bay. With large paws, slender loins, and thick 
and long hind legs, it has quite a clumsy appear¬ 
ance; and is thus unlike the common cat in its form 


and shape. It swims across lakes and rivers oi two 
miles; but is not swift on the land. Its gait is by 
bounds, strait forward, with the back somewhat 
arched, and lighting on all the feet at once. The 
drawings we have seen, represent the Lynx more 
like the tiger or hyena in its head and countenance, 
though in miniature. These are all of one genus, 
felis; but the Lynx is now considered less fero¬ 
cious than most of the species, when in their wild 
and natural state. 


Cleopatra’s Needle has been recently trans¬ 
ported from Alexandria, (in Egypt,) where it rested 
on its original pedestal u|)war(ls of eighteen centu¬ 
ries, to England. It is sixty feet in height, and is 
composed of a single shaft of Thebaic stone: and 
at the base it is seven feet square. There were 
originally, two of these, shafts or needles; one has 
been thrown down and broken to pieces. They 
were both wholly covered with hieroglyphics; and 
were among the wonders and curiosities of the far- 
famed and ancient country of Egypt. 

Religious Speculation.— ‘ We cannot sink too 
low in humility, nor yet rise loo high in heavenly¬ 
mindedness; but we may soon be lost in the wil¬ 
derness of needless speculations. Such as are so¬ 
ber minded will keep within their depth and when 
the Lord directs us to launch forth, we may do it 
with safety. If we are wise according as it is writ¬ 
ten, we shall be profitably wise; but if we want to 
be wise beyond what is written, we shall smart for 
our folly .’—Roivland I Jill. 























































190 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE ENTERPRISE AND GEOGRAPHICAL 
KNOWLEDGE OF THE ANCIENTS. 

When we speak of the enterprise of the ancients, 
we refer to those SOO or 1000 years before our era. 
Before that period little is known of ancient nations, 
except from the Bible. Some nations were popu¬ 
lous and powerful before that time ; but the record 
of them is lost, or greatly mixed with fable; and 
their advances in either science or commerce, were 
comparatively insignificant. The seige of Troy, 
which happened about the beginning of the period 
above-mentioned, was a small aft’air compared with 
expeditions and battles 300 years later. And the 
expedition of the Argonauts, a little earlier, was far 
from being formidable, otherwise than that the adven¬ 
turers were a daring and hardy set of men. 

Tne citizens of Tyre were the first to engage in 
commerce and navigation. Trade on land was 
pursued long before. In the time of Solomon, 
about 1000 years before our era. Tyre flourished 
from an extended commerce. It was pursued with 
many ports on the Mediterranean, probably as far 
as Spain, and also to the coasts of Africa. But 
the facilities for navigation were very small and 
liiuited. The voyages required much time, as the 
vessels (or boats) were small, and generally kept 
near the land. Tyre and Sidon were places of 
extensive trade, both by land and water. Goods 
were first brought there chiefly over land from India ; 
but afterwards by aid of navigation from the Red 
Sea. Tyre was in a very flourishing state nearly 
500 years; and during that period, some improve¬ 
ments were made in navigation. Carthage was 
settled; and nautical expeditions fitted thence for the 
western and southwestern coasts of Africa, and from 
the Red Sea, to India and the eastern shores of 
Africa. Whether they sr.iled round that quarter 
of the globe, or as far as the Cape of Good Hope, 
is uncertain, though believed by some respectable 
writers. Tarshish was probably Tarsetus of Spain, 
as tin, &c. were found in that country. And Ophir 
was probably on the eastern coast of Africa, several 
decrees south of the mouth of the Red Sea. It has 

O 

been suggested, however, that by Tarshish was in¬ 
tended any foreign port; and that going to a distant 
country by water was going to Tarshish. But this 
would be a loose way of writing. Sicily has also 
been supposed to be the Tarshish of the early 
times. 

According to Homer, who describes nations and 
events 900 or 1000 years before Christ, the habita¬ 
ble earth was bounded south by Ethiopia, and the 
northern parts of Africa, near the Mediterranean, 
by hither India, by the Black sea on the north, and 
by Italy on the west. Herodotus, the father of 
profane history, was more correct in his views of 
geography; he had read and travelled more than 
Homer; and a great increase had also been made 
before his time, in the settlements of distant parts 
of the earth. He visited Thrace, Scythia, and other 
very distant countries, as well as Persia, Assyria, 
Syria and Egypt. But even he was mistaken in 
some of his statements, as well as in his geographi¬ 
cal knowledge and his astronomy. He supposed 
that Europe was larger than Asia and Africa united. 
According to Herodotus, however, Scythia was the 


extremity of Europe, of which he had any knowl¬ 
edge. The shores of the Euxine sea, were settled 
in his day and long before ; and he describes, with 
a good deal of accuracy, the Danube, the Don, the 
Volga, and the Dnieper. Of the mnthern parts of 
Europe, he knew very little. The inhabitants were 
then neither civilized nor very numerous. When 
he speaks of Asia, it is evident also that he knew 
only the western parts of that extensive quarter of 
the globe. In speaking of Africa, it is clear also, 
that Herodotus knew little of that part of the world 
except Egypt, Lybia, and the northern portion (to¬ 
wards the Atlantic) between the Mediterranean and 
the range of the Atlas mountains. The interior and 
more southern parts of Africa, were then no doubt, 
inhabited; for it was 14 or 15 centuries after the 
deluge; but the people were unknown, and the 
climate too sultry to invite strangers from curi¬ 
osity or for trade. 


RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS OF NORTH 
AMERICA. 

The most remarkable physical features of North 
America, are the large rivers, and the ranges of 
mountains. Of the rivers, it is well known that the 
Mississippi is of the greatest extent; being about 
four thousand and five hundred miles. The Colum¬ 
bia, or Oregon, which rises in the Rocky Mountains, 
is very circuitous, has numerous branches coming 
from an extent of nine hundred miles, and before it 
mixes with the Pacific ocean, in Lat. 46, becomes 
equal in magnitude to any in North America. The 
Saskatchewan or Nelson river, which falls into 
Hudson’s bay, is usually ranked the third. The 
original branches which unite and form this river, 
take their rise from the Rocky mountain ridge, 
between 47 and 54 North Lat. It is 1600 miles in 
length. Thus by means of short portages, one 
may pass from Hudson’s bay, by the Nelson and 
its branches, to the Columbia and the Pacific ocean ; 
from the branches of the Nelson, in another course, 
to the Missouri and Mississippi, and thence into the 
Atlantic by the Gulf of Mexico: by the lakes, and 
St. Lawrence into the Atlantic in Lat. about 50. 
And by the Mackenzie or Elk river, whose sources 
are near the Nelson or Saskatchewan, to the Arctic 
or North sea.—The Elk or Mackenzie (as it is now 
usually called) may be ranked next, though it is 
only the third as to size. It is indeed more spacious 
than the Nelson or St. Lawrence, and longer than 
the Oregon. This also rises in the Rocky moun¬ 
tains : and its two largest branches are the Elk and 
Peace rivers. One of the branches of the Elk rises 
near the sources of the Oregon and the Saskatche¬ 
wan. And the branch called the Peace river rises 
near the river Frazer or Tacootchtesse. The river 
Mackenzie is enlarged by other great streams ; and 
flows into the Arctic sea, through an extensive 
delta, composed of alluvial deposits and mud, in 
North Lat. 69. This soil is rich, and the growth 
of pines and firs is quite luxuriant; currants and 
gooseberries are also found here. And the Moose 
deer and the hare frequent this cold region. The 
Hayes river, which falls into the Hudson bay, and 
the Copper-mine river, which empties its waters ic 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


191 


the Arctic sea, are perhaps the next largest in North 
America. 

The Mountains .—Tlie most remarkable is the 
extensive lange, running nearly north by west, and 
south by east, from Mexico to the vicinity of the 
Arctic sea, a distance of three tliousand miles ; and 
known by the name of the Rocky or Chippewayan 
mountains. Indeed, the range continues through 
Mexico and the Isthmus, connecting North and 
South America; though far less elevated in the 
latter territory. Some parts of the Chippewayan 
range are 12,000 feet high; while those of the 
Appalachian do not equal half that elevation. This 
range, now usually called the Alleghany, is al¬ 
together within the United States, and east of 
the Ohio and Mississippi, running northeast, and 
southwest, about 500 miles from the centre or 
northern part of Pennsylvaiiia to Georgia. It is 
generally about equi-distant from the Ohio and the 
Atlantic ocean, in its more northern parts, and the 
same between the Atlantic and the Mississippi, in 
the southern part. 


CREDIT. 

The question is sometimes raised, whether giving 
credit to the poor, be on the whole a benefit? Or, 
whether the evils do not exceed the advantages, to 
those who borrow ? Like most other practices 
introduced into society, credit may be for good or 
for evil, according to the extent in which it is used. 
It may be abused by excess, like food or pleasure. 
In some conditions, the honest, the industrious and 
the frugal, may be greatly benefited by credit. 
Their means of wealth are thus increased : And 
without such aid, they might have plodded and 
struggled forever, and acquired no estate. And 
yet without prudence and great caution, they may 
make an improper use of their good credit; and 
obtain loans which they are unable afterwards to 
return. The best plans will sometimes fail; and 
he who calculates on making fifty per cent, with a 
loan of one or two thousand dollars, may lose by 
his speculation. Many an honest and frugal man 
has been ruined in his estate, by his facilities for 
borrowing. In this, as in all things else, modera¬ 
tion and prudence are excellent guides. To a man 
fond of show, and without habits of industry and 
economy, the credit system is still more dangerous. 
So long as he can borrow, he will indulge in his 
expensive living, and in the parade of which he is 
so fond. At first, he means to pay ; and that in a 
few months, when his rents and dues come in. 
But when they come, they are not enough to meet 
the demands of his creditors ; and he must borrow 
again. He cannot think of retrenchments ; his mode 
of living has become necessary to his happiness, 
and his standing in society ; and he finds it neces¬ 
sary still to live on credit. He now merely hopes 
to pay ; for on calculation he cannot justly expect 
to do it. His expenses are greater than his income; 
and his only way to keep on in the style he has 
lived, is to obtain more credit and loans. The 
system to such a man and his family, is full of mis¬ 
chief. He must soon fall; and the longer it is kept 
ofi”, the greater will it be. 

In a new country like ours, the credit system 


may be beneficial to the enterprising, the sober and 
industrious. And it is happy for them, perhaps, 
that such facilities are afforded them, as to help 
them forward more rapidly in life: but even they 
will do well to remember that the day of payment 
will soon arrive; and that, if they should be led to 
extravagance or idleness by the extension of credit 
to them, their condition will soon be far less 
desirable than that of poverty, with sobriety and 
economy. 


GOD PROVIDETH.— by bishop heber. 

Lo ! ihe lilies of the field, 

How their leaves instruction yield! 

Hark to nature’s lesson given, 

By the blessed birds of Heaven! 

Every b':.sh and tufted tree 
Warbles sweet philosophy ; 

Mortal, fly from doubt and sorrow ; 

God provideth for the morrow. ^ 

Say, with richer crimson glows 
The kingly mantle or the rose ? 

Say, have kings more wholesome fare, 

Than we poor citizens of air ? 

Barns nor hoarded grain have we, 

Yet we carol merrily. 

Mortal! fly from doubt and sorrow, 

God provideth for the morrow. 

One there lives, whose guardian eye 
Guides our humble destiny ; 

One there lives, who Lord of all. 

Keeps our feathers lest they fall— 

Pass we hlythely, then, the time. 

Fearless of the snare and lime. 

Free from doubt and faithless sorrow 
God provideth for the morrow. 

A launch of a seventy-four gun ship has lately ' 
tal en place at Constantinople. The Grand Signior 
was present at the show, which was a novelty in 
that place; as the A’essels built there are hauled 
from the stocks into the water very gradually and 
slowly. The master builder of this ship is an 
American ; and received great applause from the 
Sultan and his prime minister. When the ship 
started, the sultan was alarmed, and thought there 
was danger of destruction to every one near. But the 
ship moved rapidly and without accident, into the 
water, amidst the shouts and plaudits of an immense 
concourse assembled to witness the novel scene. 


The late Mr. Roscoe of Liverpool, England, stated 
in a pamphlet, published twelve years ago, on the 
criminal laws of that country, “ that, during the 
first seven years of the present century, there were 
1782 cases of theft in houses and stores, (which by 
the laws were punishable with death) and that only 
one was convicted and executed. The people 
consider the penalty too severe, and therefore either 
do not complain, or jurors do not convict: And 
thus the criminals escape all punishment.” There is 
something wrong in this. Where does the error 
lie ? 


The drunkard not a man. —A drunken man 
went into a school and frightened the children and 
was noisy and rude. A child told its mother that 
a man had been in the school and frightened the 
children. No, said the mother; he was not a man, 
but a drunkard. 








192 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


MANUFACTURES, 

If tlie thought should cross any mind, that after 
all, the so much vaunted genius of our mechanics 
has been expended in the insignificant object of en¬ 
abling men b'Hter to pick out, arrange, and twist 
together the fillies of a vegetable wool—that it is 
tor the performance of this minute operation that so 
many energies have been exhausted, so much cap¬ 
ital employed, such stupendous structures reared, 
and so vast a population trained up—we reply, an 
object is not insignificant, because the operation by 
which it is effected is minute; the first want of men 
in this life, after food, is clothing, and as this art 
enables them to supply it far more easily and cheap¬ 
ly than the old methods of manufacturing, and to 
bring cloths of great elegance and durability within 
the use of the humble classes, it is an art whose 
utility is inferior only to that of agriculture. It 
contributes directly to the comforts of life among 
all nations where manufactories exist, or to which 
the products of manufacturing industry are con¬ 
veyed ; it administers more to the comfort and de¬ 
cency of the poor as well as to the taste and luxury 
of the rich. By supplying one of the great wants 
of life, with a much less expenditure of labour than 
was formerly needed, it sets at liberty a large pro¬ 
portion of the population, to cultivate literature, 
science and the fine arts. To this country, the new 
inventions have brought a material accession of 
wealth and power. When it is also remembered, 
that the inventions, whose origin I have endeavoured 
carefully to trace, are not confined in their applica¬ 
tion to one manufacture, however extensive, but that 
they have given nearly the same facilities to the 
w'oollen, the worsted, the linen, the stocking, and 
the lace manufactures, as to the cotton, and tnat 
they have spread from England to the whole of 
Europe, to America, and to parts of Africa, and 
Asia, it must be admitted that the mechanical im¬ 
provements in the art of spinning, have an impor¬ 
tance which it is difficult to over-estimate. By the 
Greeks, their authors would have been thought 
worthy of deification ; nor will the enlightened judg¬ 
ment of moderns deny that the men to whom we owe 
such inventions, deserve to rank among the chief 
benefactors of mankind.— Baines on Cotton Manu¬ 
factures. 

Mr. Brooks of Portland, dates a late letter from 
Amsterdam, and pays the following well-merited 
eulogy on the character of the people in Holland. 

‘ No man can go through even a single city of 
Holland without being impressed with the greatest 
respect for the Dutch character. As yet, I have 
not seen a begsar in Holland. I do not believe I 
shall see one. Nothing that is said of their neat¬ 
ness, is exaggerated. They are undoubtedly the 
neatest people on earth,—and the women scrub 
from morning to night, scrubbing every thing—post, 
pillar, floor, door, street, brass, yes, every thing that 
can be scrubbed ;—and the consequence is, that 
even the streets are as neat as a parlor. In Leyden, 
they never permit the dirt to rest in peace between 
the crevices of the rocky pavements ! Water in the 
morning, flies about in all directions. It is really 
unsafe, then to venture into the streets, for little 
cataracts from engines prepared to wash the win¬ 


dows, are hissing about you in all directions. Scrub 
scrub, scrub! you see in the morning, and at noon, 
and at night too,—but more particularly in the 
morning, whole battalions of women scrubbing, 
scrubbing. They do it, with the air of people, who 
know how to scrub. They seem to love to do it. 
I have seen them scrub where there was no dirt at 
all. Amateur scrubbers they are, playing with a 
broom as the young lady plays with the strings of 
a harp. Is all this so well? What can a poor 
Hollandtz husband do, whom, when he comes home 
for peace, his wife begins to scrub ? I have a 
horror of an American washing day,—and my heart 
aches for their afflicted husbands,—and therefore, 
I do not wonder at all that they smoke, puffing off 
their afflictions in clouds of tobacco, and thus en¬ 
veloping themselves in an atmosphere that even 
scrubbing cannot touch. But smoking and scrub¬ 
bing aside, and scrubbing is only a virtue carried 
to excess,—the Dutch are a most interesting and 
wonderful people. 

You hardly see a miserable house. I do not re¬ 
member one. Though the country houses have 
not so many flowers as the English have, yet they 
are neat and attractive. All have gardens who have 
grounds to make them, and the prettiest gardens 
too. If I were called upon to point to the place 
where the industry of man has done the most to 
triumph over obstacles where nothing of soil or 
climate seems to have appalled him,—where, not the 
wilderness was made to blossom like the rose, but 
the morass and the bog,—I certainly should point to 
Holland. To say that such people, who have done 
all this, now so well off, so rich too, so happy in 
possessing all the necessaries and enjoyments of 
life, are a wonderful people, is but faint praise. It 
only illustrates the position, that the more nature 
does for a people, the less they are likely to do for 
themselves, for they are content in the profusion of 
its gifts,—but where labour is necessary, and the duty 
imperative, then man arouses himself, and every 
faculty of mind or body, is developed to its full extent. 
Thus Holland is what it is—and thus Italy is what 
it is.’ - 

Consumption of Beer and Sph'its in Great 
Britain. —According to an account lately laid before 
Parliament, it appears that there were consumed in 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
during the year ending on the 5th of July last, for 
the brewing of Beer, 32,ld9,650 bushels of Malt. 
Of this immense quantity, 28,909,963 bushels were 
consumed in England, it being equal to two bushels 
of malt for each person in the kingdom, or four 
bushels for each grown up person. The consump¬ 
tion in Scotland was 1,139,801 bushels, and in Ire¬ 
land 2,055,326, being about half a bushel for each 
person grown up. 

The consumption of home made spirits in the 
same period was 23,408,000 gallons, of which 
7,644,000 were consumed in England, 9,707,000 
in Ireland, and 6,036,000 in Scotland. Supposing 
one-third of the population to be consumers of spirits, 
this quantity gives a sixteenth of a gallon to each in 
Ireland, and seven gallons to each in Scotland. 

The quantity of foreign spirits which paid duty 
in 1834, was 4,765,000 gallons, of which the great¬ 
er part was consumed in England 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


Ids 



A VIEW ON HUDSON RIVER. 


Every one knows, or has heard, that there are 
many highly picturesque views presented, in passing 
the Hudson between New York and Albany. In 
several places, the lands are liigh, the banks precip¬ 
itous, and the scenery wildly romantic. About 
eight miles above the city of New York is a raiige 
of rocks, called the Palisadoes, varying from twenty 
to 550 feet in height, and extendiuir about twenty 
miles. In some places, these rocks or ledges are 
nearly perpendicular, and form a solid wall for sev¬ 
eral miles. Ten or twelve miles farther north, and 
about twenty-five miles from New York, the river 
widens into a bay ; and a little higher, at the dis¬ 
tance of forty-five miles from New York, where the 
river becomes narrow and turns to the northeast, 
commence the High lands, or a ridge of the Fish- 
kill Mountains, so called. This range is nearly 
northeast and southwest, and extends on each side 
of the river. And such is the situation and forma¬ 
tion of the lands here, that some have supposed it 
was the southern bounds of a great lake; and that, 
in some convulsion of nature, the waters made a 
passage through the mountains. 

The High lands are objects of peculiar interest 
i and curiosity. The natural view is grand and su- 
I blime; and they are interesting as being associated 
I with important events of the war of the revolution. 

I This ranffe of High lands extends also on the river 
the distance of nearly twenty miles. The highest 
peak has been estimated to be 1570 feet. In the 
vicinity, on entering the High land tract from New 
York, are Verplanck’s Point, Stony-Point, and a lit¬ 


tle higher up the river West Point, where the main 
American army was encamped for some time during 
the American war, and which General Arnold had 
treacherously agreed to deliver up to the enemy. 
The story has been too often told to be repeated 
here. It was a most critical moment; and had the 
traitor succeeded in his j)lans, the war would pro¬ 
bably have been long protracted; and its issue 
might have been far less favourable to our country. 
A few miles above West Point is Ncuburg, a plea¬ 
sant and flourishing village, in the south part of 
which, and nearest to West Point, were the liead 
quarters of General Washington, for some time. 
Higher still on the river successively appear several 
towns and villages, in a flourishing state, which add 
much to the beauty of the scene. One of the most 
striking views is presented, after passing the wider 
part of the river, and on approaching or entering 
the narrows where the river turns to the northeast, 
and w'here the banks are very high, steep and 
rocky. When one feels safe, and is wafted along at 
the rate of twelve miles an hour in the wonderful 
steam-boat without sails, or is gliding more slowly 
in an old-fashioned sloop, the prospect is at once 
wild and agreeable. The sense of admiration of 
what is grand and sublime is fully excited; And it 
is also agreeable, where there is no danger, to look 
on those lofty and precipitous mountains, unless 
there should be included in the view some human 
beings clambering on their sides, and a fear arises, 
that they may plunge into the waters, or be dasheti 
to pieces on the roeks below. 

25 



















































































194 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE CHEROKEE ALPHABET. 

The following ‘ facts relating to the invention of 
tlie Cherokee Alphabet/ are taken from the Ameri¬ 
can Annals of Education. They were communi¬ 
cated by one of the Cherokee nation. 

‘ Guess is what is generally termed a half breed, 
his father being a white man, and his mother a 
Cherokee. He is now about 72 years of age. In 
his natural appearance there is nothing very re¬ 
markable,—about the middle size, fair complexion, 
and upon the whole, a fine looking man, possessed 
of an ingenious and vigorous mind, and was an ex¬ 
cellent worker of silver, (I speak of him now as he 
was when in our nation,) though he acquired the 
art entirely within himself. He was more particu¬ 
larly famed for the beauty and neatness with which 
he manufactured silver spurs. He had a fine tal¬ 
ent and taste for painting; but for want of proper 
culture and materials, they were not allowed to ex¬ 
pand. He was a man of steady and temperate 
habits,—peaceable with all around him, yet pos¬ 
sessed somewhat of a morose disposition, as I have 
learned from those who knew him better. 

‘His extraordinary invention for writing the Che¬ 
rokee language, was made in 1821. He was at the 
time not only perfectly unacquainted with letters, 
but entirely so with any other language than his 
own. The first impression or idea of the practica¬ 
bility of such a project, was received by looking at 
an old piece of printed^paper, and reflecting upon 
the very singular manner (to him) by which the 
white people could place their thouglits upon paper, 
and communicate them, precisely as they existed, 
to others at a distance. A thought struck him that 
there must surely be some mode by which the In¬ 
dians could do the same, and he set about the 
work of discovery. He began first by marking 
upon a soft rock, (probably slate,) and afterwards 
obtained paper. He thus invented a single and 
distinct character for each word, but soon found 
the number so great, that it was impossible to re¬ 
tain them in memory. His friends ridiculed the 
strange idea he had imbibed of writing his language 
in some peculiar way unknown to educated men, 
skilled in the learning and literature of ages, and in 
striving to emulate a Cadmus; but he was not to 
be dissuaded, and continued inflexible and perse¬ 
vering in the visionary scheme, as all thought it, that 
his imagination had moulded. After several months’ 
labour, he succeeded in reducing his first plan, so 
that in lieu of a separate character to denote every 
word in the language, he gave to each a syllabic 
sound, and ascertained that there were but eighty- 
six variations of sounds in the whole language ; and 
when each of these was represented by some par¬ 
ticular character or letter, the language was at once 
reduced to a system, and the extraordinary mode of 
writing it, now used, crowned his labours with the 
most happy success. Considerable improvement 
has been made in regard to the formation of the 
characters, in order that they might be written with 
more facility; and type cast for the printing of a 
paper, (Lc. One of the characters was found to be 
superfluous, and discarded; reducing the number 
to eighty-five. 

‘The Council of the Nation were about making 


I him an appropriation of money on account of the 
invaluable service rendered by the invention, but 
were prevented by a declaration on his part, that he 
would not accept of any. A silver medal however 
was voted; and procured by the Cherokee delega¬ 
tion in this city, in 1824 ; the inscription I do not 
recollect. It has been much regretted that Guess 
did not remain with the nation east of the Missis¬ 
sippi, and witness the advantages and blessings en¬ 
joyed by his discovery. He left the nation in 
1824, and emigrated to the West, and was one of 
the delegates who negotiated the treaty of 1828, 
with the government in this city, on behalf of the 
Arkansas Cherokees. 

‘ The knowledge of this mode of writing is easily 
acquired. An apt scholar, one who understands 
the language, can learn to read in a day ; and in¬ 
deed, I have known circumstances where it has 
been learned in a single evening. It is only neces¬ 
sary to learn the diflerent sounds of the characters to 
be enabled to read at once. In the English lan¬ 
guage, we must not only first learn the letters, but 
to spell, before reading; but in Cherokee, all that 
is required is to learn the letters, for they have syl¬ 
labic sounds, and by connecting different ones to¬ 
gether, a word is formed ; in which there is no art. 
All who understand the language can do so, and both 
read and write, as soon as they can learn to trace 
with their fingers, the form of the characters. I 
suppose that more than one half of the Cherokees 
can read their own language, and are thereby ena¬ 
bled to acquire much valuable information, with 
which they otherwise would never have been bles¬ 
sed. Many portions of the Scriptures have been 
translated, and also hymns, which have been print¬ 
ed by their own press.’ 

Artesian Wells. —In a meeting of the French 
Academy, held on the 28th of Sept, it was stated 
that a Mr. Mulat, an Engineer, has been boring for 
water near the Chateau of Cange, situated on the 
right bank of the Cher, near Tours, at the depth of 
210 feet in chalk, which he reached in 21 days: he 
obtained water lo the amount of 600 litres. 576 gal¬ 
lons per minute. At 375 feet, he opened a foun¬ 
tain which gave 960 gallons per minute. At 390 
feet a new sheet of water was reached which gave 
2400 gallons per minute; and finally having [)ene- 
trated still farther, he came to an actual torrent, 
which threw up more than 3840 gallons of water 
and green coloured gravel in a minute. This in 24 
hours would amount to the enormous quantity of 
5,529,600 gallons, as remarked by Mr. Arago a 
quantity greater than is furnished to Paris by the 
river Bievrein in the same time.— Philad. Herald. 


Excellent Example of Anne Boleyn. — “Queen 
Anne Boleyn is said to have been provided daily 
with a purse, the contents of which were entirely 
appropriated to the poor, when she casually met 
with proper objects; justly thinking no week well 
passed which did not afford her pleasure in the 
retrospect. Impressed with this conviction, the 
queen insisted that all her attendants should em¬ 
ploy their leisure in making clothes for the poor, 
which she took care to see properly distributed.” 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


196 



UNITED STATES liC; 

Among the various improvements in our country 
f f recent date, for the accommodation of travellers, 
the newly built Hotels are not the least. I'ravel- 
ling has increased in the United States within ten 
years, in a most unexampled measure. The popu¬ 
lation is far greater indeed ; but the business has in¬ 
creased still more. This is to be attributed chiefly 
to manufactories, as they give occasion to citizens 
of different parts of the country, to visit the places 
where the factories are established, or the large 
cities where the goods are sent for a market. 
Steam-boats and rail-roads are great inducements 
also for travelling; for less time is lost on the road. 
The houses of resort for board are therefore greatly 
multiplied. They have more than doubled within 
five or six years, in most of the large cities. New 
York, the great commercial Emporium, and a place 
visited also by travellers for pleasure from the 
South, on their way to the North and the East, has 
several new and spacious buildings designed for tlie 
accommodation of traders and other travellers. 
The Hotel erected by Mr. Holt is. we believe, one 
of the largest of these. It is said, ‘ to have been 
very carefully constructed,’ and is considercfl ‘both 


'11 L, JN NEW YORE. 

ornamental and useful to the city.’ Its location if 
quite central, as regards the business part of the 
town ; it is at the corner of Fulton and Pearl Streets. 

‘ On Fulton Street, its front is one hundred feet , 
on Pearl Street seventy-six feet; and on Water 
Street it is eighty-five feet and an half. It has a 
basement, and six stories besides. The height of 
the main building, to the top of the cornice, is sev¬ 
enty-five feet; to the top of the promenade it is 
eighty feet. From the street to the top of the 
dome, which surmounts the building, are one hun¬ 
dred and twenty-five feet.’ The interiour is con¬ 
veniently and happily divided and arranged. There 
is a large dining-hall of one hundred feet, and on 
the sides two smaller ones of forty-five each ; and 
twenty-five parlours ; the whole number of rooms 
in the building are one hundred and sixty-five. It 
is sufficient to lodge three hundred persons; and to 
dine one thousand at once with convenience. T’he 
whole number of windows in the building, is 450. 
There is a good well connected with the establish¬ 
ment, sunk on the Artesian plan, to the de|)th ot 
370 feet, which conslanlly furni.'hes a sufficient 
quantity of pure rock w ater, and whicli is con\ eyed 



















































































































































































































































196 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


to every part of the building by means of a steam- 
engine. In the garret there are large cisterns, and 
hose attached to them, for conveying the water 
freely and promptly, which must be a most valuable 
guard or remedy in case of fire. We have given the 
location of the Hotel according to an acount in 
‘Views in the City of New York;’ but another 
account states, that it is at the corner of Fulton and 
Water Streets. Still one side of the building is 
on Pearl Street, but not extending so far as on 
either of the other two, as appears by the dimen¬ 
sions given above. 

HISTORY OF ABRAHAM. 

Abraham was a native of Ur in Chaldea, and his 
birth was about 300, or 350 years after the general 
deluge, which happened in the time of Noah. It is 
difficult to fix precisely the year in which Abraham 
was born, on two accounts. First, it is uncertain 
how old TiTah was at the birth of his son Abraham. 
The historian says, that Terah lived seventy years 
and begat Abram, Nahor and Haran. And after¬ 
wards he says, that Terah died in Haran at the age 
of 205: again, that Abraham departed from Haran 
into Canaan, at the age of 75 — and Stephen 
observes that this departure was after the death of 
Terah. See Genesis xi. 26, 31. xii. 4, 5. Acts 
vii. 4. Either, then, Abraham w'as older than 75 
when he went from Haran to the land of Canaan, or 
Terah was above seventy when Abraham was born, 
or Terah was only 145 at his death instead of 205. 
The other difficulty, (as to the year of Abraham’s 
birth,) arises from the probability that there was 
another ancestor between Arphaxad and Selah; 
namely Cainan, as mentioned by St. Luke on the 
authority of the Greek version called the Septuagint: 
neither of these difficulties, however, are important 
in the biography of Abraham. The only etfect is 
to render uncertain the particular period of his birth : 
Whether about the year 300 or 350 after the deluge, 
which is the greatest variance. If Arphaxad had a 
son Cainan, who was the father of Selah, then 
Abraham was of the tenth generation from Noah ; 
if Selah w'as the son of Arphaxad, he was of the 
ninth generation. The time in which Abraham 
lived from the flood is important only as showing 
the state of mankind at that period. And in refer¬ 
ence to this point, the period of fifty years is not 
very material. If indeed the patriarch Abraham 
was born within 300 years of the deluge, he was 
sometime contemporary with Noah, w'ho survived 
that event 350 years ; and if he w as born 50 or even 
70 years later, he was entirely a contemporary of 
Shem, who lived 500 years after that catastrophe; 
and from whom he might have had an account of 
events before the flood, as Shem was 100 years old 
when it occurred. From this ancestor, Abraham 
(and his children also) might have had an immediate 
statement respecting the deluge, and of the previous 
condition of the world. 

In about 350 or 400 from the deluge, then, the 
greatest portion of mankind had become addicted 
to idolatry. No doubt there w'ere exceptions; for 
it is hardly possible that the sons, or all the poster¬ 
ity of the earlier generations of Noah were wor¬ 
shippers of idols. Each successive generation how¬ 


ever, removed to a distant place from their ancestor, 
for the sake of larger possessions; and in their 
worldly cares and labors n)ight become ignorant; 
forgetful of the tradition of their fathers; super¬ 
stitious; governed wholly by their senses; and thus 
naturally led to idolatry. 4'he declension no doubt 
would be gradual ; but in nine or ten generations, 
the delusion would be very general; and a few only 
who held personal intercourse with the older patri¬ 
archs w'ould prooably escape the prevailing degen¬ 
eracy. As Terah departed from Chaldea with his son 
Abraham (who left that country on account of its 
idolatry) it is probable that he also was opposed to 
the false worship which had then become prevalent. 
The separation of Abraham from his native place 
and most of his family relations was evidently owing 
to a divine impulse or revelation ; but it is also pro¬ 
bable that the more correct religious doctrine of one 
true God, taught by Noah and Shem, was not wholly 
lost; and it is quite possible, that the true faith had 
been retained by Terah, though in danger of being 
wholly obscured by the prevailing idolatry (or fire 
worship) of the Chaldeans at that period. Terah 
and Abraham probably had not actually fallen into 
idolatrous practices, and yet the danger was so great, 
to their posterity, that it was necessary to retire 
from Chaldea to preserve the purity of their faith: 
and the wandering life of Abraham was calculated 
to teach him his dependence on God, and to lead 
him to trust in divine providence. 

That the great mass of mankind were idolaters 
in about 350 or 400 years after the deluge, is evident 
from both sacred and common history: and that a 
sense or belief of the true God was preserved among 
a few by means of supernatural interference or reve¬ 
lation, is also most reasonable to suppose. It was 
certainly important to preserve a knowledge of God 
in the world ; but without inspiration, we see no 
cause to prevent the downward course of the human 
race in error and superstition. The same divine 
care, which raised up and assisted Moses to de¬ 
clare the true God to the Egyptians and other 
heathen nations, and at a far later period, sent Je¬ 
sus of Nazareth to enlighten and instruct the world 
in the great truths of religion, led to the calling of 
Abraham, when most of the inhabitants of the earth 
were addicted to idolatry, and gross moral darkness 
would otherwise have soon covered all nations. 
The doctrine of the only true God was not then 
universally denied ; but there was certainly danger 
that such would soon be the lamentable state of the 
world. By the call of Abraham and the interposi¬ 
tions in his favour from time to time in different 
countries, he was induced to maintain the worship 
of Jehovah among his own family and children, and 
to bear testimony to others in favour of the divine 
unity. [continued on page 239.] 


The human mind has unlimited curiosity, and a 
natural disposition for knowledge and science. 
The earliest amusement of children, is imitation of 
the acts of their parents, and those much older than 
themselves, and of learning the causes and reasons 
of things. This disposition should be indulged and 
gratified. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


197 



STATE HOUSE IN CONCORD, N. H. 


The Capitol of New Hampshire, situated in the 
town of Concord, has a fine appearance, and ranks 
among the neatest and most elegant public build¬ 
ings in the United States. It was erected in the 
)mars 1818 anfl 1819; and in the latter, the Legis¬ 
lature of the State first held its meetings in it. It 
is situated near the west margin of the Merrimack 
river, between Main and State Streets, and about 
the centre of the village, which is two miles long, 
and consists chiefly of one street. This is a flour¬ 
ishing inland town, of about 4,500 inhabitants ; and 
other buildings are increasing on the east side of 
the river. Concord is about seventy miles from 
' Boston ; and forty from Portsmouth, the commer¬ 
cial capital of New Hampshire. It is west by north 
from the latter, and from Boston nearly N.N.VV. 
ii The Legislature of New Hampshire formerly con- 
; vened in Portsmouth : But the present population 
|! of the State is such, that Concord is far more con- 
^ venient for most of the members. There are two 
I bridges over the Merrimack within the town, 
li The whole front of the Capitol is 126 feet; the 
1 ] main part is 56, and two wings, thirty-eight feet 

I each ; and forty-nine feet in width. It is two sto- 

! ries high, exclusive of the basement and cupola. 

The first is nineteen feet in height, the second 
I eighteen feet; but in the centre, which is the Hall 
I of the Representatives, it is thirty-one feet in height. 

! This room is ornamented by pillars and stucco- 
! work, which give to it an elegant appearance. 

I The Senate Chamber is in the north wing; and the 
Council Chamber in the south. The outside walls of 


the building are of granite stone hammered, and the 
style is plain ; having, however, a Tuscan frontis¬ 
piece of stone, at each central door. It has two 
fronts, facing east and west. The roof and cupola 
are made of wooden materials: And the square 
part of the cupola is ornamented with twelve Ionic 
columns. 

Concord contains the State Prison or Peniten¬ 
tiary, which is a large building; and a handsome 
Court House. Three weekly papers are now' pub¬ 
lished in the place. 

NATFRAt. LANGUAGE OF HORSES. 

Both in the Ukraine and in South America, the 
wild Horses pursue an orderly system of political 
government among themselves; which clearly proves 
the existence of a natural language, by which they 
perfectly understand the commands and wishes of 
their superiours. A combination of voice and ges¬ 
ture, which in fact may be defined to be corporeal 
expression, is always understood by every individual 
in a troop of many thousands of these spirited ani¬ 
mals. In South America, the election of a leader 
is certainly made by the whole body ; and wdien 
chosen, he is promptly obeyed in all his orders for 
travelling. In the Ukraine, Dr. Good says that the 
chief horse in command seems, from all the obser¬ 
vations of naturalists, to hold his office about four 
or five years, when a new election takes place, the 
old general submissively falling into the ranks, 
when the polls are opened. Sometimes he is re¬ 
elected, but not always. In those instances where 






































































































193 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


tli-ere are rival candidates, and tlie decision is not 
satisfactory to the parties, the heroes hglit it out, 
and the conqueror then quietly assumes the com¬ 
mand. There is not a single movement that does 
not show a degree of sagacity bordering upon that 
kind of intelligence characteristic of man. A large 
number of domestic horses, after being a few months 
together at pasture, begin to establish certain police 
regulations; and ultimately, one of them assumes 
dictatorial power. This, therefore, implies some sort 
of language; because without it, there would be 
constant disorder and vexation ; but philosophy, as 
yet, has done nothing towards unraveling the mys¬ 
tery. The same natural language exists among 
elephants. The generalissimo ol' the wild herds 
shows his power fearlessly, and under his power 
the company readily submits. 

What this language consists in—'Whether it be 
voice alone, gesture alone, or bodily expression, 
modified by stamping on the ground, will be diffi¬ 
cult to decide. It is probable that by the whole of 
them the word of command is j)roduced. While 
grazing, defending themselves against enemies, or 
securing their young, they display something more 
definite than mere instinct .—Scientific Tracts. 


RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND LAST MOMENTS OF 
SIR J. MACKINTOSH. , 

His nights were very wakeful, and spent in much 
uneasiness of body; he became very silent and 
thoughtful, had his Bible frequently open before 
him, spoke more than usual upon religious subjects 
—perhaps it would be more correct to say, upon 
God, and his disposition toward man. His mind 
seemed less occupied with speculations, and more 
with his own personal relationship to his Creator. 
Our Lord Jesus Clirist was very frequently the sub¬ 
ject of his thoughts; lie seemed often perplexed, 
and unable to comprehend much of his history. 
He once said to me, ‘ It is a great mystery to me— 
I cannot understand it.’ At another time he told 
me that, during the many sleepless nights he passed, 
the contemplation of the character of Jesus Christ, 
and thoughts concerning the Gospel, with prayers 
to God, was his chief occupation. He spoke of 
the delight he had in dwelling on his noble charac¬ 
ter. I have heard his voice falter as he repeated, 
‘ He went about doing good but he added, ‘ There 
is much connected with him I cannot understand.’ 
I cannot attempt to give his own words; but his 
difficulty lay in the account given of the manner in 
which Jesus becomes the Saviour of man. On 
Saturday, a great change took place. He became 
very silent, and had the appearance of one listening. 
Whenever a word from the Scriptures was repeated 
to him, he always manifested that he heard it; and 
I especially observed that, at every mention of the 
name of Jesus Christ, if his eyes were closed, he al¬ 
ways opened them, and looked at the person who 
had spoken them. I said to him, at one time, ‘ Je¬ 
sus Christ loves you.’ He answered slowly, and 
pausing between each word—‘ Jesus Christ—love— 
the same thing.’ After a long silence, he said, ‘ I 
believe’ we said in a low voice of inquiry ‘in 


God?’ He answered, ‘in Jesus.’ He spoke but 
once more after this. Upon our inquiry how he 
felt, he said he was ‘ happy.’ 


Gen. Newhall, of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, in a 
communication, published in the New England 
Farmer, vol. x. page 9, observes as follows: 

‘ Having woodland from which I liave cut an¬ 
nually, for several years ])ast, from twenty to fifty 
cords of wood, it has been my practice to have it 
cut at the time, and in the manner that would best 
insure a strong and vigorous growth of sprouts. To 
effect this purpose, I never allow a tree to be cut 
till after the autumnal frosts have caused the leaves 
to fall, and the sap to descend into the roots, nor 
later in the vernal season than the middle of April. 
The manner of cutting is to leave the stumps nearly 
on a level with the surface of the ground, from 
which the suckers are much more strong and 
vigorous, and less liable to be injured by high 
winds, than a growth from stumps, cut ten or 
twelve inches high, as is the practice with some. 

‘ Pursuing this course, I have never been disap¬ 
pointed, and have now on land, from which trees 
were cut in the midst of winter, a growth of sprouts 
of the most vigorous and promising appearance. 

‘ Respecting large trees, the growth of'centuries, 
cut them whatever season you please, there is 
scarcely one stump in a thousand that will produce 
suckers.’ 


Effect of Music on different Animals.— While 
a man was blowing on a conch-shell, one who had 
doubted whether beasts were touched with music, 
noticed a cat, a dog, a horse, an ass, a hind, cows, 
barn-door fowds, &c. in a yard near. He could not 
perceive that the cat was in the least affected ; the 
horse stopped short from time to time, and raised up • 
his head occasionally, as if listening: the dog con- - 
tinned long seated on his hind legs, looking sted- 
fastly to the player; the ass did not appear to be 
touched by it at all; the hind lifted up her large 
ears and appeared attentive ; the cows slept some, 
then grazed, and moved away ; some small birds 
in the aviary and on the trees in the yard, almost 
tore their throats wdth singing; the cock, rmnding 
the hens, and tlie hens employed in scratching the 
dung-hill, did not discover that they took any plea¬ 
sure in the music. 


Solitude.— ‘ When I look back forty years of 
my life, I remember I was perpetually in company, 
full of animal spirits, thoughtless, self-ple:rsing; and 
solitude would then have been the heaviest burden 
to my mind. Now, to be alone, to be looking on 
my bed as probably the spot on w hich I am to fight 
the last battle, before I win Christ and see him as 
he is—to consider, with the closest attention, the 
origin, and the nature, and the consequences ol 
death, to the friends of Christ—this work invigo¬ 
rates my mind and nourishes my soul. I accept 
the privilege and pow'er of doing thus, and the great 
opportunity I have for this exercise, with joyful 
gratitude.’ 












OF USEFUI. INFORMATION, 


199 



HINDOO FEMALE. 


We give a drawing of a young woman of India, 
who belongs to a School in Calcutta, established by 
the English Church Missionary Society. She is 
represented in the costume of the pupils of the 
Seminary ; which differs very little however, from 
that of the natives generally. It would be unwise 
to require them to deviate much from the common 
dress of the country ; for it might excite a prejudice 
against the School. Her principal garment is called 
a Sarrie, and is a long piece of white muslin folded 
round the body, and thrown over the head and 
shoulders. The book in her right hand shows that 
she is a scholar. When the School was first open¬ 
ed, this sight, (a young woman with a book in her 
hand) was rare, and therefore a matter of great cu¬ 
riosity. The bag in her left hand was given her as 
a mark of distinction for diligence and improvement 
in the School; many similar articles being sent out 
by ladies in England, as rewards for the scholars 
who should excel in their studies. Several Schools 
for the natives of India, have been opened in differ¬ 
ent parts by the English government and Missionary 
Societies. There are enemies to the School among 
the natives, who are extremely attached to their 
own ancient customs and modes of worship. They 
apprehend that it is designed to draw oft' the chil¬ 
dren from their ancient faith to Christianity; or 
that the children who are in the Schools may be 


secretly sent to England. Still, in several places 
the schools increase and flourish. And this appears 
tc be the most sure way of introducing (gradually) 
the knowledge of our religion, as well as of the arts 
and sciences, which are subjects of study in Europe. 


PHISIOGNOMY.—LAVATER. 

Translated fro 7 n the. Courier Francais, of Sept. \3, for the 
AWional Intelligencer. 

There is no man endowed with any moderate 
degree of reflection who has not felt in himself the 
truth of the observations, generalized and ar¬ 
ranged into a system by Lavater. At the first 
glance on the features of a stranger, you receive an 
impression for or against; a spontaneous impres¬ 
sion, sometimes deceptive, but which is much more 
frequently established by experience. Who does 
not desire to read in thought, and scan the soul on 
the human face? It is the sentiment which the 
most philosophical of the tragic poets, Euripides, 
has so well expressed, when another character ad¬ 
dresses Theseus in his ‘ Hippolyte Crowned.’ 

‘ Alas ! it is necessary that men should have some 
certain sign to know other men—some witness of 
the heart to distinguish the false from the true 
friend.’ 

In the time of Euripides, the science of physiog- 
omy had made but little progress. Every rcaaer 







































































PICTORIAL LIBRARY 




knows that Zopine, the Lavater of his time, had 
decided, on an inspection of the features of Socra¬ 
tes, tluit the pliilosopher was naturally stupid, bru¬ 
tal, voluptuous, and a drunkard. The modern La¬ 
vater undertook to refute this judgment. He analys¬ 
ed with great ingenuity the physiognomy of the 
philosopher from ancient monuments, and found in 
his features the most eminent (jualities. We must 
say he was but unravelling an enigma already 
solved. 

Lavater was not the inventor of physiognomy, 
but he elevated it to the rank of a science, in stat¬ 
ing its principles, deducing its consequences, and 
uniting an immense number of ideas and facts, 
which indeed only awaited a superiour intelligence 
to place in order and form into a symmetrical body. 
One of the fundamental principles of his doctrine, 
a principle he was not, it is true, the first to dis¬ 
cover, but which he developed with a powerful im¬ 
agination, is, that it is in the solid parts that we 
ought to seek to recognise the distinctive signs of the 
intellectual faculties; and the characters and pas¬ 
sions in the habitual expression of the flexible, and of 
course moveable parts. Lavater again contended 
that it was possible to determine mathematically, 
by the simple contour and configuration of the 
cranium, the measure of the intellectual faculties, 
or at least, the relative degrees of capacity and tal¬ 
ent. This is not exactly the doctrine of Gall, but 
nevertheless, there is an analogy which deserves to 
be remarked. 

The system of Lavater included the entire per¬ 
son, of which the countenance was regarded as a 
summary of the whole. The face down to the eye¬ 
brows was the mirror of intelligence; the nose and 
cheeks the mirror of the moral and sensitive life; 
and the mouth and chin the mirror of the animal 
life ; whilst the eye was an epitome, a common cen¬ 
tre to all. 

It must be avowed that the science of physiog¬ 
nomy never can present a mathematical certainty, 
either from the uncertain or defectively known signs, 
or from the equally defective penetration of the ob¬ 
server. The disciples of Lavater are sometimes re¬ 
duced to conjectures, when even they do not fall 
into positive error. Nature, it would seem, delights 
to tantalize those who desire to obtain her secrets. 

When the translation of the Essays on Physiog¬ 
nomy appeared in France in 1771 and 1781, they 
excited very little attention, contrary to the ordinary 
reception of novelties. Grimm, in his correspon¬ 
dence observes, ‘For three months since the trans¬ 
lation of this work appeared in Paris, and whilst 
several public journals have announced its publica¬ 
tion, I have not had the satisfaction to meet two 
persons who have had the curiosity to read it. * * * 
It is true, that in the countries of Europe, where 
they judge with most confidence, they read least 
every species of production—where all that is not 
song, theatrical piece, or pamphlet, need not pretend 
to make much noise.’ 

The next change was to ridicule the discoveries 
of Lavater, but here commenced their fame; they 
excited attention and were soon seriously read. 
After having encountered raillery they inspired en¬ 
thusiasm, and these same essays, so disd-ainfully re¬ 


ceived amongst us, in their first appearance, rapidly 
obtained in France, as also over all Europe, an im¬ 
mense celebrity. 

The learned and ingenious inventor of the sci¬ 
ence of physiognomy, was at the same time a min¬ 
ister of the holy Evangelist, a laborious writer and 
warm patriot. He ended his days almost like Ar¬ 
chimedes, wounded by a soldier, the day the French 
took Zurich in 1799. He died sometime after¬ 
ward, of his wound. It was to all France, a sub¬ 
ject of sincere regret, that a French ball should 
abridge such a life. 

Vanity and Pride. —Passion seizes man in 
youth, ambition in middle life, and avarice in old 
age: but pride and vanity are the besetting sins, 
which drive the angels from our cradle, pamper us 
with rich and even unwholesome food, ride our first 
stick with us, mount with us our first horse, wake 
with us in the morning, dream with us in the night, 
and accompany us ever. In this world, beginning 
with pride and vanity, we are delivered over from 
tormentor to tormentor, till the worst tormentor of all 
takes entire possession of us forever; seizing us at 
the mouth of the grave, enchaining us in his own 
dark dungeon, standing at the door and laughing at 
our cries. But God, in mercy, hath placed in the 
hands of every one a helm to steer his course by, 
pointing it out with his finger, and giving him 
strength as well as knowledge to pursue it. There 
is, O man, in moral straits, a current from right to 
wrong, but no reflux from wrong to right; for 
w'hich destination we must hoist our sails aloft, and 
ply our oars incessantly, or night and the tempest 
will overtake us, and w'e shall shriek out in vain 
from the angry billows, and sink beyond recovery. 

Tinned Cast Iron Hollow' Ware. —Mr. M. H. 
Beecher, of this village, has invented a method of 
tinning Cast Iron Hollow Ware, in the same state 
in which it comes from the mould. This process, 
owing to the trifling additional expense, is decidedly 
superiour to the British Comriosition Kettles, which 
have to be smoothly turned previous to the applica¬ 
tion of the Composition Tin, and which operation 
renders the price of the article too exorbitant in our 
market. Mr. Beecher’s invention, while it com¬ 
bines beauty with durability—a durability double to 
that of the English—may be counted of great ben¬ 
efit to mankind, especially in the culinary depart¬ 
ment—no rust or canker being likely to accrue from 
the negligence of cooks. Messrs. Lee Albee 
have gone into the manufacture of the article, under 
the direction of the inventor, and specimens of the 
w'ork may be seen at the Hanhvare Store of Phillips 
&L Brisbin, in this village, where any person may 
inspect the article. By the same process, wrought 
and malleable cast iron may be tinned, at a much 
less expense than by any other method. 

Waterford, N. Y. Atlas. 

Frogs were first known in Ireland in 1796. Some 
spawn was carried there from England, and placed 
in a ditch in the Park of the University. A writer, 
in 820 says, ‘ that there were no serpents nor veno¬ 
mous reptiles, in the Island.’ 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


SOI 


SCENES IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



ANDES OF CHILI. 


The surface of Chili consists of portions, strik¬ 
ingly dissimilar, but passing into each other by re¬ 
gular and insensible gradations. Between its ocean 
and mountain limits, is a transition from the frozen 
to the torrid zone, similar to that which takes place 
in Mexico and Colombia, though not altogether so 
abrupt. 

The range of the Chilian Andes seems peculiarly 
massive and unbroken; and the perpetual snow 
which covers it to a considerable depth, even at the 
points chosen as of most easy access, cannot well 
consist with a height of less than 14,000 or 15,000 
feet. From these, three parallel chains descend to¬ 
wards the sea ; or it may be more correct to say, 
that on this extended slope, rise many steep emi¬ 
nences and ranges, branching in various directions. 
The fore-ground of the Chilian landscape consists 
usually of mountain piled on mountain ; and the 
back-ground of a continuous chain of snowy sum¬ 
mits, as exhibited in the view above :—Yet the sides 
of the mountains are generally fertile and beautiful: 
foliage and verdure, with rich pastures extend even 
to the border of the perpetual snow ; and many of 
these upper valleys present such romantic and en¬ 
chanting Scenes, that Chili has sometimes been cal¬ 
led the garden of South America. But it is a great 
misfortune to the inhabitants, that the earth is not 
secure under their feet: The country is liable to 
frequent and destructive earthquakes. 



PINCHINCHA,-A GROUP OF MOUNTAINS IN QUITO. 


Quito, which now assumes the character of a 
State, probably forms the finest table land in all 
America. Its breadth is about thirty miles, enclos¬ 
ed between two parallel ranges of the loftiest An¬ 
des: And in soil and climate, it is superiour or 
equal to any known. Vegetation never ceases; 
and even in the wet seasons, the mornings and 
evenings are clear and beautiful. It is sometimes 
called the evergreen Quito. Standing on an emi¬ 
nence, the spectator views the tints of spring, sum¬ 
mer, and autumn, all blended. But the feature 
which renders the view from Quito the most en¬ 
chanting, perhaps, ever beheld, is that, above this 
beautiful plain, and resting, as it were, on its ver¬ 
dant hills, there arise all the loftiest volcanic cones 
of the Andes. From one point of view eleven of 


these may be discovered, clad in perpetual snow 
The highest of these is Pinchincha, and was select 
ed by the French Academicians, for observations, 
by which they determined the figure of the earth: 
and by Humboldt, it is called the classic land of 
modern astronomy. The division of the depart¬ 
ment into provinces has been made with reference 
to them. The southern is called Chimborazo, the 
northern, Trubabura, and the middle, Pinchincha, 
which towers immediately above the city of Quito. 
The prospect is grand and sublime almost beyond 
description; and many monuments of the sway of 
the Incas are found in this delightful vale; it being 
one of their ancient and most valued provinces. 
Extensive ruins of buildings are still to be seen in this 
place ; the original dimensions of which are easily 
discovered. The remains of the palace of Callo, 
present one of the most perfect examples of the 
ancient architecture of the Peruvians. 



It is remarkable that there is no river in Chili, 
which deserves the name; and yet mighty torrents 
rush down from the tops of the Cordillera in various 
places, but not giving a safe passage for a boat. A 
remedy is found for this, however, in the vicinity of 
every part of the country inhabited, to the sea coast. 
Nor do lakes abound in the Chilian Andes. There 
are a few only and of small extent, between the 
mountains. That of Aculeo, which is here repre¬ 
sented, is remarkable for the beauty and softness of 
its scenery, and has been compared to those found 
on the Italian side of the Alps. It is enclosed within 
rocky mountains, where little vegetation can be dis¬ 
covered. 



THK NATURAL BRIDGE OF ICONONTO, ON THE 
PLAIN OF BAGOTA. 

This bridge is a natural arch across a chasm of 
nearly four hundred feet deep, at the bottom of 
which a rapid torrent flows, and which would be 
impassable without this work of nature. It appears 
to have been formed by three masses of rocks, dor 
tached from their original position, and thrown to¬ 
gether by an earthquake. The length of the bridge 
is fifty feet, and its breadth nearly forty. At a par¬ 
ticular spot on the bridge, a view may be obtained 
of the abyss below. The continual darkness which 
reigns there, and the birds of night, which raise 

26 






















202 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


their mournful cries in the caverns, causing long 
and repeated echoes, the gloomy waters which fill 
the depth of the precipice, the thick foliage of the 
trees which partly conceal this scene of mystery; 
all these convey no faint idea of the abode of 
death. 



FALL OF TEQUENDAMA, IN BAGOTA, COLOMBIA. 

The scenery of the extensive plain of Bagota, 
New Grenada, in South America, is marked by 
many striking and picturesque features. The most 
conspicuous of these are the Fall of 'requendama, 
and the natural bridges of the vicinity. The first is 
formed by the river Bagota, as it descends precipi¬ 
tously from its native plain to mingle with the 
Magdalena. Its mass of waters, previously spread 
to a great breadth, are here contracted to about 
forty feet, and dashed down a precipice of 650 feet 
high into an almost fathomless abyss. The waters, 
as they beat against the rocks beneath, sometimes 
rise up in columns, sometimes in myriads of fleecy 
and fantastic shapes, like those formed by fireworks: 
And the immense clouds of rising vapour, when 
illuminated by the sun, form beautiful rainbows. 
Above the Fall, the extensive plain is covered with 
fields of grain ; and at its foot grow the palms and 
sugar canes of the tropic. The plain is under and 
near the line; and yet its climate is like that of 
forty or forty-two degrees. The temperature is 
from 45° to 70°; but the wet seasons produce some 
deviations from that medium. This level is 8000 
feet above the waters of the ocean. 



ROPE BRIDGE. 

It can hardly be said, that roads have any exist¬ 
ence in the mountainous parts of Colombia, and in 
the ridges of the Andes. There are indeed, a few 
royal roads, but they are barely surveyed and laid 
out: Few are rendered convenient for travelling, 
and most of the paths or tracks are made by the tread 
of successive travellers. Sometimes the declivity is 
go abrupt, that it can be crossed only by a zigzag 


path cut into steps, which form a stair-way almost 
perpendicular. Men and baggage are generally 
conveyed on mules, which find their way over these 
frightful precipices with surprising dexterity. A 
traveller, who wishes to escape these hardships and 
perils, may be conveyed in a species of chair placed 
on the back of persons hired for the purpose, who 
being used to the country, carry one with surprising 
safety and comfort. The bridges, which are thrown 
over the torrents of the Andes, and from steep to 
steep, are of the most fragile and hazardous de¬ 
scription. Stone is used only in a few rare cases; 
in general a few rough planks are laid across, and 
covered with earth and branches ; the breadth not 
more than four feet, and without fence or railing. 
Where the distance is too great for this contrivance, 
a bridge of strong cable is constructed, and the Co¬ 
lombian passes over securely, though it rocks be¬ 
neath his feet at every step. Sometimes beneath 
distant points, a single rope is stretched across, as 
in the view above given ; and a hammock or basket is 
made to run from one to the other, for conveying 
persons, and a small quantity of goods. 

A line of Rail Road from Philadelphia through 
Reading and Pottsville to Sunl)ury,is now in a state 
of forwardness, and when this and the one from 
Williamsport shall be completed, the trip from that 
city to the Niagara, can be easily made in three days! 
This assertion may occasion some sur|irise, but is 
nevertheless not to be doubted. Leaving Philadel¬ 
phia in the morning, it will be an easy task to reach 
Sunbury in the evening. Here, getting into one 
of the canal boats, running up the West Branch, 
and obtaining as much repose as is wanted, the 
traveller may reach Williamsport in the morning, 
and passing over the Rail Road to Elrnyra, soon 
finds himself in a steamboat at the southern ex¬ 
tremity of Seneca Lake ; by this he will be landed 
at Geneva in the morning, tlius com[)leting the sec¬ 
ond day. Then taking tiie mail or other last con¬ 
veyance, the third day will suffice to complete the 
journey. When such an arrangement shall be fin¬ 
ished, and that it soon will be, there is no doubt, 
the amount of travelling between the North and 
South, for business and pleasure, must be exceed- 
ingly great. Hundreds will go then for one at the 
present time. Who indeed will stay at home that 
can go to Niagara in three days, at a trifling expense, 
and be agreeably entertained the whole way ? 

Texas, and its Popueation and Resources.—• 
The Telegraph and Texas Register is the title of a 
newspaper, quarto form, of elegant typography, just 
commenced at San Felipe du Austin. The pros¬ 
perous condition of Texas is but little known, we 
believe—there are already 60,000 inhabitants in the 
province, nearly to a man American, and the ex¬ 
ports of cotton this year amount to ten thousand 
bales. 


A religion that is true, says the Poet Coleridge, 
must consist of ideas and facts both ; not of ideas 
alone without facts, for then it would be mere phi¬ 
losophy ; nor of facts alone without ideas, for then 
it would be mere history. 















OF USEFUL 


THE NEW YEAR. 

From a sense of propriety as well as from regard 
to custom, the Editor of the American Magazine is 
induced to notice the coming in of a New Year. 
In the first place, we make our humble and grateful 
address to the subscribers and patrons of our under¬ 
taking, designed to spread ‘ Useful and Entertaining 
Knowledge.’ To use the language of great men in 
former times, ive greet them well, and salute them 
with our best wishes. If a« oZd, it is a hearty sal¬ 
utation, and we can assure them it will be warmer in 
six months. There are many, some thousands, who 
have cheered us on our way, quiet as it has been, 
and without aftbrding food for e.xcited or morbid 
appetites, who covet party discussions, either in po¬ 
litics or religion, and continually seek for something 
new and startling. Whatever is useful as well as 
new, however, we have endeavoured to collect; and 
not seldom have ventured to give our own opinion 
of ‘ men and things.’ And though it has been our 
aim to avoid entangling ourselves or readers with 
party politics and sectarian views, we have not hesi¬ 
tated, (as we felt disposed and considered it a duty) 
to advocate civil and religious liberty; to contend 
for the Constitution as first interpreted and under¬ 
stood, for equal rights and republican principles; 
and for the great truths of revelation, admitted by 
all intelligent and good men, and essential both as 
the guide of life and the hope of immortality. One 
great object of the Editor, is the improvement, both 
intellectual and moral, of the young; and he has 
wished to excite in them a desire for reading and 
study; for devoting a portion of time to useful 
books, and much of it to the forming habits of in¬ 
dustry and self-controul. We do not expect to 
give so much information as to render other read¬ 
ing unnecessary ; but to give hints, and refer to 
subjects, with a view to create a desire of knowledge, 
and to the study of systematic treatises in different 
branches of science. New inventions and recent 
discoveries, whenever made, which come to our 
knowledge, we are careful to notice. Facilities and 
means for acquiring knowledge, should be afforded 
to all; and the greater and more numerous the bet¬ 
ter ; and yet study and application are necessary in 
every one, who would attain to distinction, or gain 
so much information as to be useful. There is no 
substitute for mental effort and industry. To be 
proficient in any one branch of science, a man must 
bestow much labour and self application. The 
numerous helps to learning now afforded, do not 
render this unnecessary. The benefit of them is, 
in giving us the means—after all they are only helps, 
and we must be active if we would derive advan¬ 
tage from them. 

We are also aware of different tastes and charac¬ 
ters in society, and we have endeavoured to present 
a variety in our pages. We wish to give biographi¬ 
cal notices of wise and virtuous and industrious 
I persons, which are worthy of imitation; and for 
those who occasionally want something more than 
humble prose, we have been desirous of furnishing 
I such effusions of poetry, as appeared calculated to 
excite or strengthen good feelings, as well as to 
I please or delight those of pure minds. But long 
i stories formed merely by the imagination, have not 


INFORMATION. 203 

been supposed appropriate to the general design of 
the Magazine. 

We have also thought it would be acceptable to 
our subscribers and readers, occasionally to present 
statistical statements and geograph-cal notices, 
especially of newly settled parts of the United 
States. Our country is rapidly increasing in popu¬ 
lation, in enterprise, and establishments for manu¬ 
factures of different kinds ; and some account and 
explanation of these may be useful, in stimulating 
and encouraging the efforts of others in similar 
works. It is the advantage of these publications, 
and therefore the object should be, to give the dis¬ 
coveries of other countries also, and to disseminate the 
knowledge of other times, so that the present gen¬ 
eration may profit thereby ; and availing ourselves 
of such helps, may nmke some farther advances in 
science and the arts. But without application, in¬ 
dustry and perseverance, we cannot justly expect 
to improve ourselves, or those who are to come af¬ 
ter. By the efforts and contributions of all, the 
sum of general information will be great, and the 
real improvement of society steadily increased. 


THE WIDOW’S MTE. 

BY MONTGOMERY. 

Amid the pompous crowd 
Of rich admirers, came a humble form ; 

A widow, meek as poverty could make 
Her children ! With a look of sad content 
Her mite within the treasure-heap she cast— 
Then timidly as bashful twilight, stole 
From out the temple. But her lowly gift 
Was witness’d by an eye whose mercy views 
In motive, all that consecrates a deed 
To goodness : so He blessed the widow’s mite 
Beyond the gifts abounding wealth bestow’d. 
Thus is it. Lord ! with thee ; the heart is thine. 
And all the world of hidden action there 
Works in thy sight like waves beneath the sun 
Conspicuous! and a thousand nameless acts 
That lurk in lowly secrecy, and die 
Unnoticed, like the trodden flowers that fall 
Beneath a proud man’s foot, to thee are known 
And written with a sunbean in the book 
Of life, where Mercy fills the brightest page! 


THE CURSED BOWL. 

I gazed upon the tattered garb. 

Of one who stood a list’ner by ; 

The hand of misery press’d him hard. 

And tears of sorrow swell’d his eye. 

1 gazed upon his pallid cheek. 

And asked him how his cares begun— 

He sighed, and thus essay’d to speak 
‘ The cause of all my griefs is RUM.’ 

I watched a maniac through the gate. 

Whose ravings shock’d me tc the soul; 

I asked what seal’d his wretched fate. 

The answer was—the cursed bowl. 

I ask’d a convict in his chains. 

While tears along his cheeks did roll, 

What devil urged him on to crimes— 

His answer was —the aimed bowl. 

Cincinnati Journal, 


I 







204 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE FEATHERS OF BIRDS. 

In the structure of birds’ feathers there is much 
to surprise and instruct us. Feathers consist of two 
parts ; the stem, terminating the quill, and the vane, 
or feathery appendages on each side the stem. 
The horny portion is tough and elastic; and is form¬ 
ed into a hollow cylinder, to combine the opposite 
qualities of lightness and strength. But it is in 
the construction of the vane, that the most singular 
skill is displayed; and there can be no hesitation in 
saying, that it exhibits the most striking proofs of 
design we have witnessed in any other fabric. The 
following account is from one of the Bridgewater 
Treatises, by Dr. Roget. 

‘ The vane of the feather is still more artificially 
constructed; being con!posed of a number of flat 
threads, or filaments, so arranged as to oppose a 
much greater resistance to a force striking perpen¬ 
dicularly against their surface, than to one which is 
directed laterally; that is, in the plane of the stem. 
They derive this power of resistance from their flat¬ 
tened shape, which allows them to bend less easily 
in the direction of their flat surfaces than in any 
other; in the same way that a slip of card cannot 
easily be bent by a force acting in its own plane, 
though it easily yields to one at right angles to it. 
Now it is exactly in the direction in which they do 
not bend that the filaments of the feather have to 
encounter the resistance and impulse of the air. It 
is here that strength is wanted, and it is here that 
strength has been bestowed. 

‘ On examining the assemblage of these laminated 
filaments still more minutely, we find that they 
appear to adhere to one another. As we cannot 
perceive that they are united by any glutinous mat¬ 
ter, it is evident that their connexion must be eflect- 
ed by some mechanism invisible to the unassisted eye. 
By the aid of the microscope the mystery is unrav¬ 
elled, and we discover the presence of a number of 
minute fibrils, arranged along the margin of the 
laminae, and fitted to catch upon and clasp one 
another, whenever the laminae are brought within a 
certain distance. The fibrils of a feather from the 
wing of a goose are exceedingly numerous, above a 
thousand being contained in the space of an inch ; 
and they are of two kinds, each kind having a dif¬ 
ferent form and curvature. Those which arise from 
the side next to the extremity of the feather are 
branched or tufted, and bend downwards, while 
those proceeding from the other side of the laminae, 
or that nearest the root of the feather, are shorter 
and firmer, and do not divide into branches, but are 
hooked at the extremities, and are directed upwards. 
When the two laminae are brought close to one 
another, the long, curved fibrils of the one being 
carried over the short and straight fibrils of the other, 
both sets become entangled together; their crooked 
ends fastening into one another, just as the latch of a 
door falls into the cavity of the catch which is fixed 
in the door-post to receive it. The way in which 
this takes place will be readily perceived by making 
a section of the vane of a feather across the laminae, 
and examining with a good microscope their cut 
edges, while they are gently separated from one 
another. This mechanism is repeated over every 
part of the feather, and constitutes a closely reticu¬ 


lated surface of great extent, admirably calculated 
to prevent the passage of the air through it, and to 
create by its motion that degree of resistance which 
it is intended the wing should encounter. In fea¬ 
thers not intended for flight, as in those of the os¬ 
trich, the fibrils are altogether wanting: in those of 
the peacock’s tail, the fibrils, though large, have not 
the construction which fits them for clasping those 
of the contiguous laminae; and in other instances 
they do so very impe*^fectly.’ 

Women. —The celebrated Fontenelle said, that 
women have a fibre more in the heart, and a cell 
less in the brain, than men. 

\Vomen, in the course of action, describe a smal¬ 
ler circle than men, but the perfection of a circle 
consists not in its dimensions, but in its correctness. 
There may be here and there a soaring female, who 
looks down with disdain upon the paltry aflairs of 
‘this dim speck, called earth,’Who despises order 
and regularity, as indications of a grovelling spirit. 
But a sound mind judges directly contrary. The 
larger the capacity, the wider is the sweep it takes 
in. A sensible woman loves to imitate that order 
which is stamped on the whole creation of God. 
All the operations of nature are uniform even in 
their changes, and regular in their infinite variety. 

As the dew lies longest and produces most fer¬ 
tility in the shade, so woman in the shade of do¬ 
mestic retirement, sheds around her path richer and 
more permanent blessings than man, who is more 
exposed to the glare and observation of public life. 
Thus the humble and retired often yield more val¬ 
uable benefits to society, than the noisy and bust¬ 
ling satellites of earth, whose very light of uncon¬ 
cealed enjoyment deteriorates and parches up the 
moral soil it flows over. 


Peach Trees. —Mr. William Phillips, of Penn¬ 
sylvania, has derived great benefit from the applica¬ 
tion of air-slaked, old efleted lime, to peach trees, 
the effects of which, according to his own account, 
have been very great. He puts about a peck of 
lime to each tree ; he thinks it useful as a preserva¬ 
tive against the insects so fatal to these trees. We 
have then two applications recommended, unleach¬ 
ed ashes and lime, and from our own experience 
are able to recommend both. We are not sure 
which has the preference. The lime and ashes 
should both be dug every spring. A friend suggests 
that he killed his young peach trees by lime; cau¬ 
tion is needed in the application.— Agricul. Rep. 

Ancient Edifices in Mexico.—A late English 
traveller has discovered some very ancient buildings 
(probably temples or places of worship) in the in- 
teriour of Mexico, with a variety of ornaments, more 
rich and splendid than those at Palenque. ^ 

The passage in the prophet Daniel, ‘ to make an 
end of sins,’ might be rendered to abolish sin-ofler- 
ings, as the Hebrew word is the same for both. 
And it seems a preferable translation, for the Jewish 
ritual and sacrifices w'ere abolished by Christ; espe¬ 
cially in a national view, and in the Temple of Jeru¬ 
salem, they soon after ceased forever. 









OF USEI'IIL INFORMATION. 


205 



THE WATER MOLE OF AUSTRALIA. 


An account of this very singular animal, whose 
technical name is Oniithorhynchus paradoxus, 
(hard enough to be apj)lie(i to so strange a crea¬ 
ture!) has been lately published. It is so anoma¬ 
lous that writers on natural history have been puz¬ 
zled in deciding its genus. It is aquatic in its 
habits, but seeks the tranquil streams and waters, 
and makes deep burrows in the banks. In its for¬ 
mation and limbs, it appears well fitted for such an 
abode, and such an element. Its common length 
is one foot and an half; anti not unlike the Otter, 
in the shape of the body. Like other aquatic mam¬ 
malia, it is covered w'ith a double coat of fur, the 
inner one being soft and short, and almost water¬ 
proof. The tail is broad and flattened. The limbs 
are short, but appear of great strength, especially 
the fore feet. It has five toes on each foot, which 
terminate in strong blunt claws; there is a web be¬ 
tween the toes of a tough, leathery consistence, 
which must be of an advantage in the water, but 
not in burrowing. But the head is the most won¬ 
derful part of the animal. It does not terminate in 
a snout, as in other animals of the kind, but is con¬ 
tinued into a beak, resembling that of a duck, broad, 
compressed, and rounded at the lip: the mandibles 
of the beak are covered with a cartilaginous mem- 
brane, the edges of which are soft; and the lower, 
which is shorter and narrower than the upper, has 
the insides channelled with grooves like a duck, but 
larger. At the base of the beak, or the part nearest 


the head, there projects a loose flap from each man¬ 
dible, which would seem designed to protect the 
eyes, when the animal is seeking food in the water 
and mud. The eyes are small, but bright and 
piercing: and the orifice of the ears is capable of 
being closed or opened at pleasure. It does not 
appear, whether the animal is oviparous or not. 
The natives eat them, though of a fishy and rank 
taste. Attempts have been made to convey them 
to Europe, but generally without success; they 
have mostly died on the passage. One or more, 
however, have been taken to England, and kept 
alive in a pond, f(;r sometime. 


EARTHQUAKE IN CAPPADOCIA. 

A great earthquake occurred at Ctesarea and vi¬ 
cinity, in ancient Cappadocia, now called Kara- 
mania (in Asia Minor,) the last of August. It was 
more extensive, and more destructive of property 
ar.d lives, than former similar calamities in that 
country. Earthquakes are not unusual in that part 
of our globe. Aleppo, and Antioch in Syria, and 
other parts of the territory, east of the Mediterra¬ 
nean, have often been visited with this heavy and 
appalling judgment. Sixty-six years ago, a tremen¬ 
dous earthquake took place in that country, near 
Antioch, by which 30,000 persons were destroyed: 
And a far more destructive one occurred there A. D. 
526. 'File late earth(|uake, was preceded a fevv 
hours by a thick smoko arising from the foot of the 


































































206 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY. 


mountain, on the side of which Caesarea (or Kassa- 
riah, as it is now pronounced) is situated; from 
which columns of flame soon burst forth, with a 
tremendous noise, like the violent eruption of a vol¬ 
cano. The earth was immediatel}' perceived to 
rock, and a terrible quaking of the ground began. 
Tlie shocks continued for seven hours, with little 
intermission, attended with most awful thunders. 
The motion of the earth was like that of the ocean 
in a violent storm, ^^vo thousand buildings were 
prostrated. Confusion and terror seized the inhabi¬ 
tants. Many fled into the neighbouring country ; 
but several were overtaken in their flight and de- 
stro)ed, like the people of Sodom in the time of 
Lot. The six following days, the sfiocks were re- 
peated, though with less violence than those on the 
first day. Meantime, all the inhabitants fled into 
the adjoining fields or neighbouring villages for 
safety. Most villages suffered, within the distance 
of one hundred and forty miles from Kiissariah. 
Eighteen villages are mentioned as having suflered 
greatly; in some, half the buildings were thrown 
down, and many lives lost; in others, more than 
half were destroyed. Four or five hundred people 
were buried in the ruins: And the site of one vil¬ 
lage, i^Cumeizi,) is now an entire lake. It is many 
years since so great an earthquake has occurred in 
this vicinity. The country is now inhabited by the 
Turks, who are Mahometans, and lies nearly mid¬ 
way, between the northeast point of the Mediter¬ 
ranean Sea and the Euxine. 

IDWIEA, OR EDO.M. ' 

The young have a taste for geogra|)hy ; and in 
reading the sacred volume, they want information 
of the countries therein mentioncfl, and lying near 
the land of Judea. Idumea is in the west-south- 
west part of Arabia ; north of the Red Sea, and 
south of the Dead Sea. Mount Seir, sometimes 
called Hor or Horeb, lies within the territory. 
This was the country of Esau, the brother of Jacob, 
and son of the patriarch Isaac. He was a hunter 
from his youth, and occupied a large tract of coun¬ 
try for the purposes of his employment. His con¬ 
stant exposure to the weather, made him red and 
hairy. This is indicated by his name, Edom, by 
which he is often mentioned in the sacred volume. 
In 250 years his descendants were numerous, and 
opposed a formidable hindrance to the Israelites in 
their passage from Egypt to the promised land of 
Canaan, afterwards called Judea, or Palestine. It 
is reasonable to suppose, that the descendants of 
Esau, for two or three generations, were believers 
in the one true God ; but afterwards they degene¬ 
rated, like most other nations, into idolatry and 
polytheism. For many generations, there appears 
to have been no wars between them and the Jews, 
till the time of David, who brought them into sub¬ 
jection to that powerful nation. They revolted in 
the time of the wars of Israel with the Chaldeans ; 
and took revenge for the oppressions of their for¬ 
mer masters. But, at a subsequent period, they 
were induced to adopt and observe some of the re¬ 
ligious ceremonies of the Jews. 

The first Herod, who ruled over Galilee, when 
our Saviour was born, was the son of an Idumean 


prince. He professed Judaism ; but like most 
politicians, he had little religion, and sought chiefly 
for temporal power and glory. ‘ The Herodians,’ 
were his flatterers; and- like him, without religion 
or moral principle. It was his son, who was in 
Jerusalem at the time Christ was condemned and 
crucified ; and his grandson, mentioned in the 
twelfth chapter of Acts, who ordered the death of 
St. James, and persecuted the early Christians. 
The son of the last-named attended the Roman 
Governor Festus, before whom St. Paul made an 
able apology, for his faith in the resurrection of 
Christ. 

Thus it appears, that the sceptre had departed 
from Judah, when the Messiah appeared. For¬ 
eigners were in authority, and the people were in 
subjection to the Roman Emperours. Temporal 
power and rule ceased from the house of.-David ; 
but a spiritual Prince arose from his family, who 
was to rule all nations by a moral power. 

Antipater, the Idumean, the father and ancestor of 
the Herods, was a selfish, irreligious man ; and his 
son and grandsons were of the same character. 
The first Herod ordered the slaughter of all the 
young children of Bethlehem, to satiate his jeal¬ 
ousy and ambition. He also caused the death of 
his wife, her brother and grandfather (the High 
Priest,) and two of his ow'n sons; which induced 
the Emperour Augustus to say, ‘ it was better to 
be Herod’s dog, than his child.’ When on his 
death-bed, he gave orders, that when he expired, a 
number of distinguished Jews, whom he fiad im¬ 
prisoned, should be slain, that there might be a 
general mourning: a lamentable proof, of the most 
depraved and cruel disposition ! His son ordered 
the innocent Baptist to be beheaded ; and joined in 
insulting the meek and holy Jesus. His grandson, 
who put the apostle James to death, was a blood¬ 
thirsty wretch, and in the judgment of heaven, was 
carried oft'by a loathsome disease. 

Idumea is a rocky, barren country; and a pas¬ 
sage through it has always been dangerous, on ac¬ 
count of the lawless banditti which traverse it, and 
spend much time in this wild and desolate terri¬ 
tory. The Jewish prophet declared ‘ that no one 
should pass through it forever.’ But this is a strong, 
figurative expression, and not intended to be strictly 
construed. It is indeed, a wild and dangerous re¬ 
gion ; but it is a matter of fiction, that no one ever 
has or can pass through it. Edom borders in part 
on the Red Sea, and hence derives its peculiar 
name. Bozzah was its chief town. 


A SKETCH OF MRS. SOMERVILLE, THE CELEBRATED 
FEMALE ASTRONOi^lER. 

This lady is, we believe, a little over forty years 
of age. She was born in Scotland. When about 
fifteen years old, she happened to overhear her 
brother, repeating as a school exercise, the demon¬ 
stration of a proposition in geometry. Her atten¬ 
tion was arrested, and her genius then felt its first 
conscious impulse of its master-spring. She in¬ 
stantly procured a copy of Euclid, and found de¬ 
light in exploring its pages. 

Sometime afterwards she inquired of Professor 
Playfair, if there would be any harm in a young lady’s 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


studying Latin. He asked her why she wished to 
study Latin. She replied, because I long to read 
Newton’s ‘ Principia.’ 

He encouraged her to make the unusual, and as 
it was then thought, daring attempt. Besides the 
Latin she is now possessed of every modern scien¬ 
tific lariguage, and is without doubt, one of the very 
first astronomers of this a^e. Her name shining 
over England, together with that of La Place on the 
continent of Europe, and Bowditch in America, 
constitutes the great constellation of astronomical 
science of the present day. 

How inscrutable are workings of genius! Where 
it has not been kindled by nature, no art ignites it. 
It is beyond the power of circumstances to quench 
its flame. Astronomy and Mathematics have found 
their most illustrious votaries, in our times, not in 
the chairs of professorships with learned titles, and 
rich endowments—not in the silent retreats of aca¬ 
demical leisure—but in the legislative halls of revo¬ 
lutionary France, on the dec 1* of an American mer¬ 
chantman, and amid the cares of the nursery? 

A friend of ours, when visiting Mrs. Somerville’s 
family, happened to ask her husband what was con¬ 
tained in certain drawers he was opening, he re¬ 
plied, ‘ Mrs. Somerville’s diplomas ;’ she has received 
therrf from literary and scientific societies in all parts 
of the world except America! 

The following anecdote will show the opinion 
entertained of her by La Place, with whom she had 
long been in the habit of corresponding on scientific 
subjects. She has been twice married, first to a 
Mr. Glegg, and afterwards to Dr. Somerville, her 
present husband. These incidents of her domestic 
history were unknown to La Place, and he once 
told a friend that there were probably but two 
women in the world who could read his ‘ Mecanique 
Celeste,’ one of them was Mrs. Glegg, the other 
Mrs. Somerville 1 

But besides her wonderful attainments in this de¬ 
partment, Mrs. Somerville is an accomplished sci¬ 
entific and practical musician, a first rate painter in 
oils, a learned chemist, and a thorough mineralogist 
and botanist. 

At the same time, this extraordinary woman is a 
pattern of social and domestic virtue, discharging 
in a most exemplary manner every duty to her 
friends and family. Her society is delightful, her 
manners engaging,and her heart evidently the abode 
1 of every amiable affection, and Christian grace. 


AMERICAN CONTINENT. 

The American Continent is one of the grand di¬ 
visions of the earth, and is frequently called the 
Western Hemisphere. It is so only relatively to 
Europe and Africa. For it might, with equal pro¬ 
priety, be denominated the Eastern, compared to 
Asia, the largest part of the old Continent. Had 
the American coast been discovered by a civilized, 
and scientific nation of Asia, this continent would 
have been known and spoken of as the eastern. 
That it was first settled by the people from Asia, 
there is now very little doubt. But at how early a 
period, there is no evidence sufficient to determine: | 
probably ten or twelve centuries before the discov- | 


ery by Columbus, three hundred and forty-three 
years ago. It might have been twenty, or twenty- 
five centuries before: For Asia was extensively in¬ 
habited three thousand years before that event. 
The American Continent is nearly equal to half of 
the other, which includes Asia, Africa and Europe. 
The two largest oceans bound it on the eastern 
and western sides ; and from one to the other of 
these oceans, in north latitude 60'^, the distance is 
3500 miles, or 100® degrees of longitude. Across 
South America, in latitude 6® south, the distance 
is 2450 miles. From the arctic bounds to the gulf 
of Mexico, are 3000 miles ; and from the Isthmus 
of Darien to Cape Horn, are 4500 miles ; making 
the whole extent of the Continent, south and north, 
7,500 miles. If the most northern island, in lati¬ 
tude 74®, were included in this estimate, we might 
add nearly 1.500 miles to the above. From north 
to south, the American Continent is of greater length 
than the other or old continent; but in breadth, 
from west to east, the latter is much more extended. 
Of the mountains, valleys and rivers, we have 
spoken before. The range of mountains, if we 
consider the Andes and the Rocky mountains as 
one continuous ridge, (excepting a depression in 
the Isthmus of Darien,) is more extensive than any 
on the other Continent; but some are more lofty in 
Asia, than in any part of America. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

The efforts and expenses of Massachusetts, dur¬ 
ing the war of the revolution, which was commenc¬ 
ed in self-defence, and in support of civil liberty as 
long enjoyed, were far greater than any other state 
in the Union. We would not make invidious com¬ 
parisons ; nor deny the claims of other States to 
patriotic and costly efforts for our political rights, 
at that critical period. All did well and all made 
sacrifices : especially Virginia and South Carolina. 
And at the close of the war, South Carolina could 
claim the greatest balance in her favour. Massa¬ 
chusetts was the next. But the claim of South 
Carolina arose in great measure, from the service of 
the militia in defending its own territory; while 
Massachusetts, with an extensive sea-coast to de¬ 
fend, did far more to support and keep up the Con¬ 
tinental army under Washington, than any other 
state, speaking either as to its proportion of men or 
property. It often furnished a fourth and even a third 
part of the Continental army ; and its advances, for 
the support of the men, were nearly in the same 
proportion. It bore a great part of the burdens of 
that trying time. 


EDUCATION.— Bt Bowring. 

A child is bom—now take the germ, and make it 
A bud of moral beauty. Let the dews 
Of knowledge, and light of virtue, wake it 
In richest fragrance, and in purest hues ; 

When passion’s gust, and sorrow’s tempests shake it. 
The shelter of affection ne'er refuse ; 

For soon the gathering hand of death will break It 
From its weak stem of life—and it shall lose 
All power to charm ; but if that lovely flower 
Hath swelled one pleasure, or sulidued one pain, 

O, who shall say that it has lived in vain. 

However fugitive its breathing hour ’ 

For \ irtue loaves its sweets wherever tasted. 

And scattered tmth is never wasted. 







208 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


NOTKS OF A MOI)Fl{N TRAVELLER, THROUGH 
EGVl^T AND NURIA. 

‘ Ancient Alexaiulria was subject to so many revo¬ 
lutions, and was so often destroyed, that were it not 
for Its ports, and other monuments of antiquity, we 
shoulit scarce be able to ascertain the place it stood 
on. The ports of Alexandria, now called the Old 
and the New, were formerly named the ports of 
Africa, and of Asia. The former is appropriated to 
the Turks ; the latter is free indiscriminately to all 
the nations of Europe. That which is used by the 
Turks, is cleaner aiul deeper than the other. 

‘ The entrance of the new port is defended by two 
castles of a contemptible Turkish structure, and 
have nothing remarkable but their situation, and 
their being unworthy successors to edifices celebrat¬ 
ed in history. 

‘ That called the grand Pharillo,* bears on the 
middle of it a small tower, whose summit terminates 
in a lantern for a night light, but it is of no exten¬ 
sive service, the lamps being but poorly supplied. 
This castle has been built on the Isle of Pharos, 
which it so occupies, that if there yet be any remains 
of that wonder of the world, erected by Ptolemy, 
they are irrecoverably buried from the curious. I 
cannot speak more favourably of the other castle, 
called the little Pharillo, wherein there is not the 
least trace to be found of the celebrated library; 
which under the Ptolemies, was admired as the 
finest, not only then, but that had ever been in the 
world. 

‘ Each of these two islands is joined to the main 
land, by a mole: that of the isle of Pharos is very 
long; it appeared to me to be three thousand feet 
in length, and to have been made partly of bricks, 
and partly of free-stone. It is vaulted all along, 
and the moulats of its arches are in the Gothic taste. 
—It is no way probable that either the Saracens, or 
the Turks, were the inventors ; but that finding the 
mole in ruins, they have so disfigured it with their 
tasteless repairs, that there remains not a feature of 
beautiful anti(|uity. 

‘ From hence opens a most beautiful prospect of 
antique and modern monuments, presenting them¬ 
selves on every side. The little Pharillo being 
passed, a range of towers is discovered, connected 
one to the other, by the ruins of a thick wall. A 
single obelisk erect, is observed through a part 
where the wall is broken down; at another turning, 
the towers are perceived anew, but in a seemingly 
greater distance. The modern Alexandria, with 
her spires, next meet the view; and above the city, 
but afar ofl’, soars the column of Pompey, a most 
aspiring and majestic monument. 

‘ The obelisk that is standing, and called even 
now the obelisk of Cleopatra, intimates that this is 
the place where that queen’s palace stood, known 
likewise by the name of Caesar’s Palace.—Its basis, 
of which a part is sunk, rises twenty feet higher 
than the level of the sea; betw'een this monument 
and the port, runs a thick wall, flanked on each 
side of the obelisk by a great tower, but this wall 
has suffered so much, that it is not now higher than 
the basis of the obelisk. The interiour side of the 

• From Pharos, which signifies a light-house. 


wall is but ten feet distant from the obelisk, the ex- 
teriour but four or five from the sea. The front of 
it far into the port, is filled with a great number of 
wrecks of columns, friezes, and other pieces of 
architecture, that must have been part of some 
pompous edifice : They are of difi'erent sorts of 
marble. 

‘ The fallen obelisk seems to have been broken; 
from what can be decyphered of its hieroglyphics, 
one would incline to think that it contained the 
same figures, and in the same order, with those ot 
the standing one. 

‘ Since the garrison forbids any curious visits to 
the little Pharillo, let us content ourselves with tak¬ 
ing a view of those huge towers, joined together 
by such thick walls: They formed the circumfer¬ 
ence of ancient Alexandria. These towers which 
appear like bulwarks, are not all of equal dimen¬ 
sions, of a like figure, or of the same structure; 
some are round, others square, many are of an elliptic 
figure; some of the last are observed to be cut in 
one of their sides by a straight line; they^difler also 
in their interiour parts; some of them have a dou¬ 
ble wall, and at the entrance a winding staircase, 
which mounts to the top of the tower. There is no 
other way to get into the others, but through a hole 
on the top of them with the help of a ladder. ^In 
general, the entrances of these lowers are very nar¬ 
row, and lead to the inside of the wall that connects 
them one with the other ; their different stories are 
so many vaults, supported in some by one column, 
in others by several.—The architecture of those 
towers which are built of free-stone, is very clumsy 
on the lowest part, all around at certain intervals 
are seen, shapes of columns of difi'erent sorts of 
marble, and so placed, that seen from far, they look 
like cannons, placed and pointed through their em- 
brazures. 

‘ Having made the tour of the old city, let us ex 
amine what it contains worthy of curiosity; scarce 
any thing, it being now a general heap of ruins, 
except a few mosques, churches, gardens, and some 
cisterns; the last are kept in pretty good order, to 
supply water to the new city. 

‘ We have already taken a view of the obelisk ol 
Cleopatra, and its situation ; let us now see the 
two churches of St. Mark, and St. Catherine, w'hich 
are in its neighbourhood; they both belong to Chris 
tians, and are served by Grecian and Coptic priests, 
they are so like each other, that one description 
will serve for the two; they have not an article re¬ 
spectable but their name; they are so gloomy, so 
filthy, and so full of lamps, that one would deem 
them to be rather places of Pagan w'orship, than 
temples where the true God is adored. 

‘ I next continued my way through the gate of 
Rosetta, to view that master piece of art, commonly 
called the column of Pompey. It is placed on an 
eminence that commands two beautiful prospects; 
the one of Alexandria, the other of the low country, 
that stretches along the banks of the Nile, and sur 
rounds the canal cut above the gate of Rosetta, in 
order to convey the water of the Nile to Alexandria 
This column is probably the greatest, and most 
magnificent that has ever been executed in the Co¬ 
rinthian order.—The body is of one entire piece ol 








S09 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


granite marble, the capital is of another piece of 
marble, the pedestal is of a gray stone not unlike a 
flint for hardness and grain.—The foundation on 
which the pedestal and columns are raised, is open 
on one side, which happened according to the tra¬ 
dition of the country, in the following manner. An 
Arabian dug a hole under the foundation, in which 
he put a box of gun-powder, in order to blow up 
the column, and thereby to become master of the 
immense treasure he imagined was buried under¬ 
neath. Unfortunately for him, but happily for the 
curious, he was a bad engineer; his enterprise fail¬ 
ed him, for his mine being sprung, only displaced 
four stones, which making but one part of the 
foundation, the other three remained unhurt The 
only advantage resulting thence is, that the curious 
have ever since had an opportunity of seeing what 
stones the foundation was made of; I observed 
there, one piece of white oriental marble, full of con¬ 
spicuous hieroglyphics; another piece that has not 
started from its place, but is uncovered, is a yellow 
marble of Sicily, spotted with red, its hieroglyphics 
are eflaced; a piece of a small column is also em¬ 
ployed in this foundation, with other pieces of mar¬ 
ble, that have nothing peculiarly remarkable; the 
part of the foundation that was carried away, leaves 
a void space of three feet at most under the pedes¬ 
tal. The middle, as well as the three other sides, 
enjoy their original solidity. 

‘ Let us now take a turn to the old port, where 
we shall find some remains belonging to ancient 
Alexandria, or at least to its suburbs. The old 
port, alias the port of Africa, has on one side the 
great Pharillo, which is its defence there, as well as 
that of the new port. Opposite to the great Pha¬ 
rillo, and on the neck of land which fonns the old 
port, there is a small castle which defends the port 
on that side; and in front, a part of the new city 
joins with the old. 

‘ About thirty or forty paces from the shore, and 
opposite to the point of the peninsula which forms 
the port, is a subterraneous monument, which the 
people call a temple ; the entrance to it is through 
a small opening, on the slope of a rising ground, 
that bounds the port on that side, we went in, hav¬ 
ing previously provided flambeaus to light us, and 
were obliged to walk stooping through a very low 
alley for twenty paces; then we reached a pretty 
large and square saloon ; the upper part is a ceiling, 
and smooth, as are also tHfe four sides ; the floor is 
full of sand, of the ordure of bats, and animals that 
frequent it; this is not the temple, to which one 
must pass through another alley, where something 
more elegant recompenses our trouble ; a round 
figure, whose top is cut in shape of a vault. It has 
four doors opposite one to the other, each of them 
is ornamented with an architrave, cornice, and a 
fronton with a crescent over it; but one of the doors 
is the entrance, the other three form each a kind of 
niche, that descend a great deal lower than this sub¬ 
terraneous temple, are thriftily scooped out of the 
rock, and large enough to contain a dead body ; 
this miscalled temple must have been the burying 
place of some great lord, or perhaps some royal 
family; the.e is no inscription, engraving, or token 
of any kind, to give the least information.’ 


RAIL ROAD FROM CHARLESTON TO 
CINCINNATI. 

One of the greatest projects for internal improve¬ 
ments, perhaps, now before any portion of the citi¬ 
zens of the United States, is the preposition lor a 
Rail Road from Charleston in South Carolina, to 
Cincinnati, in the State and on the river of Ohio, 
the distance of nearly five hundred miles. It will 
pass through the whole state of South Carolina, from 
Charleston on the Atlantic, to the northwest part of 
the State, then through the northeast section of 
Georgia, a part of East Tennessee, the whole breadth 
of Kentucky, from south to north, to Cincinnati on 
the Ohio River, in the southwest part of that State. 
The plan is encouraged and supported by the most 
eminent citizens of South Carolina. The people of 
East Tennessee are awake on the subject; Ken¬ 
tucky favours the project; and the people of Ohio, 
especially at Cincinnati and vicinity, no doubt will 
aid in the enterprise. 


FROM WASHINGTON’S ORDERLY BOOK. 

August 3, 1776. —‘ That the troops may have 
an opportunity of attending public worship, as well 
as to take some rest after the great fatigue they 
have gone through, the General in future excuses 
them from fatigue duty on Sundays, except at the 
shipyards, or on special occasions, until further or¬ 
ders. The General is sorry to be informed, that the 
foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and 
swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an 
American army, is growing into fashion ; he hopes 
the ouicers will, by example as well as influence, 
endeavour to check it, and that both they and the 
men will reflect, that we can have but little hope of 
the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it 
by our impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice 
so mean and low, without any temptation, that 
every man of sense and character detests and de¬ 
spises it.’ 


The ‘ Spring of Eternal Youth.’ —The Silvery 
Spring on the west side of Lake George, which is 
describea by those who have seen it, as a very beau¬ 
tiful fountain of water, and well deserving the ap¬ 
pellation by which it is known, has been resorted to 
during the past Summer by a large number of the 
Seminole Indians for the purpose of using the wa¬ 
ters as a remedy for febrile diseases which have been 
prevalent among them the past season. Their 
method is to drink freely of the water, and bathe 
frequently in the spring. In about three days they 
complete a cure, and are able to return to their 
homes. Our informant states, that an Indian wo¬ 
man came to the Spring apparently very sick, and 
by the use of the water, she became enabled to re-: 
sume her journey homewards on the fourth day after 
her arrival at the Spring, a distance of sixty miles. 
The Spring is not known to possess any medical 
quality, unless it be the extreme purity of the water; 
and perhaps it is only in the mode of applying the 
remedy, which has had such complete success 
among them, and which gives a virtue to the Spring, 
that in reality it does not possess. 


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OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


211 


THE CAPITOL OF NEW YORK, IN ALBANY. 

This spacious and elegant edifice is situated some 
distance from the North river, and neak the height of 
land which rises moderately for the third of a mile 
or more. It is opposite the west termination of 
State Street, where is a large opening, or park, on 
each margin of which are handsome public build¬ 
ings. City Hall, and State Hall, and an Academy, 
a very elegantly constructed edifice, are situated 
round the square. The Capitol is situated one 
hundred and thirty feet above the level of the river. 
The cost of the building was ^'120,000, of which 
the city Corporation paid f|)34,000. It is a substantial 
stone edifice, of one hundred and fifteen feet in 
length, ninety feet in breadth, fifty in height; con¬ 
sisting of two stories and a basement. It contains 
the Halls for the Senate and Representatives, the 
Common Council Chamber of the Corporation, the 
Supreme and Chancery Court Rooms of the State, 
the State Library, &c. The east front is adorned 
with a portico of the Ionic order, having four mag¬ 
nificent columns, three feet and eight inches in di¬ 
ameter, and thirty-three feet in height. The Hall 
of the Representatives and the Senate Chamber, 
each contain full length portraits of General Wash¬ 
ington, and of several of the Governors of the 
State. 


COAL. 

Coal is becoming in the United States, as it has 
long been in Great Britain and other northern parts 
of Europe, of great value. In England, it has long 
been a great source, or material of wealth and 
power, as it is essential to the support of manufac¬ 
turing industry; and without such an abundant 
supply of fuel, their iron, lead, tin and copper ores 
must have remained in their'native beds. 

Coal is now admitted to be of vegetable origin ; 
formerly, k was considered a peculiar mineral pro¬ 
duct formed in the earth, at the same time, as 
the rocks which surround it. Chemical analysis 
has fully proved its vegetable nature. The vegeta¬ 
bles grew, on the surface now occupied by coal, as 
is evident from the perfect state in which the most 
delicate stems and leaves are preserved. By va¬ 
rious experiments and observations in England, this 
theory has been fully established. In the state it is 
now found, it appears a compact, shining, stony 
body; but there are few fragments, even of a 
moderate size, in which we may not discover some 
parts like charcoal, and often with the distinct 
structure of wood or other vegetable matter. By 
an ingenious application of the microscope, it is 
found that there is a delicate cellular structure in 
fossil woods, which otherwise appears a compact 
gtone—and the same has been discovered in Coal:— 
and it is asserted that in all the varieties of Coal at 
New Castle, England, more or less of the fine, dis¬ 
tinct, net-like structure of the original vegetable 
texture can be always detected. The vegetable 
origin of Coal is also proved by the vast quantities 
of foss-' plants found in the sand-stones which are 
mixed with, or in the vicinity of coal beds. These 
are often found in an extraordinary degree of pre¬ 
servation ; the most delicate leaves being spread out 


on the stone like dried plants on paper in the her¬ 
bal ium of a botanist. 

Coal is a compound substance, consisting of char¬ 
coal, bitumen, or mineral pilch, and earthy matter. 
Its various qualities depend on tlie manner in which 
these ingredients are combined ; a large quantity of 
bitumen produces the fat quality, common in the 
New Castle Coal in England ; and in all other places, 
indeed, it is this which constitutes bituminous Coal. 
Carbon or charcoal, forms the chief part of all Coals, 
being sixty or seventy per cent. It is a simple, 
elementary body ; but bitumen, the other largest 
ingredient, is a compound substance, and yields a 
large quantity of hydrogen gas, or inflammable air; 
and oxygen gas, which is the pure part of the air and 
sustains life, is also found in Coal, but in a less pro¬ 
portion. The flame of Coal in a common fire, 
is occasioned by a distillation of the Coal going on 
slowly : gas is given out in the process, and is fired. 
Bituminous Coal has been lately found in large beds 
in the Ohio Valley, and will probably become of im¬ 
mense profit to the owners of the land where it is 
located. The extensive beds of bituminous Coal 
found in the Ohio Valley, fill the mind with wonder 
and surprise, as one reflects on the vast forests of 
arborescent plants necessary to their formation. 
Age after age, successive growths of plants spring¬ 
ing up in the same region, were entombed beneath 
thick strata of sand-stone, &-c. till the whole series 
had accumulated to a depth of more than a thou¬ 
sand feet; while beneath the whole lay the bed of 
an ancient ocean floored with fossil salt. The An¬ 
thracite Coal is confined, as far as known at pre¬ 
sent, to a comparatively small tract of territory in 
Pennsylvania; and yet the beds are so large and 
deep, that they will probably long yield sufficient 
for parlours or offices, and counting rooms. It is 
also used in stoves, for generating steam, and for 
cooking. The base of anthracite, as well as of 
bituminous Coal, is carbon, and the original forma¬ 
tion of vegetable matter. Both kinds are found 
generally under a rocky soil. It is supposed that a 
long period of time is necessary for these substan¬ 
ces, (pressed by the rocks above) to become miner¬ 
alized ; or partially so, as they are when in a coal 
state ; and being impregnated with carbon are easily 
ignited. The bituminous is ignited with the greatest 
ease ; The Anthracite requires a strong draft of 
air to keep it burning freely. Graphite, or Plum¬ 
bago, which is almost pure carbon, is considered a 
semi-metal: Anthracite is sometimes changed into 
graphite. Plumbago is produced, artificially, in 
the furnaces of the arts, by the action of heat on 
carbon. Bituminous Coal requires less heat in its 
formation than the other two, and Graphite more 
than Anthracite. A strong or intense heat has ex¬ 
cluded the bitumen : and it is supposed the bitu¬ 
minous Coal has been less heavily pressed down by 
rocks above them. 

Anthracite, having its base, or chief part of car¬ 
bon, as already observed, is mixed w'ith a small por¬ 
tion of oxyde of iron, silex and alumine. It burns 
with difficulty, but without smoke or smell, and 
leaves an earthy residue. This Coal is found in 
some countries of Europe, but has been little used. 
In the United State.s, at the present time, its use 




212 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


and consumption are very great. When first found 
and used, strong prejudices existed against it, on ac¬ 
count of the difliculty of its burning. But with 
furnaces and grates, properly constructed, it has 
been found highly useful, and is now generally pre¬ 
ferred for the parlour, to the other kind. It is a 
remarkable fact, that few Coal deposits, or beds, are 
found south of latitude 30°, where the climate re¬ 
quires little fuel; but to the north, where men 
could not live without artificial heat, a great part of 
the year, there Coal is stored in great quantities for 
their comfort and use, when the forests shall be cut 
dowm end destroyed. The great benefit of Coal in 
the United States, is already felt. In many of the 
large cities and towns, especially on the sea-coasts, 
it is the chief article for fuel; and except for its dis¬ 
covery and abundance, wood probably would have 
been ten dollars a cord before this day. 

PARTICULAR PROVIDENCE ARGUED FROM THE 
FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY. 

The peculiar value of the argument for the pro¬ 
vidence of God, which I shall deduce from this dis¬ 
cussion, is derived from its allusion to facts and 
dates. The prophecies of the Bible demonstrate 
the truth of the religion of Jesus Christ: and those 
prophecies are not the general language of men who 
foretold future events at random, as events which 
might possibly take place ; the prophecies refer to 
exact and precise dates. The prophets mentioned 
the very time when the facts, which they foretold, 
should happen. Thus the actual time was declar¬ 
ed when the children of Israel should come out of 
Egypt, and when they were at length delivered, we 
read, in the emphatic language of Moses, on the 
self-same day it came to pass; on the self-same day 
which was prophecied—it is a case much to be ob¬ 
served, because the exact fulfilment of prophecy 
demonstrated the providence of God. So it was 
also with the Babylonish captivity. Seventy years 
were appointed : and when seventy years were over, 
the providence of God overthrew the kingdom of 
the Chaldeans and brought in other powers who had 
never before heard of the God of the Jews, and who 
restored the captive tribes at the very time which 
the prophets had predicted. So it was with re¬ 
spect to the seventy weeks of Daniel, that the Son 
of God was born at the very time and place, and 
under the very circumstances which had been fore¬ 
told. Now the passage before us has reference to 
one of the most remarkable of these proofs of the su¬ 
perintending providence of God. The prophets 
had foretold that the seventy years of captivity 
should be ended, and the Jews should be restored ; 
and they added also that Jerusalem, which had been 
destroyed by the Chaldeans should be built up 
again. The Jews were certainly restored at the 
appointed time, but when they proceeded to build 
the walls of the city they were opposed by the Sa¬ 
maritans and by other nations, and the work was 
suspended for many years. Every application 
which was made by the Jews to the Court of Persia, 
was made in vain, until about the time when this 
psalm was written ; and Jerusalem was then per¬ 
mitted to be built for this very remarkable reason. 
The Persians, who were the masters over the Jews, 


had been for many years at war with the Greeks. 
After many battles by land and by sea, the Greeks be¬ 
came victoric as. A treaty of peace was made be¬ 
tween the two powers, and one article of that treaty 
was, that no Persian army should come within three 
days march of the coast. Now the city of Jerusa¬ 
lem was precisely that distance from the sea-coast, 
and the king of Persia, therefore, to strengthen the 
boundary of his empire, and to secure the general 
safety, gave the Jews the long desired permission to 
build the walls of Jerusalem at the very time that 
the prophets had predicted. The Persians did not 
consider the God of the Jews—the Greeks did not 
know Jehovah. Both nations pursued their own 
objects; their ambition, their hatred, their revenge, 
and their enterprises. Neither of them knew, nor 
taught, nor cared about the God who telleth the 
number of the stars, and calleth them all by their 
names—the God of prophecy, the God of Chris- 
tiarity. Neither were remembering him ; yet both 
were accomplishing his will—both were fulfilling his 
prophecies—both were effecting the designs of the 
Almighty .—Eclectic Review. 

WINTER HYMN. 

BY MRS. SIGOURNEY. 

Oh Thou who bid’st the Sun, 

The glittering landscape light, 

While mountains, vallies and hillocks shine 
In Winter’s frost-work brig-ht. 

The imploring trees stretch forth 
Their trusting arms to Thee, 

Who shield’st the naked in their hour 
Of cold adversity. 

Thou, o’er the tender germ 

The curtaining snow doth spread. 

And give it slumber like a babe 
Deep in its cradle bed. 

A chain is on the streams. 

And on the summer flood, 

Yet still their sparkling eyes look up. 

And beam with gratitude. 

The bee hath left her toil. 

Within herself to sleep. 

The warbling tenants of the cloud 
A silent Sabbath keep. 

Thou mark’st the lengthened eve. 

The friend of Wisdom prove. 

And bid’st us bind confiding hearts 
In closer links of love. 

Oh Thou, the God of Hope, 

Blest Author of our days. 

Forbid tnat winter cbill our hearts. 

Or check the lay of praise. 

Intemperance. —Scarcely a paper is received at 
our office, and we receive about fifteen daily, from 
various parts of the United States, which does not 
record a crime or calamity occasioned by drunken¬ 
ness. Murders, fires, falls, larcenies, assaults, &c. 
are noticed, and said to be owing to intemperance— 
committed when the agents were bereaved of rea¬ 
son, and under the influence of strong drink. What 
an impressive lesson! What a solemn w'arning! 
Why w'ill not rational beings reflect on these evils, 
and refrain from a practice pregnant with such 
astounding and appalling mischiefs? We feel com¬ 
pelled to appeal to our fellow citizens, and to say, 
in the words of the prophet, ‘ Shew yourselves 
men.’ 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


213 



FRENCH COWS. 


The Cow is one of the most valuable of domestic 
animals; and in all countries has received attention 
and care, for its great profit to the farmer. They 
differ however, like other animals, whether wild 
or domestic, according to the difference of climate 
where they are reared and kept; but more perhaps, 
according to the care taken to provide a rich and 
proper food for them. VV^e are told of different 
breeds of cows in England ; but they are not in fact 
a different species ; the breed is chiefly improved by 
the attention of the owner : and yet it may be ren¬ 
dered more valuable by selecting the large or supe¬ 
rior individuals for breeders ; and mixing the original 
breed with those from the continent, (from Poland 
and Holstein) has served to improve the race in 
some parts of Great Britain. In England, the cows 
are generally better, or more profitable from the care 
bestowed upon them by the owners of extensive 
farms. They are better fed—and they thrive there 
in a remarkable manner, as the grass is high and 
abundant. They feed indiscriminately on almost 
every kind of herbage. They are much superior to 
those in France. In the latter country, they are 
large indeed, but of a lean appearance. One reason 
assigned has been, that they are not used for beef; 
or if sometimes devoted to this purpose, they are 
never made to afford the rich beef of Old England. 
The French people care less for good beef than the 
English. But it is also said, that they are stinted in 
their food, and excluded from the most flourishing 
pastures ; and this is assigned as one cause of their 
degenerating. 

A friend has furnished us with the annexed draw¬ 
ing of a group of cows, and at his request we have 
prepared a cut for it. We take no pleasure in de¬ 
preciating the products of France, and in many in¬ 
stances they are superior to those of Great Britain ; 
but no one will dispute that the claim of superiority 
must be granted to the latter in the breed, or the 
management of cows. And every landholder in the 
United States prefers having the English rather than 
the French breed of cows to stock his farm. Seve¬ 
ral have been brought into the country ; and by 
proper attention are fotmd to be far more profitable 
than the former common breed. When General 
Lafayette was last in the United States, he was pre- j 


sented with several different animals which he took 
to France with him on his return. But he found, 
that the men on his farm could not be induced to 
take the care of them he required, and they soon 

deteriorated. - 

STAGES. 

A semi-weekly line of Stages has been establish¬ 
ed from Point Levi, near Quebec, to the forks of 
the Kennebec river, where it is to meet a line alrea¬ 
dy established leading to Hallow ell and to Portland. 
The ‘ Forks of the Kennebec’ are about fifty miles 
above Norridgewock, and sixty from the Canada 
line; and ninety miles above Hallowell, (which is 
only two miles below Augusta, the capital oiMaine.) 
This route has been proposed for a road from Hal¬ 
lowell and Augusta to Quebec more than thirty 
years. Several gentlemen from Hallowell passed it 
at that time, when the distance from the upper set¬ 
tlements on the Kennebec, and the French Canadian 
settlements, was nearly ninety miles, and they en¬ 
camped in the woods one night. Light wagons and 
chairs have been through within two years; and the 
settlements are now separated only by about thirty 
miles, and a tavern is situated at a spot nearly half 
that distance. Subscriptions have been made in 
Quebec to encourage the undertaking, and it will 
probably succeed. This is the nearest way from 
Boston to Quebec; the latter lies nearly north from 
the former. The route by Kennebec river is not 
indeed so direct as one would be from Boston west 
of Portland and that river, some thirty or forty miles ; 
but when the form of the land is taken into the ac¬ 
count and reference is had to Portland, Hallowell,&c. 
it will probably be admitted that the present route is 
the best. This is very near the path travelled by 
the American troops under General Arnold, in No¬ 
vember 1775, who were sent from Cambridge, to 
join with General Montgomery, who commanded 
the northern army invading Canada by way of Lake 
Champlain and Montreal. The men suffered ex¬ 
tremely by the cold and want of provisions, and 
when they reached the vicinity of Quebec were so 
exhausted that an attack was postponed for several 
davs—had it been made immediately, the result, no 
doubt, would have been very different. The delay 
gave the British time to pre|)are for defence 


















214 


PICTORIAL LIRRARY 


INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

We have been desirous oi' giving an account of 
the North American Indians, particularly as to their 
religious opinions, and their domestic customs and 
manners. Their origin is a matter of conjecture, 
and is involved in great obscurity ; and their lan¬ 
guages so various that it is difficult to decide which 
has claims to be the parent of ail the others, or to 
show their close affinity with those of the nations of 
the old continent. 

The last subject is attended with greater difficul¬ 
ties in the minds of most learned men, than the for¬ 
mer. No strong affinity has been detected in the 
language of the American Indians, and that of any 
speech known in Asia or Europe. But there are 
circumstances in favour of the hypothesis, that the 
tribes in this country came chiefly from the nortliern 
parts of Asia. 

Of their religious opinions, as they are without 
books or records, we must refer to traditions and to 
verbal statements made by their priests or pretended 
conjurers. In a lapse of many generations, it would 
naturally be expected that their speculations would 
be various and discordant. And the wandering 
tribes, (which was the character of most of them) 
beiu" without much of the forms of religion, would 
have nothing to embody and preserve their opinions. 

They all believe in the ‘ Great Spirit,’ who made, 
and in some sense governed the world. Their faith 
recognised the difference between mind and matter: 
and all the operations, and changes in the universe 
they resolved into the power or will of an infinite 
Being, ‘ who was above all and in all, and over all.’ 
And yet they understood very little of the mode of 
his operations, or of the laws by which the world 
was governed. They also recognised the doctrine 
of the accountability of mankind, and of a future 
retribution, though their notions of moral worth 
were crude and erroneous. ‘ He who questions 
whether there is a God,’ says Roger Williams, ‘ the 
poor Indians will teach him. They believe that God 
is, and that he will reward those who diligently seek 
him.” They also acknowledge an overruling Pro¬ 
vidence, directing and governing human affairs. 
They are not intolerant, nor disposed to disturb 
other people in their worship. But they laid far 
less stress on the spirituality and purity of the heart 
and affections, than Christianity or enlightened phi¬ 
losophy teaches ; and had therefore ’ess powerful 
motives to personal holiness. Their virtues were 
very different from those inculcated by the author of 
our faith ; and they gave the highest place to personal 
courage, bold enterprise, firm endurance of pain, 
and a disposition to revenge evils. But in this res¬ 
pect they did not differ from other pagans, who had 
made great advances in civilisation. 

Their tradition was that they came from the West; 
that there, their ancestors lived in remote times ; 
that there, was the residence and court of their God, 
Caw tantowit; that there, rest their fathers’ souls; 
and there, they should go wffien they died. 

They are very inquisitive, and are fond of those 
who are disposed to give them information ; such 
an one they call manittoo, a God. Yet few of 
them have patience to use the necessary means of 
knowledge. 

The religious creed of the American Indians in¬ 


cluded the doctrine of an evil or malignant spirit of | 
great power over the elements and the aflairs of 
men, and of whom they stood in great fear: and 
this faith led to numerous sacrifices, similar to those 
oflered in ancient times by the pagans of Asia. 
Their svstem of theology was as irrational as that 
of pagans of old ; but not made so attracts e and 
imposing by the spirit of poetry and a vivid imagi¬ 
nation. Their outward forms of worship were few, 
and they had no stated instructions on religious 
doctrines or duties. Their devotion and prayers, 
so far as they practised any, were in private, or con¬ 
sisted chiefly in silent meditation, like the sect of 
Friends among Christians. They seem to have 
thought little of the efficacy or the duly of prayer, 
and were strangers to repentance for their faults; 
they patiently submitted to punishment and suffer¬ 
ing, in the belief that it was their destiny, and could 
not be averted. 

Every man or animal which was distinguished, or 
any object more excellent than ordinary, they sup¬ 
posed was the receptacle or manifestation of a God. 
Similar to this was the opinion or the language of 
the ancient Hebrew's : a beautiful tree was the tree 
of God ; a fair child was a child of God. 

The manner of life which the American Indians 
followed was unfavourable to the piety and the milder 
virtues of individuals. A revengeful spirit which 
w'as strongly inculcated and re{)resented as noble 
and manly, was certainly uncongenial alike to piety 
and benevolence : and their wandering mode of life, 
and frequent subjection to want, must make the ob¬ 
servance of religious rites very inconvenient, and 
allow them little time or disposition to attend to 
them. They had a speculative faith in the doctrines 
of natural religion ; but their faith produced little 
practical effect on their conduct and conversation. 
But in this respect, they are no exception to the rest 
of mankind. 

The morals and character of a people are more or 
less affected by their religious opinions. The Amer¬ 
ican Indians were revengeful, stern, indolent; and 
with little sympathy, compassion or tenderness. 
Nothing like chivalry or gentleness could be detect¬ 
ed in their deportment; and the women, instead of 
attention, kindness and favour, which both Christian 
ity and civilisation insure, were treated w'ith cold 
indifference and even wdth harshness; and made to 
perform the most laborious and menial services. 
The occupation of the men was war or hunting, 
which was in a great measure a life of indolence ; 
and all other work was required of the women. 
They w'ere treated far more as servants than as 
equals. 

Like other nations they had games and dancing; 
sometimes more private in their wigwams, and 
sometimes in public, in the open air, when great 
numbers were assembled. The latter were usually 
after harvest, hunting and war. 

Roger Williams, who had frequent and friendly 
intercourse w'ith the Indians in New England, says, 
he never discovered the excess of scandalous sins 
among them, which Europe abounded w’ith. Mur¬ 
ders, robberies and adulteries were rare among them. 

It was accounted a very heinous sin for a married 
person to be false. 

When the English first made settlements in this 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


215 


country, one object witli them was to teach the 
gospel to the ignorant inhabitants. And efforts 
were accordingly made, at various times and places, 
for bringing them to the knowledge of Christianity. 
Some success attended these early efforts, but not 
so great or extensive as had been expected by the 
pious settlers. A portion of those who professed 
their belief of the gospel, never fully understood or 
cordially embraced it; and became again addicted 
to their savage and immoral courses. There were 
early endeavours also to give Indian youth a good 
literary education. A school was established at 
Cambridge, in Massachusetts, as early as 1660, where 
young Indians might be prepared for the college, or 
taught the rudiments of useful knowledge to fit 
them for the duties of civilized society. But little 
fruit was secured by this plan. The youth were 
not deficient in intellectual capacity ; but few of 
them could be induced to pursue the life of the stu¬ 
dent. Restraint and steady labour of every kind 
seemed uncongenial to their natural disposition and 
bias. 

The men generally paint in war, and sometimes 
from pride : the women paint solely for the sake of 
ornament. They use means for keeping the body 
of a child straight; and hence they are almost uni¬ 
versally erect in their gait when they are adults. 
Little employment was required of children ; and 
they were suffered to grow up in indolent habits. 
There was no proper care taken to discipline their 
passions or to improve their minds ; and to supply 
their necessities and to revenge their enemies, was 
the chief occupation of life. Gookin says they were 
in a deplorable condition, on account of not using 
the means of knowledge and civilisation ; they are, 
he says, like the wild ass’s colt, and not much above 
the beasts which perish. 

The separation, a great portion of time, from the 
women, and the degrading condition of the latter, 
prevented all civilisation and allowed no opportunity 
for the exercise of the gentler virtues, or the display 
of mild and gentle manners. With the mode of 
life pursued by the Indians generally in America, 
they would never improve in the social character 
and virtues. The benign inffuence of learning and 
of a more correct theology is indispensible to good 
morals and gentle manners. Every attempt to 
create such an inffuence, or to introduce a state of 
things which would produce it, has proved unsuc¬ 
cessful, and yet they are ready to return a salutation 
when one is offered them. 

We have particular reference in these remarks to 
the Indian tribes found within the limits of the Uni¬ 
ted States. The Mexicans and Peruvians who lived 
in large and populous cities, had made much greater 
advances to civilized societies. They had their 
costly temples, and various public works of great 
cost and some utility. 

The government among most tribes was mon¬ 
archical and arbitrary. The hereditary chief was 
not restrained in his conduct and measures by con¬ 
stitutional or legal provisions ; and yet there were 
certain great first principles of Justice universally 
admitted to be obligatory. On great occasions gen¬ 
erally, the sachem was wise enough to consult the 
brave and experienced men of the tribe ; but often 


he was judge and executioner on charges of crime, 
without the interference or aid of any others. 

An interesting inquiry is naturally suggested by 
viewing the character of the American Indians, as 
to the capacity or dis’position of mankind for religion. 
Perhaps there is no question as to such a capacity in 
man, nor yet of his disposition to some religion. 
For it is now admitted that all nations have some 
religious system. The Indians in this country, as 
already observed, acknowledged the leading doc¬ 
trines of natural religion ; and yet were in great ig¬ 
norance of the true character and design of religion ; 
and it seems strange they should not have been 
anxious to receive the Christian system, which would 
remove their ignorance and resolve their doubts. 
But they have manifested very little desire to under¬ 
stand or obey it. Their very nature seems opposed 
to its spirit; and they must cease to be savages in 
order to become Christians. 

Perhaps sufficient efforts have not yet been made 
for bringing the American Indians to adopt the 
Christian religion and the arts of civilized society, to 
justify a decided opinion on the subject. And yet 
it will hardlv be doubted that the measures hitherto 
adopted have entirely failed to accomplish the ob¬ 
ject. We are aware of some objections however to 
such a conclusion ; and that it will be said there 
have been some favourable results, where judicious 
and persevering efforts have been made, and that 
the vices and oppressions of professed Christians 
have prevented the success, which would probably, 
have otherwise been effected. Something is cer¬ 
tainly due to this consideration : and discouraging 
as former exertions have been, we should rejoice if a 
more diligent and persevering plan could be adopt¬ 
ed for attaining the object. Example must accom¬ 
pany precept, an/I if ever the savages are brought to 
embrace the gospel, it must be by those who possess 
and display its mild, pure and benevolent spirit. 
When our lives shall induce Pagans to say, ‘ behold 
how the Christians love one another!’—‘ how peace- 
‘able, virtuous and holy they are !’—then may we ex¬ 
pect, and I fear not till then, that they will cor¬ 
dially embrace our sublime faith. 


EXCRETORY FUNCTIONS, OR PROCESSES, 

OF VEGETABLES. 

If noxious matter is thrown out by the roots of 
vegetables, as unfitted for the purposes of their 
growth, the soil where any plant has been long cul¬ 
tivated is less fitted for its continued growth than it 
was originally ; but the excretory matter thus thrown 
out as useless for the nourishment of one plant may 
be excellent food for another. Hence we may ac¬ 
count for the principle of rotation of crops in agri¬ 
culture, and determine by experiment the precise 
plants which ought to be cultivated in succession ; 
selecting those whose excretory matter becomes 
wholesome nutriment for its successor.—That plants 
are able to free themselves by this excretory process 
from noxious materials, which they may have imbibed 
by the roots, has been proved by experiments on the 
common cabbage, and other plants or vegetables. 
The roots of each kind lieing thoroughly washed 
and cleaned, were separated into two bunches, one 
of which was put into a diluted solution of acetate 







216 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


of lead, and the other into pure water, and contained 
in a separate vessel. After some days, during which 
the plants continued to vegetate, the water in the 
latter vessel was examined and was found to contain 
a very perceptible quantity of the acetate of lead. 
The experiment was varied by first allowing the 
plant to remain with its roots immersed in a similar 
solution, and then removing it, after careful washing, 
in order to free the roots from any portion of the 
salt which might have adhered to their surface, into a 
vessel with rain water ; alter two days, distinct tra¬ 
ces of the acetate of lead were afforded by the wa¬ 
ter. Similar experiments were made with lime wa¬ 
ter, and with a solution of common salt, instead of 
the acetate of lead, and were attended with the like 
results. It has been found that certain maritime 
plants, which yield soda, and which ffourish in situ¬ 
ations quite distant from the sea coast, provided they 
receive breezes occasionally from the sea, communi¬ 
cate a saline impregnation to the soil in their imme¬ 
diate vicinity, derived from the salt which they 
doubtless had imbibed by their leaves. 

Although the materials which are thus excreted by 
the roots are noxious to the plant which rejects them, 
and would be injurious to other plants of the same 
kind, it does not follow, that they are incapable of 
supplying salutary nourishment to other kinds of 
plants. Thus it has been observed that the salica- 
ria ffourishes particularly in the vicinity of the wil¬ 
low, and the broomrape in that of hemp. This 
fact has also been established by experiment, it hav¬ 
ing been found, that the water in which certain 
plants had been kept was noxious to other speci¬ 
mens of the same species ; while on the other hand, 
it produced a more luxuriant vegetation in plants of 
a different kind. 


JKWUSH HISTORY FROM NEHEMIAH TO CHRIST. 

There is a desire with many persons to know 
what was the state and condition of the Jews from 
the time of Malachi, the last of their prophets, or in¬ 
deed, even from the time of their captivity by the 
king of Babylon, and transportation by him into 
Chaldea, (as related in the second book of Chroni¬ 
cles) to the birth of our Saviour. The conquest of 
Judea and the removal of the Jews into Chaldea, 
by Nebuchadnezzar, was about six hundred years 
before the Christian era. After seventy years, five 
hundred and thirty before Christ, the Jews w^ere 
permitted by Cyrus, the king of the Medes and Per¬ 
sians, (who had taken and reigned in Babylon) to 
return to their own country, and to rebuild or repair 
their city and Holy Temple. The Jewish prophets 
who lived in this period of seventy years, w'ere Jer¬ 
emiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah and Zechariah ; and 
Malachi after their return, and in the time of Nehe- 
miah, or even a little later; and this brings us down 
to about the year 400 before Christ. The period 
which follow's, is noticed by Josephus, the celebra¬ 
ted Jew'ish historian, and by the writer of the apoc- 
ry[)hal books of Maccabees. Tarquin, king of 
Rome, and Solon, of Athens, were cotemporaries 
with the king of Babylon aliovo mentioned. Tyre 
had revived and was prosperous. The Chaldeans 
were in India. Pure theism, or monotheism, at this 
period, survived only in the more retired and moun¬ 


tainous parts of Europe and Asia. After Ezra and 
Nehemiah, the Jews generally adhered to the laws 
of Moses ; and yet some of the inhabitants of Ju¬ 
dea, being a mixture of heathens, did not strictly 
observe his peculiar ceremonies. The Samaritans 
were of this description of people, and opposed the 
citizens of Jerusalem in many of their religious rites: 
‘ They had little or no dealings with them,’ and usu¬ 
ally joined with their invaders. About a century 
later, the expedition of Alexander the Great into 
Asia, took place, during which he threatened and 
alarmed the Jews; and on his death, his generals, 
who divided the countries he claimed to govern, in¬ 
vaded Judea, and there committed acts of great op¬ 
pression and cruelty. The king of Egypt took Je¬ 
rusalem, a few years later, and carried many Jews 
into that country. Civil wars succeeded, and unhap¬ 
py divisions and parties arose among themselves, 
which served to invite foreign aggressions. 

Antiochus, king of Syria, about 175 years before 
our era, was a great oppressor and persecutor of the 
Jews. He required all w ho were subject to his sway, 
among whom were the Jews, to conform to the pa¬ 
gan and idolatrous worship which he observed. 
Many of the Jews chose to suffer the most cruel 
torments, and death itself, rather than to sacrifice to 
heathen gods or idols. They manifested the greatest 
fidelity to the faith of their fathers, and to the wor¬ 
ship of the true God: and the writer of the epistle 
to the Hebrews refers to their sufferings in the cause 
of religion as well as to the patriarchs of far more 
remote ages. The five sons of Mattathias, a pious 
priest, with their venerable father, opposed and slew 
many of those sent by Antiochus, to compel them 
to worship false gods—and then retired into the 
most unsettled part of the country, resolved to op¬ 
pose their heathen oppressors, at every hazard. After 
the death of the patriotic Mattathias, his son Judas 
Maccabeus, led in defence of the country ; and en¬ 
deavoured to deliver it from idolatry. He and his 
followers performed prodigies of valour against the 
heathen, and exhibited feats of desperate courage. 
He defeated large armies of the pagan enemy with a 
few men ; and purified the holy temple in Jerusalem, 
which had long been violated by reckless idolaters. 
Afterwards he was slain (about 160 B. C.) by the 
Syrians, who invaded Judea with 20,000 men. His 
brother and successor made a treaty with Rome; 
which was the first known between the two coun¬ 
tries; and afterwards he assumed the office of High 
Priest, being the first of the Asmonean family, who 
held that important station. This person, whose 
name was Jonathan, seems to have sought more for 
peace with the powerful Princes who threatened 
Judea than his brother had done ; and was often so 
fortunate as to secure it, without any dishonourable 
compromise. He was treacherously slain by the 
enemy, and soon after succeeded by his brother Si¬ 
mon ; who renewed treaties of amity with the Ro¬ 
mans and Lacedaemonians. He also purified the 
holy temple, and relieved his countrymen from 
foreign tribute. But Simon was basely murdered 
by a relation when he professed friendship. John 
Hyrcanus, his son, succeeded him ; and his eldest 
son, Judas Aristobulus assumed the name and power 
of King, as well as of High Priest; which was about 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


217 


one hundred years before the birth of Christ. A 
few years later, Jerusalem was taken by Pompey, 
a celebrated Roman General, and the Jews were 
made tributary to Rome; and about forty years be¬ 
fore the Saviour’s advent, Herod, an Idumean, was 
made King of Judea, by the Roman government. 
Herod was a haughty and cruel Prince, as appears 
from his murder of all the young children of Beth¬ 
lehem under two years of age: and Josephus has re¬ 
lated many other instances of his injustice and bar¬ 
barity. He took Jerusalem, at an early period of 
nis reign, and, with his permission, the soldiers filled 
all parts of the city with blood, rapine and cruelty. 
Thus when Shiloh came, when the Prince of Peace 
appeared, the sceptre had departed from Judah. 
But Herod performed one public act acceptable to 
the Jews; he rebuilt and eidarged the temple of Je¬ 
rusalem, forty-six years before the public ministry 
of Christ began. 

CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD. 

The circulation of the blood in the animal frame 
is a striking evidence of the wisdom and power of 
God. The blood contains the nutriment for the 
body, and the heart is the engine which gives or 
supports its circulation to every part. The stomach, 
the organs of digestion, other functions and other 
faculties are necessary to carry on the process of 
nourishing and supporting the body ; but the circu¬ 
lation of the blood is equally necessary ; and when 
it ceases life is extinct, or the animal functions are 
suspended. The heart, with its machinery of arte¬ 
ries and veins is the immediate organ of giving cir¬ 
culation to the blood. ‘ It is as perfectly artificial 
as any machine whatever for conducting or forcing 
any fluid. The arteries are channels which convey 
the blood from the heart to every part of the body. 
The veins are the channels, by which it is returned ; 
but the heart is the engine constantly throwing it 
out in one direction and receiving it in another. 
This organ is a hollow muscle, divided into several 
apartments, and, according to anatomists, is con¬ 
structed on the principle of a fire-engine. For this 
requires a room to receive the water, which is con¬ 
veyed to it by a leathern tube; whence it runs 
through a small aperture, into a second room called 
the forcing room, where it is forced out in a stream 
by applying a powerful pressure to it. The water 
cannot run back again from the forcing room into 
the receiving room, when the pressure is applied, 
because there is a little valve or door placed over 
the hole. The door, swinging inward into the 
forcing room, is immediately crowded to and shut 
by the water, when it would endeavour to escape, 
as the forcing commences, and the water is there¬ 
fore compelled to fly out into the hose or pipe pro¬ 
vided for it. But when the forcing ceases, the door 
opens and lets in more water; and so on continu¬ 
ally. Such is a description of a fire-engine. There 
are two of these engines in the heart; each having 
its receiving and forcing rooms, with its little door 
between them : and each having its hoses to receive 
the blood and convey it where it is required ; ma¬ 
king four rooms in the whole, and the heart being 
divided oflf into four apartments for that purpose. 
With one engine, the blood is received from every 


part of the body by two hoses or veins which ter¬ 
minate each in a single pipe, where they enter the 
heart. By another hose, which is termed an artery, 
the same engine forces all this blood into the lungs, 
where it undergoes a certain change from the air.* 
The second engine, in its turn now receives the 
blood from the lungs by other hoses or veins, and 
again by another arterial hose distributes it over the 
whole system; whence it is returned to the heart, 
to go over the same process of being first received 
from the body and propelled into the lungs ; and 
then received from the lungs and propelled into the 
body by two separate engines, as life shall last.’ 

The Lungs are two large spungy substances which 
fill the upper part of the chest, and are admirably fit¬ 
ted for the purpose they are designed for, viz. to ven¬ 
tilate the blood, or to give it the air, by which it is 
purified and rendered fit for the support of breathing 
and of life. By the function of breathing, the air is 
introduced for the benefit of the blood ; for it is 
found that the blood derives some of its essential 
properties from the air which is inhaled by the lungs. 
All the blood in the body is, for this purpose, thrown 
up into the lungs by the heart, in the course of eve¬ 
ry circulation. And here we may perceive the cu¬ 
rious mechanism of the lungs. They are full of air 
holes, running in every direction ; and the blood is 
exposed to the air in innumerable vessels, which are 
spread over the sides of these air holes for this pur¬ 
pose. And, what we find in no other part of the 
body, these passages for the air are made of a hard 
substance like horn, which serves to preserve them 
open and free for the circulation of the air. Should 
any one ask, why they are not of the same substance 
as the veins, the only answer is that it is proof of 
intelligent design. The blood can force its way 
through a skin tube, but air might be obstructed. 
Another singular fact is, that there are two passages 
for breathing, viz. through the mouth and by the 
nostrils. Except for the latter, we could not breathe 
without difficulty when we M^ere eating; and the 
infant would find it impossible. 

* It is found that common air near the earth is composed of 
27-tOO of oxygen, and of 72-100 of nitrogen, and one of carbonic 
acid. The first only can sustain life. The others, if separate, are 
unpleasant in smell and injurious to life. Such is the composition 
of pure atmospheric air, when taken into the lungs—and if one i* 
placed in a situation to consume by breathing all the oxygen, his 
respiration would cease, circulation stop, and death ensue.—When 
air is respired, it is found to have undergone a change—the por¬ 
tion of nitrogen remains as it was before inspired; but eight per 
cent, of the oxygen is lost, and an equal quantity of carbonic acid 
is added; and at the same time, the blood from the veins, in its 
passage to the lungs, is by contact with the air changed from the 
dark colour of the veins to red, and becomes the power of life to 
the frame through which it circulates. This change of the air has 
not been explained ; but it is supposed that the lost oxygen is ab¬ 
sorbed in the system, and carbonic acid derived from the veinous 
blood. It appears certain, however, that the conversion of the 
blood is affected by the oxygen; and that air is fit or unfit for res¬ 
piration as its proportion of oxygen is according to the proportion 
already stated. 


THE HAPPY MISS, 

BY MRS. HEMANS. 

A song of joy, a bridal song came swelling. 

To blend with fragrance in those southern shades. 

And told of feasts within the stately dwelling, 

Bright lamps, and dancing steps, and gem-crowned maids; 
And thus it flowed—yet something in the lay 
Belonged to sadness, and it died away. 

2S 





218 PICTORIAL 



COMMODORE DECATUR. 

The United States have furnished a great number 
of brave naval commanders. During the war of the 
Revolution, though our navy was small, many of our 
citizens were distinguished for intrepidity and.skill 
in the naval service. Manly, Dale, Barry, Hopkins, 
Tucker, Jones, and otliers were highly useful in 
that period of trial and danger. In 1798 and 
1800, Preble, Little, Truxton and others gave proof 
of ability and courage as naval officers. At that 
period also, Stephen Decatur, then only twenty 
years of age, signalized himself by his prompt and 
dariiig enterprise, as an officer in the American Navy. 
This gentleman was a native of that part of Mary¬ 
land, called the Eastern Shore : His parents remov¬ 
ed to that place from Philadelphia, during the revo¬ 
lutionary war. Decatur was appointed a Lieuten¬ 
ant in the navy at the age of twenty, and was at¬ 
tached to the squadron under Commodore Preble, 
in the Mediterranean. While at Syracuse, intelli¬ 
gence was received of th.e fate of the frigate Phila¬ 
delphia, which had ran upon a rock near Tripoli; 
and was tlien taken by the d'ripolilans and towed 
into the harbour. Lieutenant Dei atur suggested 
the project of retakinii or burning her, to prevent 
her being of use to the Tripolitans. ‘ For this pur¬ 
pose he selected a ketch and took with him seventy 
volunteers. He entered the harbour, boarded the 
frigate, though all her guns were mounted and 
charged, and she was lying within half-gun shot of 
the castle and principal battery of Tripoli. Two 
other armed vessels were lying near on one side, 
and several gun-boats on the other, and all the bat¬ 
teries on shore were opened upon them : Decatur 
fired the frigate, and remained along side till her 
destruction was certain.’ Congress took particijlar 


LIBRARY 

notice of this heroic act, and presented him with a 
sword; and he was soon after promoted to a cap¬ 
taincy. In 1805, when an attack was ordered on 
Tripoli, (on account of its depredations on our 
commerce) Commodore Preble equipped six gun¬ 
boats and two bombards, formed them into two di¬ 
visions, and gave the command of one to Captain 
Decatur. The gun-boats of the enemy were moor¬ 
ed near the mouth of the harbour, under the batte¬ 
ries ; but Decatur resolved to attack the eastern di¬ 
vision ; which he efl'ected, and captured two of 
them. When he boarded the last, and attacked the 
commander of it, who was stouter, he broke'his 
sword in the scuffle, and the Turk drew his dirk to 
stab him. Decatur had a small pistol in his pocket, 
and without being able to get it out, turned it as 
well as he was able, fired, and killed his antagonist. 
Preble being soon after superseded in the command 
of the squadron, Decatur took command of the 
Constitution ; and in a short time was transferred 
to the frisrate Congress. After the attack on the 
Chesapeake, and the removal of Captain Barron, he 
was appointed to the command of that ship ; and 
shortly after to the frigate United States. During 
the war of 1812, he conducted with great spirit and 
courage, and was successful in several attacks on 
the British vessels. He captured the Macedonian, 
a very fine ship of fifty guns, after a severe battle of 
an hour and a half. Commodore Decatur, in 1814, 
had command of a squadron, with the Macedonian 
then equipped as an American frigate, and was 
blockaded at New London, by a far superiour Brit¬ 
ish naval force. He challenged the Ilritish com¬ 
mander to meet him with any two of his ships, with 
the two American frigates ; but the i ritish admiral 
declined. In January, 1815, he fell in with a Brit¬ 
ish squadron of four ships and was captured, as his 
vessel had been injured in passing a bar, and re¬ 
tarded in her sailing—before he surrendered how- 
ever, he silenced one of the British sliips, with which 
he had a running fight of two hours. In 1815, after 
the peace with England, it was found necessary to 
fit out a naval force against Algiers, for its unjust 
and cruel attacks on our vessels; and Captain De¬ 
catur was appointed to the command of it. Before 
he reached that coast, he captured one of the 
principal Algerine frigates, which had been the 
terror of the Mediterranean sea. On arriving at 
Algiers, the Commodore found the Dey ready to 
submit on such terms as he chose to dictate—which 
were, that no more tribute be required from vessels 
of the United States; that all the Americans then 
in slavery should be released without any ransom, 
and that compensation should be made for Ameri¬ 
can property seized. On his return to the United 
States, Captain Decatur was appointed one of the 
Commissioners of the Navy Board. He continued 
in that office till 1820, when he fell in a duel at the 
age of forty-one, with Captain Barron. The latter 
gave the cliallenge, but Decatur had spoken of his 
conduct with great freedom and severity. It is truly 
a matter of regret, that honourable and brave men 
should deem it necessary to kill or be killed to prove 
their courage, which no one doubts, or to vindicate 
their moral character; if it need vindication, a duel 
is certainly a very strange measure to adopt. 


















OF USEFUL UNFOKMATlOX 


219 



GIRARD BANK, IN 

This edifice, which is considered one of the finest 
specimens of architecture in Philadelphia, where are 
many elegant public buildings, stands on the west 
side of South Third Street. ‘ It is nearly facing 
Dock Street, from which the view annexed was ta¬ 
ken. It occupies an oblong square, ninety-six feet 
in front, and seventy-two feet in depth. The front 
is constructed of white marble : the side walls are of 
brick. Including the lot, the whole cost was two 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Six Corinthian 
columns, with fluted shafts and richly sculptured cap¬ 
itals, support the entablature and pediment. And 
these pillars have corresponding pilasters. The 
portico is elevated on its three sides upon seven 
marble steps : the spaces between the portico and 
the angles of the main building have each two flu- 
ted pilasters, which extend from the basement to 
the cornice.’ This building was erected in 1796 
—’98, and was constructed for the Bank of the 


PHILADELPHIA. 

United States : But on the expiration of the first 
charter, in 1810, and the refusal of Congress to re¬ 
new it, Stephen Girard purchased the building, and 
it was long occupied for banking purposes under his 
sole direction. We have given a sketch of the ac¬ 
tive life and character of Mr. Cirard in a former 
number. He was a rare instance of the power of 
resolute and persevering elfort in man ; a power al¬ 
most approaching to a miracle. By industry, enter¬ 
prise, calculation and economy, he amassed an es¬ 
tate of twelve or thirteen millions of dollars : and 
by his will, he devoted it to useful objects, chiefly 
for the relief of the poor and the improvement of the 
lower classes of j>eople. The college established by 
his rich legacy will be a perpetual memento of his 
liberality ; and if wisely conducted and governed, 
must prove an inestimable blessing to Pennsylvania, 
for ages to come. 


THE EAR. 

Who can examine the head and not be filled with 
admiration of the wise and benevolent design of 
our Creator. The eye with all its component parts, 
power and uses, is a subject of wonder to the intel¬ 
ligent and discritninating observer. The skill and 
the design displayed in this organ, baffle all efforts 
at imitation of so delicate and so wonderful a piece 
of mechanism. Nor is the mouth, or the organ of 
smell, less skilfully adapted to important uses, or 
less indicative, in their formation and power, of in¬ 
telligence far above all human wisdom. The ear is 
as curiously and luonderfidly formed as either of 
the organs now referred to. It is evident from its 
peculiar mechanism, that it is a most skilful contriv¬ 
ance for conveying a motion from the medium 


which surrounds it to the auditory nerve, and that 
this nerve receives every motion excited in the tympa¬ 
num, at the interiour aperture of this organ. The ear 
is usually divided into the external and internal parts. 
The external part of the organ is called the auricu¬ 
la. It consists of a fibrous cartilage, which is elas- 
tic and pliable. On the projecting or external part, 
are certain muscular fibres ; and it receives several 
nerves and vessels from the head and the body, 
which render it very sensitive, and cause it easily to 
become red. It is joined to the head chiefly by 
muscles, called anteriour, superiour nnd posteriour. 
In some animals, these muscles are much develo[)ed ; 
in man they are simjde vestiges. ’fhe auditory 
passage extends from the exteriour or front opening 
of the ear to the membrane of the tympanum : it is 












































































































































220 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


not so wide in the middle as at the ends; and it 
presents a slight curve above and in front. The 
middle of the ear is the cavity of the tympanum; 
and this separates the external from the internal ear. 
The cavity of the tympanum and all the fine canals 
which terminate therein, are covered v\ ith a slender 
mucous membrane. This cavity is alv/ays full of 
air, (if the phrase be not a contradiction,) and con¬ 
tains several very small bones which connect the 
tympanum membrane with the more interiour parts. 
There are also some small muscles for moving this 
bony chain, and for stretching and slackening the 
membranes to which it is attached : thus the inter¬ 
nal muscle of one of the bones (inalleus) draws it 
forward, bends the chain in this direction, and 
stretches the membranes ; the anteriour muscle pro¬ 
duces the contrary effect.—The internal ear, or laby¬ 
rinth, is composed of the cochlea, of the semicircular 
canals, and of the vestibule. The cochlea is a bony 
cavity in form of a spiral; and is divided into two 
others, called the external and internal. They are 
separated by a partition, or plate set edgeways, 
partly bony and partly membraneous. The semi¬ 
circular canals are three cylindrical cavities, two of 
which are disposed horizontally and one vertically. 
They terminate in the vestibule, or the central cavi¬ 
ty, the point of union of all the others. This commu¬ 
nicates with the tympanum, the cochlea, the semi¬ 
circular canals, and the internal auditory passage, by 
a number of small openings. The cavities of the 
internal ear are entirely hollowed out of the hard¬ 
est part of the temporal bone; they are covered with 
a very thin membrane, and are full of a thin, limpid 
fluid ; and they also contain the acoustic nerve. 
The internal and middle parts of the ear are tra¬ 
versed by several nervous threads, which no doubt 
are useful, though not easily shown. Air is essen¬ 
tial to hearing as well as to breathing: and one of 
the important connexions of the intellect with exter¬ 
nal things is kept up by the sense of hearing ; as it 
communicates to the mind by the ear. The form 
and size of the external ear serve to collect the sound, 
if one may so say, or to ensure hearing with greater 
facility. Hearing presupposes motion ; and this 
produces excitability or sensation, which we call 
sound ; a full analysis or explanation of which would 
lead to a treatise on the science of acoustics. This 
superficial notice or reference to the organ of hear¬ 
ing, is enough to show the wonderful and benevo¬ 
lent design of the Creator. 

THE BEAVER. 

Twenty-five years ago, in return for a piece of 
red worsted binding which I gave to an Arkansas 
squaw, she presented me with a young beaver about 
the size of a cat; I was pleased with the acquisition, 
intending eventually to present it to my old friend 
Peale, of the Philadelphia Museum.—It had been 
strictly secured from its birth, but, on all occasions, 
it showed the strongest inclination to approach the 
water and make its escape; it was not mischievous, 
and fed kindly on Indian corn, dried pumpkins and 
green twigs. I carried it with me for a considerable 
time while navigating on several of the Western 
rivers, and it became with me a favourite, and a 
source of frequent amusement. At all times guard¬ 


ing against an escape into running or deep water, 
I was in the habit of indulging it with a bafh when¬ 
ever I encamped at night or stopped by day, if a 
convenient stream or pool presented on the sand 
beach. I carried it in a barrel in my canoe, and to 
guard it from the intense heat of the sun, covered it 
with green branches: but these would not exclude 
the musquitoes, which tormented it incessantly, and 
to such arj extent that I could not resist its plaintive 
moans, and at length, most reluctantly, determined 
to release it; I accordingly removed the leash by 
which it was held, and threw the beaver from me 
into the Mississippi, without the slightest expecta¬ 
tion of seeing it again ; judge then of my astonish¬ 
ment £f?id delight, when in about ten minutes, hav¬ 
ing probably floated an half mile, I heard it whine 
at my elbow ; I extended my hand and again re¬ 
stored it to the barrel; and subsequently, during a 
thousand miles of navigation, perhaps twenty times 
a day, I threw it into the river, when after it became 
tired of its gambols, in swimming, and diving, some¬ 
times to great depths, and threshing the water with 
its tail, it would again come to my hand with an im¬ 
ploring look, to be again taken into the canoe. For 
near a month, after my arrival at New Orleans, I 
was confined to my bed by extreme illness, and did 
not see the beaver; when convalescent, a friend 
carried me to his country house many miles from 
New Orleans, and one day, when asleep, suspended 
in a hammock across the gallery, I was roused by 
the well known whine of my poor pet; it had that 
day been brought from the city by some of the plan¬ 
tation negroes, and turned loose, and in half an 
hour, had singled out his emaciated master, and ap¬ 
peared to show evident symptoms of pleasure and 
excitement on the oc^asrom This animal always 
appeared sensible to kindne^,\and exhibited an in¬ 
stinct so acute as indeed seemed'^e more than half 
reasoning—but not sufficiently acihe however, to 
escape death from the rifle of a Kentucky boatman, 
who took it to be a straggler from som^ colony in 
the far distant West.— Extract from a Journal. 


‘ An examination of the ancient orthography of 
the Jews, and of the original state of the text of the 
Hebrew Bible,has been lately published in England, 
in which the author endeavours to prove that alpha¬ 
betic writing is not a human invention, but like 
speech, a divine inspiration or gift. And that Mo¬ 
ses was taught it by God in the wilderness. He 
refers to Exodus, xxxi. 18, and Deut. ix. 10. Some 
other learned men have expressed the same opinion. 
Eusebius asserts that the use of alphabetic writing 
originated with the Jews. Moses had this knowl¬ 
edge. Did he receive it from Egypt? They had 
only hieroglyphic or symbolic writing in the time of 
Moses—where then did Moses obtain the art or 
knowledge but by special revelation ?’ 

The Polar Star, as it is usually called, when ob¬ 
served by a good Telescope, appears to be double, 
or two stars blending their beams together. 

Mehemet Ali has forbid all exportation in future 
of Egyptian Antiquities; and intends forming a 
museum at Cairo. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


221 



THE INSECT PLANT. 

We are now able to present a view of the curious 
plant lately discovered in North Carolina, and we 
have thought it proper to repeat the short descrip¬ 
tion of it contained in No. 2, Vol. II. 

A Thing without a name, partaking both of the 
properties of a vegetable and an insect, has been 
lately discovered at Plymouth, North Carolina. 
When its entomological (or animal, insect) nature 
ceases, its vegetable nature commences. And when 
its vegetable character is matured, its character, as 
an animal or insect, is developed, and it no longer 
appears as a vegetable. In other words, it is alter¬ 
nately an insect and a plant. It is shaped like a 
wasp, when it assumes the insect or animal charac¬ 
ter, and is about one inch in length. When the 
insect has attained its growth, it disappears under 
the surface of the ground, and dies. Soon after, 
the two hind legs begin to sprout or vegetate. The 
shoots extend upwards, and the plant reaches the 
height of six inches in a short time. It has branches 
and leaves like the trefoil. At the extremities of 
the branches there is a bud which contains neither 
leaves nor flowers, but an insect; which, as it grows, 
falls to the ground, or remains on its parent plant, 
feeding on the leaves till the plant is exfiausted, 
when the insect returns to the earth, and the plant 
shoots forth again. 

CHEMISTRY. 

Natural Philosophy (or Physics) is an examina¬ 
tion of the reciprocal influence, or power of large 
masses of matter. Chemistry teaches the mutual 
action of the simple, integrant parts. In the former, 
the phenomena are produced by the general attrac¬ 
tion or repulsion of bodies; in the latter, by minute 
combinations, or by decomposition. We are unable, 
with our present knowledge of nature and its laws, 
to separate physics etitirely from chemistry ; one 
science cannot be studied entirely distinct from the 
other. Those artisans, who first discovered the 


method of melting, combining and moulding the 
metals, and those physicians who first extracted 
vegetable substances from plants, and observed their 
properties, were really the first chemists. But in¬ 
stead of observing a philosophical method in their 
examinations, instead of passing from what w'as 
known to what was unknowm, early inquirers were 
led astray by astrological dreams, and the fables of 
the philosopher’s stone. We find little worthy of 
notice in the history of chemistry, till the middle of 
the seventeenth century. About that time, Bacon, 
Paracelsus and others, detected the properties of 
iron, quicksilver, antimony, and saltpetre. They 
also discovered sulphuric, nitric at)d other acids—■ 
the mode of rectifying spirits, and of puiifying the 
alkalies. At a later day, Stahl taught that the 
greater part of chemical plienomena might depend 
on a general cause, or on a few general principles, 
to which all combinations must be referred. His 
theory was, that all bodies contained a combustible 
element, which inflammable bodies lost by being 
burned, and which they could regain from other 
more inflammable bodies, and this he called phlogis¬ 
ton. An hypothesis, which connected almost all 
phenomena with each other, was an important step. 
Boerhaave adopted Stahl’s system, and assisted in its 
diffusion. He has been considered the founder of 
philosophical chemistry ; which he enriched with 
numerous experiments, in regard to fire, the caloric 
of light, &c. But it was reserved for Black, Priestly 
and Lavoisier, to introduce a new and more correct 
theory in chemistry, usually called the pneumatic or 
antiphlogistic. 

As soon as the composition of the atmospheric 
air was known, it was found that combustible bodies, 
burning in contact with it, instead of losing one of 
their elements, absorbed one of the component parts 
of the air, and w'ere thus increased in weight. This 
component part is called oxygen, because many of 
the combustible bodies are changed by its absorption 
into acids. And oxygen, in the new theory took the 
place of phlogiston, and served to explain the diffi¬ 
culties attending that hypothesis. A new nomen¬ 
clature was introduced in 1787, which shed much 
light on the science ; for by the aid of it, all tiie facts 
may be retained in the memory, as the name of each 
body is expressive of its composition or of its pecu¬ 
liar property.—Farther imj)rovements were made in 
chemistry, at the beginning of the present century. 
Sir Humphrey Davy, with a galvanic apparatus, made 
a series of researches, which resulted in a greater 
modification of the science than it had ever before 
experienced. He proved that the fixed alkalies 
were compounds of oxygen with metallic bases, and 
thus led the way to the discovery of an analagous 
constitution in the alkaline earths. To him also 
this science is indebted for proof of the simple nature 
of chlorine. And still another useful improvement 
was made by Davy, as to the nature of flame, which 
led to the invention of a safety-lamp for miners. 
Later investigations into the science of chemistry 
relate to the definite proportions in which bodies 
unite to form the various chemical compounds: and 
numeroiis analyses have been made to show the cor¬ 
rectness of the conclusions which were drawn from 
the theory, 'i’his general truth has resulted or es- 
















222 


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tal)lished, that when bodies combine chemically and 
intimately vvith each other, they combine in deter¬ 
minate quantities; and that w'hen one body unites 
vvith another in more than one proportion, the ratio 
of the increase may be expressed by some multiple 
of the first proportion.—The doctrine of definite 
proportions may be considered as giving to the sci¬ 
ence of chemistry that certainty which was thought 
peculiar to mathematics ; and the science has been 
much advanced by the developement of these rela¬ 
tions. More recent improvements in chemistry re¬ 
late to the power of platinum (a newly discovered 
metal) in effecting the combination of oxygen and 
hydrogen ; to the reducing of gases to a liquid form ; 
to the discovery of new compounds of carbon and 
hydrogen ; to the elucidation of the new compounds 
of chlorine with carbon, &c. The knowledge of 
light, of electricity, and of caloric, has also been en¬ 
larged ; all which must add to improvements in 
chemistry, and serve to show that no limits can be 
j)laced on investigations of this science. 

Chemistry makes us acquainted vvith the internal 
structure of bodies, by synthesis and analysis (com¬ 
bination and decomposition.) By the latter, it sep¬ 
arates the component parts of a compound body ; 
and by the former, it combines the separated ele¬ 
ments so as to form anew the decomposed body. A 
knowledge of the two great powers to which all 
physical bodies are subject, attraction and repulsion, 
is reipiisite in pursuing or exemplifying these meth¬ 
ods. Some philosophers have supposed that the 
attraction of elementary particles was different from 
planetary attraction, and have called the first chem¬ 
ical affinity : but nature has only one kind of attrac¬ 
tion. The alternate play of attraction and repul¬ 
sion produces a great number of sensible phenomena 
and a multitude of combinations, which change the 
nature and properties of bodies. The study of these 
phenomena, and the knowledge of these combina¬ 
tions belong peculiarly to chemical science. 

Some definitions and classification of bodies, or 
matter, whether solids or fluids, may be useful to 
those who have not much attended to chemistry; 
and are here added. It is proposed to make farther 
remarks upon the subject in the next number. 

Gas is a fluid capable of always existing in an 
aeriform state. Vapour is an elastic fluid, and in 
some respects resembles gas: there is a difference 
however, between them, and is supposed to depend 
on the action, or passiveness of the heat, to which 
they are united. Vapour or steam, owes its elasti¬ 
city to a high temperature, equal to that of boiling 
water: When steam is cooled it returns to the form 
of water ; but gas is not rendered liquid or solid by 
any degree of heat. In vapour, caloric or heat, is 
considered in a latent state, l)ut in gas it is supposed 
to be chemically combined. There are numerous 
gases, (besides the air) as oxygen gas, nitrogen gas, 
hydrogen gas, carbonic acid gas, &c. 

Carbon is a convertible term vvith charcoal; and 
strictly so, if charcoal be in a state of purity and un¬ 
mixed with any foreign ingredients. And in order 
to produce charcoal in its purest state the applica¬ 
tion of heat is necessary, (which expels all the eva- 
porable parts) and the exclusion of atmospheric air 
during the process. And yet what a|)pears truly 


wonderful, a diamond is but carbon in a crystallized 
state. The deleterious nature of carbon or char¬ 
coal (or their gases) is well known. We have fre¬ 
quent instances of the fatal effects of burning char¬ 
coal in a room where the air is confined : and we 
recollect the story of Cleopatra, who dissolved a 
most precious diamond or ruby, for the purpose of 
preparing a poisonous drink. 

Sulphur is a simple substance, and is found in 
great abundance, in the animal, vegetable and min¬ 
eral kingdoms. It is converted into vapour at 300 
degrees of heat. When heated a little above boil- 

O ^ 

ing water it melts; but if the heat is much more 
increased it becomes solid again ; and becomes fluid 
as the temperature is reduced. 

Oxygen is an invisible gas or fluid like air; but 
is a little heavier. It is slightly absorbed by water. 
It is necessary to life; and without a portion of it 
in the air we breathe, and in what we eat and drink, 
we could not survive. Oxygen may be truly said 
to be essential both to respiration and combustion. 

Nitrogen air, or gas, in its simple or separate 
state, is the antagonist of Oxygen : It is destructive 
of life, whenever decomposed entirely of oxygen ; 
but united with it, even to the degree of four-fifths, 
it is not destructive, nor injurious. 

Hydrogen, when combined with oxygen, produ¬ 
ces or forms water: It is obtained by the’decompo¬ 
sition of water, and is not fitted to respiration. It 
is much lighter than air. Water is composed of 
two parts of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Ammo¬ 
nia has no oxygen, but is three parts hydrogen and 
one part nitrogen. Carbonic acid has one part 
carbon and one part oxygen. Sulphurous acid has 
one part sulphur and one part oxygen. Nitrous 
acid has three parts of oxygen, and two of nitro¬ 
gen. Nitric acid has five of oxygen and two of nitro¬ 
gen. Muriatic acid has one part of hydrogen and 
one of chlorine, a pungent gas and dangerous to 
breathe. 

Of the Earths. —Though there appears almost 
an infinite variety of earthy substances on the sur¬ 
face of the globe, chemical analysis teaches, that all 
the earth, and stones, and rocks, are composed of a 
very few elementary (or distinct) substances: the 
alkaline earths are four, two of which are lime and 
magnesia; the other two are Barytes, (which is a 
strong poison, and has a sharj) caustic taste, and 
some preparations of it are used as medicine ; and 
the miniature painters use it in the form of white 
pigment^ and Strontites, very much resembling the 
former. The simple earths are Silex, (the chief 
constituent of flints and flinty stones) alumine, (de¬ 
riving its name from alum, of which it is the base) 
Zircon, (an earth in the form of a white powder, 
and is found in several pia'cious stones ;) Glucine^ 
round in precious stones like the former, and resem¬ 
bling alumine in some of its properties, but when 
mixed vvith acifls forms a compound that is sweet. 
Jttria. a substance found also in a precious stone, 
resembling alumine, but not attracted by the rrure 
alkalies. 

Of the Alkalies. — All of them have a caustic 
taste, d’hey are solulrle in water ; they form so.aj), 
by rendering oil miscible vvith water; they also form 
glass vvith silex, by the aid of heat; they unite vvith 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


223 


sulphur by fusion ; and they dissolve animal substan¬ 
ces. There are four alkalies known in diemistry: 
potash, soda, lithia and ammonia. The three first 
are called fixed alkalies, as they do not evaporate 
in air, nor by heat, except very intense. The other, 
ammonia, is called volatile alkali, since it flies otT 
in the form of gas when exposed to the air. The 
uses of potash are well known ; it is a compound 
body, and consists partly of oxygen or pure air. 
Soda, is made of the ashes of plants near the sea- 
coast ; and particularly from a vegetable called soda 
salsola, which is found in great abundance in Spain, 
It is also found among some minerals, united with 
sulphuric and muriatic* acids. Sea salt is a muriate 
of soda; the ocean is impregnated with it. The 
article sold as soda is obtained by the decomposition 
of the sulphate of soda (or glauber salts,) or of the 
muriate* of soda (or sea salt.) The base both of 
soda and potash is considered to be a metal, and 
is easily obtained by chemical process. Lithia is 
an alkali lately discovered in Sweden. It has the 
peculiar property of other alkalies, but is capa¬ 
ble of neutralizing more of the different acids, than 
potash or soda. Ammonia, in its pure state is a gas, 
and is obtained by the decomposition of sal ammo¬ 
niac, or the muriate of ammonia: its elements are 
hydrogen and nitrogen. It has a strong and pun¬ 
gent smell; and immediately extinguishes flame. 

The common atmospheric air, (which is an elastic 
fluid) is composed of oxygen and nitrogen gases: 
the nitrogen being about four-fifths, and the oxygen 
one-fifth—the oxygen being necessary to sustain 
life, while nitrogen (alone) would destroy it. No 
method however is known to decompose the air, so 
as to exclude nitrogen, and have the oxygen remain ; 
but only to abstract the latter from the former: and 
this is done by combustibles ; for during the burning 
of a candle, oxygen is separated from the nitrogen, 
and its combustion depends on this process. 

No gas will maintain animal life but oxygen, or 
a compound which contains it. The composition 
(or synthesis) of the atmosphere consists in a mix¬ 
ture of proper proportions of gases of which it is 
composed, and then submitting the compound, or 
mixture, to the action of a burning body. 

♦ Muriatic and Muriate imply salt a property. 

EMINENT PERSONS DECEASED WITHIN THE YEAR 
1835, IN THE UNITED STATES. 

General Wade Hampton, a veteran of the Revo¬ 
lution, aged 81. 

Thomas S. Grimke, of Charleston, (S. C.) aged 
48 ; an active friend of literature and education. 

Thomas Say, aged 47 ; distinguished for his at¬ 
tention to natural history. 

Nathan Dane, of Beverly, (Mass.) aged 80; a 
celebrated patriot and jurist. 

William McKendree, D. D. Bishop over Metho¬ 
dist Churches, in Tennessee, aged 77. 

James Brown, aged 68, who died in Philadelphia ; 
and who had been minister from the United States 
to France several years. 

John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Federal Su¬ 
preme Court for thirty-five years, and one of the 
greatest and purest characters of this or any other 
age or country, aged 80. 


William T. Barry, late Postmaster General, in 
Liverpool, England, on his way as envoy to the court 
of Spain, aged about fifty. 

James Whitfield, Roman Catholic Archbishop in 
the United States, aged 64 ; he died in Baltimore, 
the place of his usual residence. 

Rev. Dr. James Freeman, of Boston, aged 76* 
senior pastor of the society in King’s Chapel, as for¬ 
merly called, now a Unitarian Society, with written 
forms of prayers. 

Rev. Dr. B. B. Wisner, aged 40 ; Secretary to 
the Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 

Hon. B. Tallmadge,at Litchfield, in Connecticut, 
aged 81. He was a distinguished officer in the 
American Revolution. 

Col. William Duane, in Philadelphia, aged 82; 
formerly an eminent printer. 

Robert Thorndike, of Camden, in Maine, aged 
104, a ship builder and a temperate man. 

Andrew Wallace, aged 105, in New York, a sol¬ 
dier of the Revolution. 

Hon. Daniel Davis, at Cambridge, aged 73, late 
Solicitor General of Massachusetts. 

Hon. Timothy Fuller, at Groton, Mass, aged 58. 
Formerly a member of Congress, and Speaker of the 
House of Representatives in Massachusetts. 

Hon. Samuel Dana, at Charlestown, aged 68. 
Formerly President of the Senate of Massachusetts, 
and member of Congress. 

David Hosack, M. D. of the city of New York, 
aged 65 years. He was very eminent as a physi¬ 
cian ; he was also celebrated for his attention to bot¬ 
any and natural history : and by all who knew him, 
not less distinguished as a patron of literature and 
the arts, as a friend to the interests of humanity, 
and as possessing great benevolence of character. 

Hon. Nathan Smith, Senator in Congress from 
Connecticut, aged 65. 

Hon. Elias K. Kane, Senato’r of the United States 
from Illinois; died at Washington. 

Rev. John Emory, D. D. a Bishop in the Society 
of Methodists in Maryland. 

Benjamin Vaughan, LL. D. of Hallowell, (Me.) 
aged 84. Mr. V. was a native of England, and 
several years a member of the British Parliament— 
a distinguished friend of civil and religious freedom, 
and a man of various and useful learning; a pro¬ 
found but practical philosopher. 

EMINENT MEN DECEASED IN EUROPE, IN 1835. 

Marshal Metier, Duke of Treviso, aged 68. He 
was killed in Paris, when the attempt was made to 
take the king’s life. 

Baron Von Homboldt, aged 67, near Berlin. He 
left his numerous library of manuscripts to the pub¬ 
lic library at Berlin. 

The Baroness De Montesquieu, aged 90. 

Pigault Le Brun, aged 83 ; a distinguished novel¬ 
ist. He was called the Fielding of France. 

Professor Renvens, of Leyden, aged 42 ; celebra¬ 
ted for his knowledge of Egyptian archeology and 
antiquities. 

Rev. Dr. McCrie of Scotlauil, a very learned di¬ 
vine and celebrated historian, aged 61. 

The Bishop of Ferns, in Ireland, Provost of Trin¬ 
ity College, Dublin, and a celebrated mathematician. 





224 


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Lord Middleton, of Nottingham, (Eng.) aged 84. 

Lord Suffield, in London, aged 54 ; a diplomatic 
character ; and an active member of several literary 
and charitable societies; a pious and devout Chris- 
lia n. 

Lieut. Gener.d Sir Andrew McDowall. 

Ineut. General P. Powell, aged 80. 

Admiral Sir Robert Moorson. 

Dr. Gerard, a celebrated traveller in India and 
the East. 

Dr. Rossenmuller, at Leipsic, a learned oriental 
scholar. 

T. J. Matthias, in Italy, aged 61; the celebrated 
author of the Pursuits of Literature, a very popular 
work twenty-five years ago. 

Dr. McCullock, in Scotland, a distinguished lite¬ 
rary character and geologist. 

G. S. Newton, aged 40, a distinguished portrait 
painter. 

John Nash, in the Isle of Wight, an architect of 
tlie board of public works. 

Matthew Lamsden, LL. D. professor of Persian 
and Arabic, in the College in Calcutta, aged 58. 

M. T. Sadler, M. P. near Belfast, Ireland, aged 
55. A Reformer but not a Radical; and a distin- 
guished philanthropist; by some considered as one of 
the most eloquent in the House of Commons. 

GREAT FIRE IN NEW YORK, DECEMBER 16 & 17. 

it is not expected that a work like the Library 
should notice calamities of this kind; but the 
Great Fire in New York, being most remarkable for 
extent and loss in this country, seems to demand a 
particular record. It broke out at nine o’clock P. 
M. of Wednesday the 16th, and continued to rage 
and spread till four o’clock P. M. of the 17th. The 
estimated amount of property lost by this great ca¬ 
lamity is seventeen millions of dollars ; and the num¬ 
ber of buildings or stores, 675. The cold on Wednes¬ 
day night was most intense, being the greatest 
known for several years past: the wind was high ; 
and the water was low and frozen. Had there 
been reservoirs of water, as it has been proposed to 
construct for some time past, the progress of the 
fire would probably have been arrested at an early 
hour after it began. The following is a statement, 
in a New York paper, of the principal property con¬ 
sumed. 20,000 chests of tea ; 12,000 bags of cof¬ 
fee ; 3000 boxes of sugar; 500 bags of saltpetre; 
40,000 gallons of sperm oil; several thousand bags 
of pimento ; a large proportion of the brandy in the 
market; and also of indigo ; several large stocks of 
American goods—but a still greater quantity of for¬ 
eign fabrics; the largest part of which were French. 
'I'he Insurance Companies in Boston, and the Man¬ 
ufacturers in Massachusetts have lost by the fire, 
about 250,000 dollars. 


FORE-I'ATHER’S DAY. 

Fore-father’s Day was celebrated at Plymouth, 
in Massachusetts, on the 22d of December, with a 
spirit as animated, and by a company as respectable 
as on any former occasion. This very interesting 
anniversary occurs at the coldest season, and the 
shortest days of the year; but the inclemency of the 
weather did not freeze up the zeal of the descend¬ 
ants of the pilgrims, nor prevent their having a warm 


and cheering celebration. They were rather glad 
of an opportunity to show that their manifestations 
of regard for the character and principles of their 
Forgathers were not to be restrained or lessened 
by ordinary obstacles. The consideration occurred 
that their ancestors suffered and laboured much for 
them ; and they were ready to honour the memory of 
such worthies even at some personal cost or sacrifice. 
The address by Hon. Peleg Sprague was particu¬ 
larly appropriate to the day, abounding with judi¬ 
cious and useful reflections, and occasional passages 
of great animation and eloquence. Every one was 
instructed and gratified, and went away from the 
church probably with better feelings and better pur¬ 
poses than they entered. The character of our Pu¬ 
ritan fathers was happily pourtrayed ; their lofty 
principles ably illustrated and defended. And chaste 
and good feelings w'ere displayed, and patriotic sen¬ 
timents expressed at the dinner table, which could 
not fail to produce a salutary effect, as well as to 
contribute to the intellectual enjoyment of the mo¬ 
ment. Long may the Puritan Forefathers be re¬ 
membered, and their moral courage and singleness 
of purpose in the cause of humanity, and truth and 
liberty, be appreciated and imitated. 

CONGRESS. 

The Legislature of the United States, has entered 
on a new session. And it will probably be one of 
great importance and interest. The meetings of the 
great national council are indeed always important; 
but the present Congress may have the question of 
war presented to them for its decision, though we 
hope not. Should the question arise, the whole na¬ 
tion must feel a deep interest in the issue. War is 
always an evil; and by a Christian people will not 
be undertaken, except in a case of most urgent ne¬ 
cessity. With the majority however, it will proba¬ 
bly be a question of profit and loss; or of national 
honour, so called. These considerations may oe 
allowed some weight; and yet the mischiefs of war 
are so numerous and extensive, that it wdll be resort¬ 
ed to with great reluctance by the patriot, even if 
religious views were set aside, and not without long 
and repeated efforts to avoid it, and to obtain justice 
in other ways. The message of the President at 
the opening of the session is generally considered 
pacific and conciliatory. And in this case, after 
giving an account of his proceedings relating to the 
treaty with France, he has properly placed the re¬ 
sponsibility to the representatives, where it ought to 
be. It is hoped by all true patriots, that he will not 
change his policy, nor urge war in any alternative. 
And it is also desired, that war should not be pro¬ 
claimed by us against France, unless our national 
liberty and independence require it; and only, if 
ever, when the majority for it is large. We have 
seen a case where war was declared by a bare ma¬ 
jority ; and in a short time, peace sought and made 
without gaining the professed objects of the war, 
and an immense public debt created to burden the 
people. 

It was said by respectable Grecian writers, several 
hundred years before the birth of Christ, that there 
were astronomical observations at Babylon, fbr nine¬ 
teen hundred years prior to that event. 







BENJAMIN WEST, AND THE FINE ARTS. 


Painting in all its branches, whether it be por¬ 
trait, historical, or landscape, has always been 
reckoned one of the ‘ Fine Arts.’ Jt is therefore 
allied to poetry and eloquence; as it requires pecu¬ 
liar talents and taste, and not only indicates great 
powers of imagination, but originality of mind. It 
is an effort of mind, and a proof of mental energy 
and discrimination, no less than eloquence and 
poesy. It may be much improved by culture; so 
may a talent for poetry and eloquence. But if 


there be no native inspiration fitting or inclining 
one to these high accomplishments, no art or study 
will supply the defect. By study, a man may be 
made an orator, or a versifier; but without peculiar 
natural talents, he will not be an eloquent man, nor 
a poet. And so, we believe, it is in painting and 
its sister art, sculpture. The history of distinguish¬ 
ed painters will confirm these remarks. They have 
first and early shown a fondness for the art, and a 
native qualification for it, which subsequent cncour- 

29 

















































































































































































































226 


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agement and cultivation have served more fully to 
develope. An early acquaintance also, may have 
sometimes been the occasion of exciting an attention 
to the art, and an effort to imitate the works of for¬ 
mer masters. Even the more humble work of copy¬ 
ing shows original and peculiar talents; but the 
Portrait Painter deserves far higher praise. He has 
taste and discrimination and other mental powers, 
which those cannot justly claim, who are ignorant 
of the art, or have made efforts in this line, which 
were unsuccessful. 

Many Italians have excelled inlthis proud art. 
There are also the Dutch and the Flemish Schools, 
which can boast of several able artists, and whose 
portraits have ranked with the best ever executed, 
for excellence of colours, and for just and strong 
expression. They have indeed, been more true to 
nature, in the peculiar features, and the indications 
of predominant character than any before them. 
Vandyke and Reubens, who lived two hundred 
years ago, were among the greatest of these. Eng¬ 
land too has claims to great merit in this respect. 
To go no farther than to the latter part of the last 
century, we find Sir Joshua Reynolds, from some¬ 
what humble beginnings, pushing his way into no¬ 
tice, as a few great men have done in other depart¬ 
ments ; and by the careful and resolute exercise of 
his native talents and taste, attaining to the highest 
eminence of excellence and admiration. 

Among the eminent portrait and historical pain¬ 
ters of this country, Benjamin West deserves, per¬ 
haps, in most respects the highest place. Gilbert 
Stuart, in portrait painting, was equally able and 
happy. Some writers rank him even before West, 
in this branch of the art. But West was distin¬ 
guished in that as well as in historical painting. 
The family of West was of the sect of Quakers in 
Pennsylvania ; he was born in that State in 1738. 
He gave evidence of his taste in drawing and paint¬ 
ing at the early age of seven years. He used such 
colours as he could procure in a country town, and 
such brushes as he could himself make of cat’s hair. 
It soon happened that a relative, who witnessed his 
efforts and perceived his predilection and talent for 
drawing, furnished him with paints and pencils, and 
some engravings for copying. Young West was 
highly pleased, and devoted so much time to his 
favourite study, that he neglected his school. It 
was soon found that he was not a mere copyist. 
He composed a picture combining the beauties of 
each, but excelling them ; thus proving his creative 
powers and peculiar taste. It was the opinion of 
West himself, ‘ that there were inventive touches, 
in his first and juvenile essay, which he was never 
able to surpass.’ The powers of West were soon 
made known, in his native town and vicinity, while 
he was not more than fourteen years of age. He 
painted several portraits, which increased his fame 
about this time. But having as yet no able patron, 
he engaged for a short period in a military life, be¬ 
ing only seventeen. He soon relinquished this 
employment, however, and the year after settled in 
Philadelphia, as a portrait painter. He was much 
employed in that city, and afterwards in New York, 
where he resided for some time. In 1760, he went 
to Europe, and soon repaired to Italy, by the advice 


and under the patronage of his friends. He derived 
great benefit from this visit; as he had opportunity 
to study the best models, and to become acquainted 
with the writings of the most eminent masters. He 
visited England in 1763, intending to return to his 
native country; but by the urgent advice of those 
who were sensible of his talents, especially as an 
historical painter, he concluded to remain longer in 
London. His success was very great, and his re¬ 
putation was such, as to place him on a level with 
the first painters of that period. George HI, king 
of England, heard of his fame, and often employed 
him. He continued painter to his majesty, till the 
mental infirmities of the latter disqualified him for 
public life. He appears to have been a personal 
friend of the American artist. On one occasion, 
when Mr. West manifested his attachment to his 
native country and its government, the king express¬ 
ed his approbation both of his patriotism and his 
frankness. Mr. West succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
as President of the Royal Academy ; and his ad¬ 
dress on the occasion was much applauded. One 
of the most celebrated of his paintings, is that of 
‘ our Lord healing the Sick ;’ which was designed 
for the Friends’ Hospital in Philadelphia. This he 
finished at the age of sixty-four. It was exhibited 
in London, and called forth un(lualified applause 
for the gifted artist, and an offer of three thousand 
guineas w’as made for it, to be placed in the British 
Institution. He accepted the ofter, but had liberty 
to make a copy for Philadelphia, as first intended ; 
After this he executed several other historical paint¬ 
ings ; and nothing seemed too arduous for his 
genius to endeavour to perfortn. ‘ The Christ Re¬ 
jected,’ is almost as much admired as the ‘ Healing 
of the Sick.’ His biographer says, ‘ that he painted 
and sketched upwards of four hundred pictures, 
mostly of a historical and religious nature ; and left 
more than two hundred drawings in his portfolio.’ 
His picture of ‘ Death on a pale Horse,’ is irresistibly 
terrific ; Every creature and thing appears to w'ither 
and shrink before the awful phantom. ‘ His Death 
of General Wolf,’ and the ‘Indian Chief,’ are among 
his happy efforts. And yet the critics have said, 
his figures were monotonous and uniform, and that 
he wanted the imagination and fire necessary for a 
perfect painter. Mr. West died in England in 1820, 
at the age of eighty-twm. In private life, he was affec¬ 
tionate and kind ; and has left a character for mo¬ 
rality and piety highly honourable. He w'as buried 
in St. Paul’s Church, near Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
and some other eminent men. 


DO WE NOT BOAST TOO MUCH.? OR, MORE 
THAN IS USEFUL.? 

It is well, both in individuals and societies, to 
cherish feelings of self-respect; to feel that there is 
an ability to accomplish something useful and praise¬ 
worthy ; and even to claim a right to express an 
opinion, as well as the rest of the world. We may 
justly estimate our privileges and our means of im¬ 
provement ; and stand forth in defence of the fa¬ 
voured civil and social condition allotted us. But 
do we not boast too much ? Are we aware of the 
privileges and blessings enjoyed in our Father-land, 
and in some other parts of Europe? Are we igno- 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


227 


rant of the far greater advantages and improve¬ 
ments of some otlier portions of mankind ? By 
reading some of the publications in the United 
States, one would conclude, that we thought wisdom 
and knowledge were peculiar to our country : And 
that all former generations were sunk in ignorance 
and barbarism. But what candid and well-inform¬ 
ed man will pretend, that in learning and in schol¬ 
arship, in philosophy and in the physical sciences, 
we are not far behind England, Scotland, France 
and Germany ? In refinement of manners, too, 
and in courtesy, we cannot but believe, that in many 
respects Europeans are our superiours. If fairly 
tested, we fear the balance would be against us. 
That the common and lower classes of our people 
have greater advantages than in other countries, is 
readily admitted, with feelings of pride and grati¬ 
tude. But the boast often is, that most individ¬ 
uals have more learning, and are better informed 
than any men of the last or any former generations; 
and that within twenty years in this country, there 
has been a great stride in the march of mind. But 
all this is more easily said than proved :—And as to 
manners and deportment,—those of the old school, 
we think, have been given up, for what is called 
more republican and independent, without any ad¬ 
vantages, on the score of courtesy, or for the pro¬ 
motion of urbanity and politeness.—And what is 
the benefit of boasting, even if we might do it with 
truth ? It is of no advantage, as to the improvement 
or temper of an individual, but the reverse. For it 
fenders one self-sufficient and vain; and when he is 
ready to claim even what he merits, it creates a 
reluctance in others to acknowledge it. Such a trait 
of character is far from being conciliating, if it is 
not directly repulsive and offensive. Nor is it less 
unfavourable to self-improvement. Such a person, 
being already perfect in his own estimation, has no 
motive for becoming wiser or better. By boasting, 
we in effect say to others, we are your superiours, 
we neither ask your friendship nor seek for your 
esteem. A modest and really worthy and well-in¬ 
formed man never declares by words or actions, ‘ I 
am as good as I wish to be, or as the rest of the 
worldbut rather—‘ I desire to learn and to im¬ 
prove ; I meet with others of more learning and 
virtue, than I can claim to possess ; and I would not 
repulse them by assumption, nor offend them by 
arrogance; I would excite their good feelings, and 
collect from them some advice I need, and some 
knowledge of books or of men, of which I am now 
ignorant.’ All this is quite consistent with due 
self-esteem, and with resisting the claims of the for¬ 
ward and superficial, by dignified reserve. A man 
may be courteous without stooping, and unassuming 
without meanness. The apostolic advice is worthy 
of remembrance, ‘ not to think more highly of our¬ 
selves than we ought to think —Still more the ad¬ 
monition of the Saviour;—‘He that exalteth him¬ 
self shall be abased; but he who hurnbleth himself 
shall be exalted.’ 


The deaths in Boston, during the year 1835, 
were 1900, being somewhat over five a day, on the 
average. Two hundred, it is mentioned, died with 
consumption ; and 110, of lung fever. 


SHIP BUILDING, IN DUXBURY. 

This important line of business is pursued in sev¬ 
eral sea-ports of Massachusetts. But in no place, 
to such an extent, we believe, as in Duxbury, in the 
county of Plymouth, of the same population. Ves¬ 
sels are also built at Salisbury, Haverhill, Bradford, 
Newburyport, Salem, Beverly, Medford, South-Bos¬ 
ton, Milton, Quincy, Hingham, Scituate, Hanover, 
Kingston, Plymouth, Wareham, Rochester, New- 
Bedford, Dartmouth and Somerset. It appears by 
a statement lately published, that within ten years 
last past, there have been built in Duxbury, thirty- 
three ships, forty-seven brigs, forty-three schooners, 
and several sloops ; amounting in all to 28,400 tons. 
It is also stated, that in 1825, there were then own¬ 
ed by persons in that place, 5625 tons of shipping, 
which had been built there. It is also said, that 
one of the largest ship-owners in the United States, 
at this time, is an inhabitant and a native of that 
town. It is more important to mention, ‘ that the 
superiour models and workmanship of the vessels 
built there, show to what perfection they have car¬ 
ried this useful art.’ No ships built in the country 
are allowed to be constructed more faithfully and 
thoroughly. The rate of insurance on them affords 
evidence of this. They generally are built of the 
pasture oak; and much of their timber is brought 
twenty miles on land by teams, from the interiour. 
The raising of oak should be more attended to, or 
it will be necessary to transport it a great distance. 
It is a fact, worthy of notice in this connexion, that, 
in that town, consisting of less than 3000 inhabi¬ 
tants, there are one hundred and ten ship-masters, 
and forty mates, with a large number of hardy, so¬ 
ber and brave seamen. For enterprise and fidelity, 
they are not surpassed by the citizens of any other 
place. In some others in New England, no doubt, 
they are equalled. Duxbury is one of the oldest 
settled places in the State. Though it was not for¬ 
mally incorporated till 1636-7, it had several in¬ 
habitants in 1624 and 1625: and among them were 
several of the chief characters of the Pilgrim Com¬ 
pany which set down at Plymouth. Elder Brew¬ 
ster, Capt. Standish and John Alden, early removed 
across the Bay and there fixed their abode. Besides 
these, the other early inhabitants were Peabody, 
Nash, Basset, Collier, Mitchell, Delano, Weston, 
Church, Soule, Simmons, and Wadsworth. Some 
of their descendants are still there, a sober, indus¬ 
trious people ; and there is one of the largest tem¬ 
perance societies in the State. 


‘WE SEEK A BETTER COUNTRY. 
Hebrews xi, 14. 

Pass on ! the country thou seekest to win 
Is unclouded by sorrow—unsullied by sin ; 

Pass onward through trial while yet there is day, 
While light is around thee to point out the way: 
Bright seraphs and martyrs whose victory is won. 
Will welcome thy spirit, when its brief course is run. 

The sands of the desert may gather in might. 

And sweep from thy path all beauty and light— 
Fear not to climb the perilous steep, 

Angels are with thee to guide and to keep— 

Pass lightly on ! thou seekest to witi 
A country unclouded by sorrow and sin. 

Chrhtian Register . 





228 


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View of St. Luke’i Church, Rochester, N. Y. 




































































































































































































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


229 


ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

The great central state of New York contains 
numerous large towns and villages, which have 
risen up within a few years, and which are now rap¬ 
idly increasing. At the close of the war of the 
Revolution, a little more than half a century ago, 
the country was almost entirely an unsettled wil¬ 
derness or forest, beyond the distance of thirty 
miles west of Hudson's river. Now, the whole in- 
teriour of the State is settled, for three hundred and 
sixty miles to the lakes Erie and Ontario, the west¬ 
ern and northwestern bounds. And there are not 
only good farming towns, but large cities scattered 
about in all directions, through the whole territory. 
One of these cities of the interiour, situated not far 
from lake Ontario, is Rochester, which has increas¬ 
ed with unexampled rapidity, even in our young 
and growing country, for ten years past. It is 
nearly three hundred miles from Albany, and con¬ 
tains about 14,000 inhabitants. It carries on a spirit¬ 
ed and extensive business in flour: and contains a 
number of line mill-sites on the Genesee river. Nor 
is it backward in literary institutions. It has an 
Athenaeum, and an Institute for advancing the in¬ 
terests of literature and science. These seminaries 
are under the management of active and intelligent 
men, and cannot fail to be useful to the place and 
vicinity. The buildings for religious worship are 
highly creditable to the citizens. There are two 
Episcopal Churches, three Presbyterian, one Baptist, 
two Methodist, and one Roman Catholic. 

St. Luke’s Church is a very elegant building ; we 
are happy in having it in our power to give a view of 
it in the present number. It covers an area of 5,400 
square feet. It is one hundred and two feet deep, 
exclusive of the tower, which {)rojects five feet; and 
is fifty-three feet in width. It is built of hewn gray 
stone from Auburn. But the corners of the tower, 
and of the body of the building are red free stone. 
The windows in the tower are greatly ornamented. 
The interiour is arranged with convenience and 
elegance, and affords seats for more than one thou¬ 
sand persons. 

NOTES OF A MODERN TRAVELLER, THROUGH 
EGYPT AND NUBIA. —Continued. 

‘ Cairo is eastward of the Nile, a little above the 
place where the river parts to form the Delta. It 
is divided into tw'o cities, the one called Old Cairo, 
the other Grand Cairo. 

‘ There have been already so many descriptions 
published of this city, and its appendages, that I 
shall remark but on a few particulars, w'hich per¬ 
haps may not be unworthy of attention. 

‘ The first relates to the annual ceremony of cut¬ 
ting the dyke of the canal, which in the time of the 
swelling of the Nile, is to convey its waters to 
Grand Cairo. This canal, out in the country, looks 
like a neglected fosse; when it enters the city, it 
appears of more consequence, in flowing by houses 
that adorn its banks. It is not very broad either in 
country or city, and where the Nile runs into it, it 
has but from 15 to 20 feet in breadth. 

‘ As soon as the waters of the Nile begin to rise, 
they close the mouth of the canal with a dyke of 
earth, on which is fixed a signal, that is to notify 


the opening of this and all other canals in the 
kingdom. 

‘ On the appointed day, the bashaw and his beys, 
with a numerous retinue, assist at the ceremony of 
opening the dyke. They range themselves under a 
pavilion of no great elegance near the place. The 
Egyptians and the Jews are employed to cut the 
dyke, while some of the rabble in a paltry skiff, 
throw nuts, melons, &c. into the water as it enters 
the canal; the bashaw orders some parats to be 
thrown in, and a starved firework, consisting of 
about twenty rockets to be played ofl'; those rejoic¬ 
ings so much exaggerated by travellers, can boast of 
little more than what may be seen at a village-wed¬ 
ding; the only object there to excite curiosity, is 
the retinue of the great, which in their way, has a 
kind of munificence. The people, on these occa¬ 
sions, commit a thousand follies, to witness their 
joy for the swelling of the Nile, which insures to 
them a plentiful harvest. 

‘ The next observations I have to make, are on 
the famous well of Joseph; its mouth is eighteen 
feet broad, twenty-four long, its depth is 276, from 
the upper wheel to the bottom of the water; at 146 
feet depth is a bason, up to which the water is 
brought from the bottom, by the means of a second 
wheel, with a chain of earthen pitchers; this reposi¬ 
tory is somewhat lower than the middle of the well, 
for downwards after there are but 130 feet; this 
well is elegantly cut in a rock, and with so much 
art, that the rock is a rampart to the descending 
path down its side. From space to space, there are 
windows contrived to let in light; by this path the 
oxen are led down, which put the second wheel in 
play ; from whence, down to the very bottom, is a 
like descent, with this difference indeed, that it is 
not so wide as the upper one, having but four feet 
in breadth, and sixth in height, moreover there is 
no parapet on its side, it is covered all the way, 
which renders the going down very dangerous; at 
the end of the descent is a bason, or a spring of 
water, about nine or ten feet deep, the taste is 
brackish ; it is never drunk but in a siege, or some 
other pressing necessity. 

‘ Old Cairo is situated on the bank of the canal 
that divides the isle of Rhoda from the main land ; 
its length, to reckon from the machine which raises 
the water of the aqueduct, unto the Basar, is a quar¬ 
ter of a French league ; its breadth is five hundred 
common paces ; the rest is very unequal, and its 
extremities terminate in single houses. 

‘ The majority of its buildings (the abodes of 
working people excepted) are pleasure houses, 
whither repair the distinguished inhabitants of Cairo 
to divert themselves, when the waters of the Nile 
are at the highest pitch. There are many gardens, 
and the date trees and vines occupy a great deal of 
ground. 

‘ At old Cairo there are half a dozen mosques, with 
minarets, or spires, with other places of worship for 
different believers; in one of the Coptic churches 
there is a grotto, in which, tradition reports the 
Virgin Mary rested from the labours of her retreat 
into Egypt: the fathers of the Holy-land pay an¬ 
nually a certain sum, for the privileges of saying 
mass whenever they please in the said grotto. 






230 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


‘ The water-house is a work of the Saracens; 
there are in it four mills, with chains of earthen 
pots; oxen are used to put them in motion, in or¬ 
der to draw up water to the aqueduct, which con¬ 
veys it to Grand Cairo. 

* One of the most considerable buildings, is Jo¬ 
seph’s granary ; it covers a large space of ground, 
and is encircled by a wall; there, is deposited all 
the tributary corn paid to the grand Signior, by the 
different cantons of Egypt; there is nothing remark¬ 
able or antique, in it. 

‘ The canal cut between Grand Cairo, and the 
isle of Rhoda, is of the greatest antiquity ; it begins 
at the Basar, and ends near the water-house; it 
may be walked over without wetting one’s foot, 
when the waters of the Nile are low ; but when the 
river is full, it is navigable by small craft. It is tw'o 
hundred common paces broad, and a quarter of a 
French league in length. It is a quarter of a league 
from Old to Grand Cairo; and half a league from 
Old Cairo to Boulac, which, by its vicinity to 
Grand Cairo, serves as a kind of magazine. It is 
situated eastward of the Nile, and northward of the 
canal, which, as before observed, conveys the water 
from the Nile to Grand Cairo. 

‘ In the middle of the river, between Old Cairo 
and Gize, is the isle of Rhoda, which is near as 
long as Old Cairo, when its northern point is not 
overflowed ; for during the inundation, it loses a 
quarter of its extent. It may be about five hund¬ 
red paces broad in the middle, its northern extrem¬ 
ity terminates in a point, and the front of the Mok- 
kias stretches quite across its southern extremity; 
the island is almost entirely laid out in gardens; its 
only inhabitants are gardeners, and working men, 
necessary to assist them with their labours. 

‘ The Mokkias, or Mikkias, is its chief ornament, 
and was erected by Saracens. It derives its name 
from its use, for Mokkias signifies measure; and one 
can effectively observe every day the rise or fall of 
the waters of the Nile, by means of its graduated 
column; by its guidance, the public criers proclaim 
the events in either sense, at different hours through 
the city. Its basin is in a square tower, surround¬ 
ed by a gallery, has several windows, and is vaulted 
in the Arabian taste. 

‘ Some pretend, that it was on this island Moses 
had been exposed by his mother, and saved by the 
daughter of Pharaoh. 

‘ Let us now consider Gize, which I have alrea¬ 
dy mentioned ; it is a pretty large village, on the 
western banks of the Nile, opposite to Old Cairo, 
and the isle of Rhoda; it is built of bricks and mud; 
the only ornaments it can boast, are four or five 
minarets of mosques, and some date trees. The 
city of Memphis, as some suppose, formerly stood 
where the village of Gize now is ; and I confess, 
this opinion is not devoid of probability, though in 
strictly examining this opinion, considerable abate¬ 
ments must be made of the grandeur of that ancient 
capital of Egypt; or we must greatly exaggerate 
the plains in its neighbourhood : for Gize now cov¬ 
ers but half the space Old Cairo occupies ; and the 
environing plains never escape the overflowings of 
the Nile. Is it then readily to be believed, that so 
great, so famous a city as Memphis, should have 


been built in a place subject to water for one half 
of the year ; or if so, that the ancient authors would 
have omitted so particular a circumstance ? 

‘ I shall annex some other remarks I made, du¬ 
ring my stay at Cairo, and in its environs.—To wit, 
their common manner of hatching chickens, is by 
the means of an oven artfully contrived for that pur¬ 
pose. They thresh their rice with a sledge drawn 
by oxen, in which kneels the man that drives them, 
while another carries off the straw, in order to sepa¬ 
rate it from the grain that remains underneath; be¬ 
fore the rice undergoes this operation, it is spread 
circularly, and leaves an empty space in the middle 
of the layer. There come frequently to Cairo, a 
sort of barges on the Nile, carrying senna from Esse- 
nay: they are called by the country people Merkee. 

I embarked on board one of them to go up the Nile 
from Cairo. 

‘ They have a particular kind of float-boat to fer¬ 
ry over the Nile, made of large earthen pitchers tied 
closely together, and covered with palmtree leaves ; 
the man who steers, has commonly a cord hanging 
from his mouth, with which, as he sails, he fishes. 
There is also Adam’s fig-tree, vulgarly called Ba¬ 
nanas ; the beautiful cypress of Old Cairo; and 
what is now called Pharaoh’s hen, and believed 
to have been the ibis of the ancients. 

‘ Inasmuch as rain falls but very rarely in Egypt, 
the author of nature hath in his infinite wisdom, so 
disposed things, that this defect of rain, is happily 
supplied by the river Nile’s regularly overflowing 
every year. Though this effect be so generally 
known, it is strange how erroneously people have 
strove to account, not only for the cause, but the 
manner also of cultivating the earth in conse¬ 
quence. 

‘ Authors, who have undertaken to give descrip¬ 
tions of Egypt, have thought these articles so uni¬ 
versally known, that they have scarce entered into 
any detail about them; satisfied in having said, that 
the fertility of the country is derived solely from the 
annual inundation of the Nile, they advanced no 
farther. Hence many people have been induced to 
think, that Egypt is a terrestrial paradise, that needs 
not the trouble of ploughing, or even of sowing the 
earth; and where every thing springs up sponta¬ 
neously, after the departure of the water. It is 
quite otherwise, and I would venture to assert, from 
what I have seen, that no country wants more the 
aid of agriculture, than Egypt does, which is evinc¬ 
ed by their many hydraulic machines to water the 
earth ; and the plough which is in use near Gamasis, 
in upper Egypt. 

‘ The Delta part, which is the most frequented, 
and the most cultivated, stands less in need of me¬ 
chanical assistance; for there they only employ a 
number of mills, to raise and distribute the water to 
the different canals, which in the French language, 
are commonly called watering canals. 

In 1611, is the first notice to be found of straw hats 
worn by the ladies. In the time of Charles II, 1665, 
the women wore periwigs, and hats like those worn by 
the men. This fashion continued in the time of 
William III; but was abandoned in Queen Ann’s 
reign. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


231 



JAMES F. COOPER. 


Mr. Cooper, we believe, was born in the State of 
New Jersey, but his father and family early remov¬ 
ed from that State, and settled in the interiour of 
New York, near the site of Fort William Henry. 
His education was chiefly under a respectable cler¬ 
gyman in Albany. He was, however, at an early 
age a midshipman in the Navy of tlie United States ; 
and to this incident in his life we are probably in¬ 
debted for the full and faithful description of the 
sailor, as given in his novels of tlie Pilot and Red 
Rover. 

As a literary man, Mr. Cooper is principally dis¬ 
tinguished by the novels whicli he has written. In 
this sjjccies of writing he has not jjerhaps, a supe- 
riour in the United States. His publications of this 
kind are more numerous than tliose of any other 
American. We recollect the following :—The Pi¬ 
oneers, The Spy, The Last of the Mohicans, The 
Pilot, Tlie Red Rover, The Bravo, Lionel Lincoln, 
The Headsman, and Heidemaur. He early ven¬ 
tured on this kind of composition; and has gener¬ 
ally been considered successful in his efforts. Most 
of his novels have been popular. But the first and 
second which he published e.xcited the greatest in¬ 
terest ; Perhaps, because, being then unknown, 
little was e.xpected of him. There is a smartness 
as well as freshness, with some proofs of originality, 
in his first publications. His descriptions are gra¬ 
phic and spirited; his characters natural, and a 
good deal of discrimination and tact are displayed 
in their developement. He has faithfully described 
the situation and manners of the back woodsmen, 
and the settlers on wdld lands in America. For in 
this, he speaks from personal knowledge and obser¬ 
vation ; and their sufferings and labours are justly 
represented. 

‘ The Spy’ w’as read with avidity, and had a great 
circulation ; as it detailed some events of the war, 
not generally known. ‘ The Last of the Mo¬ 
hicans ’ gives the manners of the Indians, who 


once inhabited the middle States, and their treat 
ment by the English settlers.* ‘ The Pilot ’ gives 
the history of the brave Paul Jones :—And ‘ The 
Red Rover’ that of a Buccaneer, of the beginning 
of the last century. ‘ Lionel Lincoln ’ refers to the 
early period of the Revolution, and the scene is laid 
chiefly in Boston. Of the other and later novels of 
Mr. Cooper, we are unable to speak from a per¬ 
sonal perusal. They have not been altogether so 
popular as the former ones. It has been objected 
to some of them, that the stories were so improba¬ 
ble, as to lose their interest. For however fictitious 
a relation is, it must be natural and probable, to be 
interesting. The style of Mr. Cooper’s novels has 
been considered rather diffuse, if not verbose ; and 
as abounding too much with epithets. These are 
some of the principal objections to his novels. But 
all acknowledge, that there is invention, and vivac¬ 
ity in his delineations of different characters. In de¬ 
scribing those without education and of low life, he 
sometimes uses even vulgar phrases; but these are 
not entirely out of place. And taking all his writ¬ 
ings together, the impartial and candid will readily 
acknowledge that he has genius; and if not to be 
compared to Scott, that he has in some cases been 
a successful imitator of that eminent writer. He is 
entitled to high praise in this department of litera¬ 
ture, though not to the highest. 

In justice to Mr. Cooper, and it is no small praise, 
for patriotism ought to be ranked among the high¬ 
est of public virtues, we observe, that he has the 
feelings and spirit of an American. When in Eu¬ 
rope, he was always found to be a warm apologist 
for the institutions and principles of our republican 
government. 

* The story however, has little of probability to recommend it. 


CHEMISTRY. 

Light and Heat. —The nature and cause of 
light are not fully known. There have been and 
still are different theories respecting its origin. 
Some maintain that light is emitted from the sun, 
and others, that it is to be attributed to motion : 
the former is the most common. Light is intimately, 
though not essentially connected with heat. And 
it is very difficult to examine light separately from 
heat. Both light and heat are emitted from the 
sun; but light is not always sensibly attended by 
heat, as our constant experience will show. The 
light produced by the Sun contains heat, but when 
the former is spread through the atmosphere, the 
latter is often not perceptible. It has been found 
also by experiment, that heat is less refrangible than 
light. Both these properties, no doubt, proceed 
from the Sun; and the medium, through which 
they pass, may check or lessen the heat, and not 
have a similar effect on light. The light is no less 
in latitude 60® or 70®, than in 10®, or at the equa¬ 
tor ; but the heat is far less. Light is also produc-: 
ed, or emitted, by some chemical changes, indepen-r 
dently of heat, or when no heat is perceptible. 
There may indeed be latent heat, which certain 
changes or motions would cause to be put in opera¬ 
tion and render perceptible. Light also may b© 







232 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


absorbed by certain bodies and so remain for some 
time, and then be extricated from them. 

Heat, or caloric, may exist in two different states; 
in a state of freedom, when its effects are percepti¬ 
ble ; and in a state of combination, called latent 
heat, when it produces no sensation or apparent 
effect. Caloric and heat are often used as conver¬ 
tible terms; but more accurately, caloric is the 
cause of the sensation of heat; or heat is the effect 
of the passage of caloric into the body. In a free 
state, caloric excites the sensation of heat, and also 
expands or enlarges bodies into which it penetrates. 
When in a latent or combined state, it produces no 
perceptible effects, and causes no sensation. As a 
chemical agent, or power, caloric is opposed to the 
principle or attribute of cohesion; and it also causes 
the elasticity of bodies. As the antagonist of cohe¬ 
sive attraction, the effects of caloric are to cause 
the particles of solids to repel each other, so as to 
overcome their natural attractions. Thus solids be¬ 
come fluids, as in melting of ore and fusion of met¬ 
als. And when the caloric passes out of a fused 
substance, the particles approach and regain the 
state of mutual attraction. Caloric causes, or in¬ 
creases the elasticity of bodies, by combining with 
the particles of some substances, so as not only to 
destroy their cohesive j)ower, but so as to separate 
them beyond the sphere of each other’s attrac¬ 
tion. 

In general, all bodies are expanded by an increase 
of temperature, and contracted by its diminution. 
But the ratio of expansion differs in different sub¬ 
stances. Liquids expand by the same degrees of 
heat more than solids, and aeriform bodies most of 
all. By the same increase, one solid, or one fluid, 
expands also more than another solid or fluid. Al¬ 
cohol expands more than water, when exposed to 
the same degree of heat. Chemistry also shows, 
that, on the conversion of a solid into a fluid, or 
a fluid into the aeriform state, a quantity of caloric 
is absorbed, but which is not sensible to the touch, 
nor discovered by the thermometer; and hence the 
phrase, ‘ latent or combined heat.’ When ice 
melts, caloric is absorbed, or combines with the 
water, and forms a part of it; and thus water 
is a compound of ice and caloric. But the caloric 
is so confined by its intimate union with the water, 
as not to be given out during its liquid state ; and 
consequently, it cannot excite sensation. Steam is 
supposed to contain a large quantity of caloric in a 
latent state. But when liquids, or elastic fluids pass 
from a rarer to a denser state, caloric is evolved. 
When water congeals it gives out caloric, which 
kept it in a fluid'state, otherwise it could not be¬ 
come a solid. It has been shown that ice, in be¬ 
coming fluid, absorbs one hundred and forty degrees 
of caloric, which remains latent in the water. This 
quantity of caloric must then be evolved, (indepen¬ 
dently of what the thermometer indicates) before the 
liquid can become a solid. 

THE BEE. 

Scarcely are the wings of the young Bee capable 
of being moved, when she makes her way over the 
noney-comb, and seeks to enjoy the open air. 
Other Bees going out apprise her where are the 


doors. Like the rest she goes out of the common 
dwelling ; and goes like them, to seek flowers. She 
goes alone, and has no embarrassment in finding 
the hive, when she returns the first time. When 
the Bees begin to be born in a hive, there is a cer¬ 
tain day, when they leave more than a hundred of 
their cells. Otherwise the hive is daily increased, 
and in a short time, the number of its inhabitants 
becomes go great that it can hardly contain them. 
This gives occasion to the swarming. 

We have seen with what admirable attention the 
Bees take care of the larvae, which are to give work¬ 
ing Bees and drones; but the larvae from which the 
queens are to come are otherwise treated. The 
Bees do every thing for them most prodigally. We 
know already, that their cells are much larger than 
the others. The wax that is employed in the con¬ 
struction of each, will be sufficient to make thirty 
of ordinary size. The paste is given them with 
such profusion, that their cells are even filled, when 
they are not in want of it: which is never the case 
with the working Bees, or males. This paste is also 
different from that which the Bees give to the other 
larvae. It is more seasoned. The position of these 
larvae in the cells, differs from those of the working 
Bees. These are placed nearly horizontally ; the 
head a little more elevated than the other extremity. 
The royal chrysales are placed vertically, the head 
down. 

Many sure signs announce the near departure of 
a swarm. The drones that are in the hive are ap¬ 
prised, that they are about to be cast out. But one 
infallible sign is, when the number of Bees is so 
great, that the hive can no longer contain them, 
and that a part is left outside the whole extent of 
the walls. That which announces its coming on a 
particular day is, when we hear an extraordinary 
noise in the interiour of the hive. All seems to be 
in motion there. Finally, when the sun has warm¬ 
ed the air, and the Bees can no longer support the 
heat they experience in their habitation, they deter¬ 
mine to abandon it. It is commonly after eleven 
o’clock in the morning, till toward four in the even¬ 
ing, that the swarms go out. If the queen is at the 
head of the first Bees that go out, or if she follows 
them closely; at the same moment the other Bees 
go with her, and rise into the air. In less than 
a minute, all those who are to make the swarm 
leave the hive, and are dispersed. All seem to rise, 
merely to examine in what place they shall collect 
again. It does not appear to be the queen who 
makes choice of the place. Many Bees place them¬ 
selves on a branch, and are soon followed there by 
others. The mother places herself on a branch near 
to that, on which the Bees are collected ; and it is 
only when they, have formed a thick bed about this 
branch, that the mother joins herself to them. 
When she has joined them there, the platoon al¬ 
ready formed thickens every instant: the Bees 
which are yet scatterefl in the air, press to place 
themselves where the others are. 


Remedy for Drunkenness. —Drink cold water, 
and repeat the prescription, until you obtain relief. 

Religion is the best armour, but the worst 
cloak. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


GENUINENESS OF ANCIENT WRITINGS. 

The last number of the North American Review, 
contains a long and able article on the genuineness 
and integrity of Ancient Writings. The author dis¬ 
covers great research and bibliographical learning. 
It shows unusual accuracy and discrimination, and 
it therefore entitles the author to great merit, even 
though it should be considered a compilation. But 
it is much more than this, as it presents the strong 
and numerous arguments in the case, in a small 
compass. No one, we think, after a careful peru¬ 
sal of the article, can have any doubt as to the gen¬ 
uineness of ancient Writings, whether sacred or 
common, which are now extant, and which are re¬ 
ceived as the productions of those persons whose 
names they bear. This is true of Homer, Xeno¬ 
phon, Tacitus, Livy, Caesar, Josephus, &c. And 
it is equally true of the writings ascribed to Moses, 
to the histories of the New Testament, the epistles 
of St. Paul, &c. It is indeed, not to be denied, 
that there have been apocryphal books, which were 
received as genuine for a time, by a few persons 
deficient in learning or judgment, and which on 
proper scrutiny, were found to be forged. But 
it is not of such books or writings, that the ques¬ 
tion of genuineness arises ; it is, whether those 
books quoted and regarded as authority, in matters 
of doctrine or history, for ages, were written by the 
reputed authors, or by persons who only assumed 
their names. 

We think the writer of the article in the North 
American Review has fully established the genuine¬ 
ness and integrity of these ancient writings, so as to 
leave no doubt in the mind of any reasonable man. 
This he has done, both frotn external and internal 
evidence; including, in the latter, those various co¬ 
incidences and incidental corroborations, by which 
such public facts and events are always attended. 
\Vc quote the concluding paragraph of the article 
referred to. 

‘ It will have been perceived, that in this discus¬ 
sion, reference has been chiefly had to the classical 
remains of anticpiity. This course has been design¬ 
edly pursued ; because we have wished to state the 
general principles, on w'hich investigations of this 
kind should be conducted. But we would observe, 
that these principles are as applicable to sacred, as 
to classical or common writings: and the advocates 
for the genuineness of the Christian Scriptures, only 
ask that the same course of investigation should be 
pursued in one case as in the other. Indeed, it is 
only when the inquiry is thus conducted, that the 
immense preponderance of proof in favour of the 
sacred records, can be duly appreciated. And we 
should be unfaithful, equally to our own convictions, 
f linciples and feelings, not distinctly to state, that, 
in point of fact, the genuineness and integrity of 
the Christian Scriptures is substantiated by evidence 
in a tenfold proportion, more various, copious and 
conclusive, than that which can be adduced in sup¬ 
port of any other ancient writings whatever. In 
simple justice then, the genuineness of these records 
of our faith cannot so much as be questioned, until 
the whole body of ancient and classical literature 
shall be proved spurious or apocryphal.’ 


883 

EXTRACT FROM LAMARTINE’S PILGRIMAGE TO THE 

HOLY LAND. 

‘ I separated myself from the caravan which had 
lingered round the tomb of the Virgin ; and seated 
myself for a moment on the roots of the most soli¬ 
tary and the oldest of the olive-trees. Its foliage hid 
the walls of Jerusalem from my sight; and its large 
trunk screened me from the observation of some 
shepherds, who were tending their sheep on the 
sides of the Mount of Olives. I had nothing in 
sight but the deep and rugged ravine of the brook 
Kedron, and the tops of the olive-trees, which, from 
this spot, cover the whole extent of the valley of 
Jehosaphat. No noise arose from the dry bed of 
the torrent; no leaf rustled on the trees :—I closed 
my eyes for a moment, and in thought reverted to 
that night, the eve of the redemption of man, when 
the Divine Messenger drank the chalice of agony 
to the dregs, before meeting his death at the hands 
of men, as the award of his celestial mission. I in¬ 
quired of my heart, what part I had in the salvation 
oflfered the world at so great a price. I repre¬ 
sented to myself the extreme anguish which must 
have filled the bosom of the Son of Man, when he 
saw at a glance all the darkness, the misery, the 
vanity, the iniquities of mankind,—when it was his 
lot alone to lift the burden of crimes and misfor¬ 
tunes, under which human nature, bowed down and 
groaning, passes through this valley of tears—when 
he perceived that a new consolation and truth could 
not be brought to man, but at the price of his life— 
when drawing back in terrour (or anguish, for a 
moment) before the shadow of death, which he al¬ 
ready felt upon him, he said, ‘ Father, let this cup 
pass from me.’* And I, ignorant, feeble, miserable 
man, I also may cry, at the foot of the same tree, 

‘ Lord, may my cup of bitterness pass from me; 
may it be poured by thee into the chalice already 
drank for us! He had strength to drink it to the 
dregs. He knew thee; he had seen thee: He 
knew wherefore he was about to drink it: He 
knew that immortal life awaited him beyond the 
tomb of three days:—But I, O Lord, what do I 
know, except the sufferings which rend the heart, 
and the hopes which they have taught me.’f 

* But when this part of the prayer of our Saviour is quoted, the 
other part should in justice to him, always be added ; ‘ Never¬ 
theless, not my will, but thiire be done.’ 

t We do know, that we are to follow and imitate him, as in our 
sorrows and sufferings, so also in our resignation to the will of God 
our Father :—And we should remember, that we also are required 
‘ to lay aside every weight and the sins to which we are peculiarly 
exposed ; looking unto Jesus, the teacher and leader of our faith, 
who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, and despised 
the shame, and has been exalted to the right hand of majesty in 
heaven.’ 


The Poor in Europe. —According to a late esti¬ 
mate, the population of poor, or those supported 
not by their own labour or property, but by other 
means, private or public, is nearly one in ten 1 


Lieutenant was formerly written Lievetenant; 
the u was then used instead of v, in all cases, and 
thus we still retain the former in this word, instead 
of V, as in the ether words. 

30 







PICTORIAL LIBRAR 


Sd4 



View of Mount Aubun, 










































































































































































































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


235 


MOUNT AUBURN, 

Is, at present, a place of peculiar interest with 
the people of Boston and vicinity. And it must 
long be so, as it is a depository for the ashes of 
their departed friends. The purest and holiest 
associations are excited, on a visit to this hallowed 
spot. The tender feelings of friendship, and the 
solemn thoughts of the spiritual world are alike 
awakened, and render the place proper, not only 
for indulging personal recollections of a pure and 
soothing character, but for elevating the mind to 
things unseen and eternal. The wise man, of three 
thousand years ago, said, ‘ it was better to go to the 
house of mourning, than to the house of feasting— 
And a visit to the secluded cemetery cannot fail to 
chasten our earth-born and worldly views, and to 
communicate a salutary influence to the heart. It 
is not proper for man to be always gay, though he 
may be cheerful and indulge, at times in innocent 
recreation ; it is not wise to look alivays on the 
tinsel, or be always seeking the pleasures of the 
world, which fade and pass away; but true philoso¬ 
phy, as well as religion, would teach us to extend 
our thoughts to the immortal state, to which we 
are hastening, and to discipline the mind and heart 
for that fast approaching and lasting abode. A 
visit to the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, may give 
an impression which in the hour of dissolution, 
would not be exchanged for the riches and honours 
of the world. Though we have before referred 
to this subject, we are induced to notice it again, 
and to present a view of the interiour of the Ceme¬ 
tery, near the centre of the grounds where the 
tombs are erected. The whole tract is covered 
with evergreens and other common forest trees; in 
some places quite thick, but in other parts more 
scattered. A variety of rose bushes have been 
planted here, and in Summer add much to the effect 
of the whole scene. The grounds abound with 
eminences and swells, but all are covered with trees. 
The view here presented, is a very happy and cor¬ 
rect one, and will render any verbal explanation or 
description unnecessary. 

CHATEAUBRIAND. 

We have on our table, a volume of the Essays of 
this celebrated French nobleman, on Morals and 
Literature; and, looking over his critique on the 
moral system of Madame De Stael, were struck with 
the following passage :— 

‘ Had I the honour of knowing her, I would ven¬ 
ture to say to her: You are. Madam, undoubtedly 
a woman of very superiour talents ; you have a 
strong understanding, your imagination is some¬ 
times full of charms, as witness what you say of 
Erminia, disguised as a warrior; and your turns of 
expression are often at the same time brilliant and 
elevated. But nutadthstanding these advantages, 
your work is far from being all that it might have 
been made. The style is monotonous, it wants ra¬ 
pidity, and it is too much mingled with metaphy¬ 
sical expressions. The sophism of the ideas is re¬ 
pulsive, the erudition does not satisfy, and the heart 
is too much sacrificed to the thoughts. Whence 
arise these defects?—from your philosophy. Elo¬ 
quence is the quality in which your work fails the 


most essentially, and there is no eloquence without 
religion. Man has so much need of an eternity of 
hope, that you have been obliged to form one to 
yourself upon the earth, in your system of perfecti¬ 
bility, to replace that infinite hope which you re¬ 
fuse to see in heaven. If you be sensible to fame 
return to religious ideas. I am convinced that you 
have within you the germ of a much finer work 
than any you have hitherto given us. Your talents 
are not above half developed ; philosophy stifles 
them, and if you remain in your opinions you will 
not arrive at the height you might attain by follow¬ 
ing the route which conducted Pascal, Bossuet, and 
Racine, to immortality.’ 

Thus would I address Madame de Stael, as far 
as glory is concerned. In adverting to the subject 
of happiness, that my sermon might be the less re¬ 
pulsive, I would vary my manner ; I would borrow 
the language of the forests, as I may well be per¬ 
mitted to do in my quality of a savage, and would 
say to my neophite—• 

‘ You appear not to be happy, you often com¬ 
plain in your work of wanting hearts that can un¬ 
derstand you. Know that there are certain souls 
who seek in vain in nature souls formed to assimi¬ 
late with their own, who are condemned by the Su¬ 
preme Mind to a sort of eternal widowhood. If 
this be your misfortune, it is by religion alone that 
it can be cured. The word philosophy in the lan¬ 
guage of Europe, appears to me synonymous with 
the word solitude, in the idiom of savages. How 
then can philosophy fill up the void of your days?— 
can the void of a desert be filled up by a desert ? 

‘ There was once a woman in the Apalachian 
mountains, who said; ‘ There are no such things 
as good genii, for I am unhappy, and all the inhabi¬ 
tants of our huts are unhappy. I have not met 
with a man, whatever was the air of happiness 
which he wore, that was not suffering under some 
concealed wound. The heart the most serene to 
appearance, resembled the natural well of the sa¬ 
vannah of Alachua; the surface appears calm and 
pure, but when you look to the bosom of this tran¬ 
quil bason you perceive a large crocodile which the 
well cherishes in its waters.’ 

‘ The woman went to consult a fortuneteller of 
the desert of Scambra, whether there were such 
things as good genii. The Sage answered her; 

‘ Reed of the river; who would support thee if there 
were not good genii; thou oughtest to believe in 
them for the reason alone that thou art unhappy. 
What wouldst thou do with life, if being without 
happiness, thou wert also without hope. Occupy 
thyself, fill up in secret the solitude of thy days by 
acts of beneficence ; be the polar star of the unfor¬ 
tunate, spread out thy modest lustre in the shade, 
be w'itness to the tears that flow in silence, and let 
all that are miserable turn their eyes to thee with¬ 
out being dazzled by it. These are the sole means 
of finding the happiness you want. The Great 
Mind has only struck thee to render thee sensible 
to the woes of thy brethren, and that thou mayest 
seek to soothe them. If thy heart be like to the 
well of the crocodile, it is also like those trees which 
only yield their balm to heal the wounds of others 
when wounded themselves by the steel.’ Thus 





236 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


spoke the fortuneteller of the desert of Scambra, to 
the woman of the Apalachian mountains, and re¬ 
tired again into his cavern in the rock/ 


ANCIENT HISTORY OF PHCENICIA. 

Eusebius, a celebrated writer of Ecclesiastical Histo¬ 
ry, A. D. 320-340, has given one book of the history of 
ancient Phoenicia by Philos of Byblus, (a city of that 
country ;) and nine other books of that history have 
been lately discovered in a Convent in Portugal. 
Philos, however, was only the translator of that his¬ 
tory into Greek ; which was in the time of the Ro¬ 
man Emperour Adrian, at the beginning of the sec¬ 
ond century of our era. The original writer was 
Sanchoniathon, a Phoenician of Berytus, who is 
supposed to have written about the time of the siege 
of Troy, and of the reign of David or Solomon. It 
is very probable that these historical books will 
throw some light on the history of that period, and 
of ages still more ancient; and will furnish some 
statements highly gratifying to those desirous of 
learning the condition of that country from remote 
periods. The Phoenicians were no other than Ca- 
naanites, though in some respects separated by their 
government and occupation from the inhabitants of 
Palestine. They inhabited the sea-coast of the 
Mediterranean, or near it: and were neighbours of 
Tyre and Sidon. They were gross idolators in the 
time of David, and for a long period before. They 
worshipped Baal, or Belus, as their chief god, who 
is probably the Jove of the Greeks, and other an¬ 
cient Europeans—and the Juno of the latter was 
perhaps, the ‘ Queen of Heaven,’ of the Syrians, 
mentioned by Jeremiah. There is evidence, that as 
early as the time of Abraham, the ninth from Noah, 
these people, or some of them, were worshippers of 
the one true God. But after that period they de¬ 
generated, and adopted the most gross and corrupt 
forms of pagan worship. They offered their chil¬ 
dren sacrifices to their gods ; and gave their daugh¬ 
ters to prostitution, as acceptable service. 

The people of Tyre and Sidon, and other parts 
of Phoenicia, were attentive to navigation and com¬ 
merce at an early period : And colonies were settled 
by them on the western coasts of Africa, and in 
Greece; and thence probably in Italy and Spain ; 
though the descendants of Japhet, probably, from 
Asia Minor, served to increase, or to form part of 
the first people of Europe. 

The book of Sanchoniathon in the Greek trans¬ 
lation of Philos, which has been preserved by Euse¬ 
bius, is to be found in his ‘ Evangelical Preparation.’ 
The other most valuable works of Eusebius, are 
‘ Evangelical Demonstration,’ and ‘Chronicle,’ which 
was written about A. D. 325. Eusebius was born 
in 267, and died in 339 or 340: and was highly 
esteemed for his learning, impartiality, and piety. 
He was sometime Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine ; 
and was a member of several celebrated ecclesiasti¬ 
cal councils ; as that of Antioch, Tyre, and one or 
two others. He was also a friend and eulogist of 
Constantine, the first Christian Emperour ; and de¬ 
livered a panegyrick on that Prince, after his de¬ 
cease. There is a copy of the Chronicle of Euse¬ 
bius in the Athenseum in Boston, which was printed 


in 1483. It is in Latin, and from the translation of 
Jerome. There is probably but one other copy of 
this edition in the United States. 

For the knowledge of alphabetic writing, the 
Phoenicians were, no doubt, indebted to the Jews, 
who had it from the days of Moses; and he proba¬ 
bly received it as an inspired gift, or by supernatural 
communication at Mount Sinai. From Phoenicia, 
letters, arts, commerce and navigation extended to 
the west. 


MANURES. 

The nutritive manures are those which contain 
juices or other substances, which, being dissolved 
in water, or divided to the most minute degree, are 
capable of being drawn into the organs of plants. 
All the vegetable and animal juices are of this de¬ 
scription.—One of the most useful arts in agricul¬ 
ture, and that which requires the most care and at¬ 
tention, is the preparation of dungheaps. It re¬ 
quires the knowledge and application of chemical 
principles. But it is not necessary particularly to 
explain these; as it is sufficient to point out to the 
agriculturist the rules by which he should be gov¬ 
erned in his proceedings, without requiring of him 
an extensive knowledge of the theory, upon which 
they are founded. Solid substances, whether ani¬ 
mal, vegetable or mineral, do not enter into plants 
unless they are previously dissolved in water, or are 
drawn in with that fluid in a state of extreme di¬ 
vision. Animal and vegetable substances, which 
are, by their nature, insoluble in water, may, by be¬ 
ing decomposed, form new soluble compounds, ca¬ 
pable of furnishing nourishment for plants. Animal 
and vegetable substances, deprived by the action of 
water, of their soluble particles, may, in the course 
of their decompositions, form new compounds sus¬ 
ceptible of being dissolved. The clippings and par¬ 
ings of horns form an excellent manure, of which 
the effect is prolonged during a succession of years, 
owing to the difficulty with which water penetrates 
them, and the little tendency they have to ferment. 
Manure is also formed from wool. Hair, feathers, 
and wool are only particular combinations of gela¬ 
tine, (glue) with a substance analogous to albumen, 
(white of an egg;) water can only dissolve them by 
means of fermentation, which takes place slowly, 
and after a long time. It has been found, that 
fields of corn, &.c. were rendered very productive, 
by the manufacturer of woollens dressing the land 
with the sweepings of his workshops. It is well 
known, that the hairs of wool transpire a fluid which 
hardens on their surface, but which is easily soluble 
in water. This substance has received the name of 
animal sweat; and the water, in which wool has 
been washed, contains so much of it, as to make 
it very valuable as a manure. In the south of 
France, where they raise many silk-worms, they 
make great use of the larvas, after the silk has been 
spun from cocoons. They are spread at the foot of 
the mulberry and other trees, of which the vegeta¬ 
tion is in a languishing condition; and this small 
quantity of manure reanimates them surprisingly. 
On distilling the larvas, it is found that there is a 
greater quantity of ammonia (volatile alkalie,) 
than in any other animal matter. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


237 



THE HUTCHINSON HOUSE. 


The Hutchinson House, so called, was situated 
at the north part of Boston, which, in early times, 
was the court end of the town. It was between 
Hanover Street, one of the principal streets in that 
part of Boston, and North Square. It was an ele¬ 
gant and spacious building, for a dwelling-house, 
and most of the work of the interiour was of red 
cedar. Mr. Hutchinson occupied it in 1765, when 
the riot took place in Boston, on account of the ar¬ 
rival of the Stamped Paper from England, which was 
ordered by the British government to be used in all 
important and legal transactions. He was then the 
Lieutenant Governour of the Province ; Governour 
Bernard was in the chair. But the Lieutenant Gov¬ 
ernour was very obnoxious, as he favoured this arbi¬ 
trary act of the British ministry, and was an apolo¬ 
gist for most of their oppressive measures. The 
mob attacked his house in the evening; and great 
damage was done it. The windows and doors 
were broken, much of the furniture and many pic¬ 
tures were destroyed. And some valuable papers 
relating to the early history of Massachusetts, were 
thrown into the streets : A few of these, however, 
were gathered up and preserved. The magistrates 
repaired to the spot, and by in treaties prevailed on 
the rioters to desist from their work of destruction, 
and retire ; but not till after a good deal of mischief 
had been done. 

Seventy years ago, this was one of the most ele¬ 
gant dwelling-houses in Boston ; it was three stories, 
and the walls of each were high for that period: Its 


front was upwards of fifty feet, and its breadth- 
forty.* 

The Hutchinson family was very ancient, and 
highly respectable. And Governour Hutchinson 
himself, was one of the most learned men of his 
day. He was very early in public life ; but after 
1765, unfortunately took the side of the British 
ministry, in their arbitrary and oppressive measures 
toward the American Colonies; and he was plied 
so close and hard with arguments, by Otis, Samuel 
and John Adams, and other whigs of that time, 
that he went to England in 1774, and did not 
return. 


* This house was taken down in 1834. 


On hearing the Messiah Performed, in the Glott- 
CESTER Cathedral.—By Rev. W. L. Bowles. 

Oh stay, harmonious and sweet sounds, that die 
In the long vaultings of this ancient fane. 

Stay ! for I may not hear on eartli again 
Those holy airs—that glorious harn)ony. 

Lifting the soul to brighter orbs on high. 

Worlds without sin or sorrow '—Ah, the strain 
Has died, e’en the last sounds that lingeringly. 

Hung on the roof e’er they expired ! And I— 

Stand in the world of strife, amidst a throng— 

A throng that recks not, or of death, or sin. 

Oh jarring scenes ! to cease indeed ere long : 

The worm hears not the discord and the din. 

But he whose heart thrills to this angel song. 

Feel* the pure joys of heaven on earth begin 































































































































































































































































































































238 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE POETRY OF LIFE. —By Sarah Stickney. 

In seasons of infirmity, misery or vice, who but 
woman, comes forward to support, to console, and 
to reclaim? From the disquietudes of puling in¬ 
fancy to the decrepitude and impatience of old age, 
it is woman alone who bears with all trials and vexa¬ 
tions which the weaknesses of our nature throw on 
those around us. Through the monotony of cease¬ 
less misery, it is woman alone who listens to the 
daily murmuring of fruitless anxiety, and offers 
again the cup of consolation, after it has been petu¬ 
lantly dashed at her feet. It is woman, who with¬ 
draws not her sweet companionship from that so¬ 
ciety, whose intercourse is in sighs and tears. What 
is it to her, that the brilliance of wit is extinguished, 
the favourite anecdotes untold, and silent all the 
flattering encomiums that flow from love and grati¬ 
tude ! It is enough for her that the lips now sealed 
by grief, the eye now dim with tears, and the heart 
now tortured with agony, are dear—dearer in their 
unutterable woe than the choicest pleasures of the 
world, did they centre in herself alone. No—wo¬ 
man will not leave the idol of her worship, because 
the multitude have turned away to bow before 
another shrine; because the wreaths have faded 
from the altar, or because the symbols of religion 
are no more:—As a mother, we next behold woman 
in her holiest character : as the nurse of innocence, 
as the cherisher of the first principles of mind ; as 
the guardian of an immortal being, who will write 
upon the records of eternity how faithfully she has 
fulfilled her trust. And let it be remembered, that 
in assuming this new and important office, she does 
not necessarily lose any of the charms which have 
beautified her character before. She can still be 
tender, lovely, delicate, refined, and cheerful, as 
when a girl; devoted to the happiness of those 
around her; affectionate, judicious, dignified, and 
intellectual, as when a wife only—while this new 
love, deep as the very wells of life, mingles with 
the current of her thoughts and feelings, giving 
warmth and intensity to all, without impairing the 
force or the purity of any. Yet, while her attri¬ 
butes remain the same, her being is absorbed in the 
existence of her child. Now, more than ever, she 
forgets herself, deeming nothing impossible which 
has reference to her own devotedness and its good, 
—computing neither time, nor space, nor capability, 
in the single consideration of its happiness : regard¬ 
ing neither labour, watching, nor weariness, as 
worthy of a thought, in comparison with its slight¬ 
est slumbers, or its minutest pain. If the situation 
of a wife, brings woman to a right understanding of 
her character, that of a mother leads to a strict knowl¬ 
edge of her principles. No one is so depraved as 
to teach her child what she believes to be wrong. 
And yet she must teach and instruct it; for its pure 
eyes are fixed upon hers, to learn their meaning ; 
and its infant accents are inquiring out the first 
principles of good and evil. With such a picture 
before her, how can any woman dare to teach what 
she did not fully and rationally believe ? In a few 
days, or hours, that child may be a cherub in the 
courts of heaven. What if a stain should have been 
upon its wings, and that stain the impress of a 
mother’s hand ! Or, if its earthly life should be pro¬ 


longed, it is the foundation of the important future 
which the mother lays. Other governours, in after 
years, may take upon them th.e tuition ol her child 
and lead him through the paths of academic lore; 
but the early bias, the bent of the moral character, 
the first principles of spiritual lile, will be hers; and 
hers the lasting glory, or the lasting shame. 

Let then, the aged woman be no longer an ob¬ 
ject of contempt, or disregard. She may be help¬ 
less as a child ; but as a child she may be learning 
the last awful lesson from her heavenly Father. 
Her feeble step is trembling on the brink ol the 
grave ; but her hopes may be planted on the better 
shore which lies beyond. Her eye is dim with suf¬ 
fering and tears ; but her spiritual vision may be 
contemplating the gradual unfolding of the gates of 
eternal rest. Beauty has faded from her form ; but 
angels, in the world of light, may be weaving a 
wreath of glory for her brow. Her lip is silent; 
but it may be only waiting to pour forth celestial 
strains of gratitude and praise. Lowly, and fallen, 
and sad, she sits among the living; but exalted, pu¬ 
rified and happy, she may arise from the dead. 
Then turn, if thou wilt, from the aged female in 
her loneliness; but remember that she is not for¬ 
saken of her God. 


ORIGIN OF SEVERAL PLANTS. 

The Potatoe is a native of South America ; and 
is still found wild in Peru, Chile, and Monte Video. 
The first notice of it by Europeans, was in 1588: It 
is now spread over a great part of the world. Wheat 
and rye originated in Siberia and Tartary, where 
they are now indigenous. Oats are found wild in 
Abyssinia, and may be justly considered natural to 
the country. Maize, or Indian corn, is a native of 
Mexico, and other parts of North America : It was 
not known in Europe, till after the discovery and 
possession of Mexico by the Spaniards. The bread¬ 
fruit tree was first found in Otaheite and other 
South-sea islands. Near the close of the last cen¬ 
tury, it was transplanted in the West Indies. Tea 
is found only in China and Japan. The cocoa-nut 
is found indigenous in the equinoxial regions. 
Coffee is a native of Arabia, and of that part called 
Arabia Felix: but is now grown in the East and 
West Indies. The apple is found in most parts of 
the globe. But in its wild or natural state, it is 
merely the crah apple; and has been varied and 
improved by cultivation. The peach is a native of 
Persia ; but in its natural state, is small and bitter, 
or acid, and considered unwholesome. Tobacco is 
a native of South America, and of Mexico. A 
species of this plant has been lately found in New- 
Holland. Asparagus was brought from Asia : Cab¬ 
bage and lettuce from Holland : Rice from Ethio¬ 
pia, and from the East Indies ; and onions from Af¬ 
rica, and some parts of Asia. The sugar-cane is a 
native of China, and the manufacture of sugar was 
known there from the remotest antiquity. It was 
thence carried to Arabia; thence to Egypt, and 
thence by the Moors into Spain ; and thence to the 
West Indies and Brazil. Many ffowers are from 
Java and Ceylon, from Cappadocia, from Syria and 
Italy. 





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239 



THE JUNGLE FOWL. 


This bird is described by M. Sonnerat, in his 
travels in the East Indies; and who supposes it 
formed the stock from which all the domesticated 
fowls proceeded. He maintains, with Buffon, that 
all or most of our varieties of this domestic fowl, 
are derived from a single type, and that the differ¬ 
ences were owing to climate, accident, &c. 
But it seems now the prevailing opinion that these 
varieties proceed from mixtures of original species. 
The Jungle fowl, or the wild cock of India, was 
supposed by Sonnerat to be the primitive stock :— 
But it now appears, that the wild fowl in the Indian 
Archipelago, and in Java, approximate more nearly 
to our common fowl. In India, it is believed, that 
the English game cock originated from a mixture of 
the Jungle cock, with a wild species in Malaga.— 
This bird is nearly one-third less than our common 
village cock. The head is furnished with an in¬ 
dented comb, and the wattles resemble those of the 
domestic cock. The feathers of the head and neck 
grow longer as they approach the body ; and in 
their form and substance differ from those which 
cover similar parts in other cocks. 

The cry of the Jungle fowl is not precisely the 
same as that of the domestic species ; but there is a 
great resemblance in their habits. The cock struts 
at the head of his hens, and keeps a strict watch for 
their safety. When they are attacked or disturbed, 
he flies to a high branch or spot near by, and crows 
as loud as possible, and the hens run into holes or 
hiding-places for shelter. The wild Jungle fowl 
is hunted by the natives in the following manner: 
‘ A line of about forty yards is fastened to the 


ground at the ends, and elevated by props about 
eighteen inches—nooses of horse-hair are fastened 
to the props, about two feet apart, so that when 
the birds attempt to pass under the line they are 
caught by the neck. And sometimes a line is fas¬ 
tened to the ground, and left lying there with all 
the nooses spread, and as the birds pass over them, 
they are caught by the legs.’ 

THE HISTORY OF ABRAHAM. 

[CONTINUEB.] 

The wandering life of Abraham was wisely order¬ 
ed for this important purpose—viz : to remind him 
of his dependence on Providence, and to dissemi¬ 
nate a knowledge of the one true God, among other 
nations. His father died in Mesopotamia, a country 
west of Chaldea, and between the Tigris and Eu¬ 
phrates: and after that event, the believing pat¬ 
riarch removed into Canaan, in obedience of the 
divine command. In a season of great dearth, he 
also visited Egypt, where no doubt, in his zeal for 
the true religion, he declared the doctrine of the one 
true God, and was a constant preacher of righ¬ 
teousness. Wherever he sojourned, he was treated 
with particular respect; not merely for his wealth, 
probably,* but for his wisdom and piety. For the 
ignorant and degraded, even, do not fail to honour 
the religious character, where it is marked, as it 
must be, if sincere, with a correct moral deportment. 
The distinguishing virtue of Abraham was faith ; 
an active, obedient principle, by which he became 

* That might be the cause with some ; for it is said, that his 
eattle and gold and silver, were very great. 


















































240 


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the devoted servant of the Most High. It was not 
faith alone, or the mere profession of faith, but a 
sincere conviction which led to good works; and 
like the blessed Saviour, of whom he as well as Mo¬ 
ses, was in some sense a type, ‘ he committed 
himself to God in well doing.' Abraham readily 
submitted to all the discipline of Providence, endur¬ 
ed many privations and trials, and prepared himself 
to do the whole will of God, made known to him; 
and therefore it was, that ‘ righteousness was im¬ 
puted to him,’ (that is, he was considered righteous,) 

‘ and he was called the friend of God.’ 

The principle of faith in this holy patriarch was 
precisely the same in its nature and character, as 
that of the sincere and devoted Christian. For 
what is the faith of the followers of Christ, but a 
belief in one God, and in Jesus his anointed one, 

‘ as the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.’ It is a 
belief in his sublime doctrine of the character of 
God, as revealed in the gospel; of the spiritual na¬ 
ture and accountability of man,—of a future retri¬ 
bution, and of life everlasting. Faith is the same 
now, as ever; as in the time of Adam and Noah ; 
of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph ; of Moses, Samuel, 
and Daniel, Ezra, and John the Baptist; and of the 
apostles and primitive Christians :—‘ It is the sub¬ 
stance of things hoped for, and the evidence of 
things not seen.’ It is the foundation of what as 
immortal beings we hope for, and the foresight of 
things now unseen. In former times, as now, with 
our fathers and remote ancestors, as with us, it 
leads to holy trust and confidence in the promises 
of God ; it persuades us of the realities of the future, 
spiritual world ; and therefore is a powerful motive, 
or incentive to virtue and righteousness. It is the 
support of piety and moral goodness, in all the tri¬ 
als of life. It is indeed the vital principle of all 
true religion. And it matters not, comparatively 
speaking, what are the particular forms and minor 
tenets of different sects, if this vital, operative prin¬ 
ciple exists. ‘ The just,’ (in all ages and places) 

‘ live by faithsuch a faith as Abraham, and other 
holy men had ; whether before Christ or after him ; 
yea, whether living under the sound of the gospel, 
or in heathen countries; such men live by faith. 

‘ They shall come from the east and the west, from 
the north and the south, and shall sit down with 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of God.’ 
The essential doctrines of religion must be simple 
and few, and be plain to all honestly disposed and 
sincere seekers for truth and duty. Eusebius, the 
faithful and early Christian historian says, ‘ that 
Abraham and other virtuous patriarchs were Chris¬ 
tians in spirit, though not in name. They knew 
not Jesus of Nazareth, but the spirit he inculcated, 
was manifested in their lives and conversation;’ 
And thus it was ‘ that Abraham is said to have seen 
the day of Christ.’ He anticipated it, by his faith 
in God and by a holy life, conformable to the divine 
will and commands, such as Jesus himself required. 
The religion of Abraham prompted him to deeds of 
kindness and benevolence. He pleaded in behalf 
of devoted Sodom ; he was friendly and kind to 
Lot, and the defender of the invaded rights of his 
neighbouring chiefs.—But he has been charged with 
dissimulation. He was, indeed, through fear, be¬ 


trayed into an act not entirely justifiable, perhaps; 
but an explanation may be given, which shows his 
conduct not to be liable to the charge of real false¬ 
hood. Wiien he said, that Sarah was his sister, it 
was true, according to the common language of that 
day; for she was his near relative; a cousin or a 
niece. The celebrated author of the novel of 
Charles Grandison, expressed the opinion, that 
Abraham was a true gentleman; and that he pos¬ 
sessed all the essential qualities to entitle him to 
that appellation, is evident from his great benevo¬ 
lence, kindness, and hospitality ; his pacific deport¬ 
ment, and readiness to assist and defend his suffer¬ 
ing neiglibouis. His name was long cherished in 
the East; and his bright example often commended 
for the imitation of other men of wealth and power. 
He was indeed esteemed by some as a prophet, and 
the Arabians, Persians, and the peo{)le of India had 
a high veneration lor his character; and it was the 
opinion of a few learned men that he was the same 
as Zoroaster. It has been supposed that Abraham 
had some knowledge of astronomy; and it isgenerally 
admitted that the Chaldeans, to whom his family 
belonged, were devoted to the study of this science 
at a very early period. And it is supposed that 
Noah and Shem might have handed down some 
knowledge on the subject, from the Antediluvians. 
Job, who probably lived not far from the time of 
Abraham, appears to have been somewhat acquaint¬ 
ed with astronomy ; and yet it is not to be con¬ 
cluded that in his day there had been any accurate 
calculations made of the distances and revolutions 
of the planets, or a proper distinction recognised 
between them and the fixed stars. Yet at a period, 
not much later than that in which Abraham lived, 
the Chaldeans and Babylonians kept a record of 
eclipses. 

It has long been a question, who was the priest 
of Salem, who blessed Abraham, and to whom the 
patriarch gave tithes. I'here have been various 
opinions given ; but none of them entirely satisfac¬ 
tory. The most common is, that it was Shem, 
who was living in the time of Abraham, and pro¬ 
bably survived him a few years. But there is no 
evidence that Shem ever removed from Chaldea or 
the vicinity into the land of Canaan. And tradition 
is not favourable to the supposition. It is enough 
to know that he was one of the few, who as late as 
the time of Abraham, (viz. three hundred and fifty, 
and four hundred yeais after the deluge,) were 
worshippers of the true God. Probably, several of 
the fourth and fifth generation from Noah, retained 
the faith which he professed. This priest and king 
of Salem, (by which we may understand the chief 
man, or patriarch of the place) was a believer in the 
divine unity. He blessed Abraham in the name of 
the Most High God, the Lord of heaven and earth: 
And he blessed, or [)raised, the Most High God, who 
had delivered the enemies of Abraham into his 
hands. The pedigree, or genealogy, of this pious 
man is not recorded by Moses, who has given some 
account of the descent of other eminent persons 
mentioned by him ; and therefore, it is said, by the 
apostle, ‘ that he was without father, without moth¬ 
er, without pedigree.’ (See Heb. vii. 3, and 6.) 
In writing for the Jews, who had an established 




OF USFFUI. L\FORMATION. 


241 


order of priesthood, and that confined to a particu¬ 
lar family and tribe, the apostle says, he was with¬ 
out descent, (or of whose descent there was no re¬ 
corded account) and was not a priest according to 
the order of Aaron. He was therefore a type of 
Christ, who was made a priest, though not of the 
tribe of Levi, but of Judah; and who is constituted 
such forever, having no successor:—‘ He is the 
Apostle and High Priest of our profession and 
none other is needed to intercede or offer sacrifices 
for us, ‘ seeing he ever liveth to be our intercessor 
at the right hand of God.’ 


CHILI. 

Chili, or Chile, in South America, is singular in its 
form, as it extends nearly 1400 miles along the coast 
of the Pacific Ocean ; viz : from to 42 south 
latitude : but in width, from the range of the Andes 
to the sea, is only 180, or 200 miles. The Andes, 
on the east of Chili, extends the whole distance ; 
and the territory, thence to the ocean, is almost a 
continuous slope. This country has been frequent¬ 
ly visited by earthquakes; one occurred in 1835, 
which destroyed great property and many lives. 
This was near Conception, in about 37“ degrees of 
south latitude. The Andes rise to the height of 
15,000 feet, and the greater parts are covered with 
perpetual snow.s. This country is without large rivers, 
while on the east of the Andes, there are several 
very extensive, running from the mountains into 
the Atlantic. The lakes are also few in Chili. 
The mineral productions are numerous and valua¬ 
ble, as gold, silver, copper; and rock salt and mar¬ 
ble are found there. Some extensive mines of 
nitre have also been discovered. The state of the 
country, for some years, has prevented the explor¬ 
ing and working of these mines. The copper mines 
are said to be the most extensive. Lead, iron, and 
tin, have likewise been found in the country. 

On approaching the coast of Chili, the view of 
the Andes is truly sublime. ‘ When drawing near 
the land at day-break,’ says a late traveller, ‘ the 
Andes burst upon our sight in surprising magnifi¬ 
cence and sublimity. Starting, as it were from the 
ocean itself, their summits of eternal snow shone in 
all the majesty of light, long before the lower earth 
was illuminated ; when, suddenly, the sun appeared 
from behind them, and they were lost; and we 
sailed on for hours before we descried the land.’ 

In the south of Chili, the rains are very heavy, 
and fall generally during six months of winter. But 
in the latitude of Valparaiso, (about 32“ 50’ south) 
it is seldom wet more than two successive days, af¬ 
ter which, there is fine weather for a week or ten 
days. The gradual decrease of atmospheric mois¬ 
ture, from the south of Chili to the north of Peru, 
is a striking feature, and produces a remarkable 
eftect on the vegetation. In Valdivia and Concep¬ 
tion, where the rain is copious, forests of lofty trees 
abound, and the earth is generally covered with 
herbaceous plants, and produces large corn crops 
without irrigation. Most of the timber used in 
Chili and Peru, is derived from Conception ; and 
consists of the roble, lingui, laurel, gueule, and litri. 
The Chili pine, (araucaria) is almost confined to 
the country south of the Biobio, where the natives 


subsist entirely on its seed, which they harvest and 
bury in the earth for winter use. Its wood is resi¬ 
nous, but brittle, and therefore not exported. In 
the middle provinces, vegetation is less luxuriant, 
and the woods thin. The myrtle is found here, 
and is sometimes of great growth : and with its fra¬ 
grant white blossoms, is a most beautiful tree. The 
palm grows in the middle provinces, but not exten¬ 
sively ; the leaves, sap and fruit of which, yield a 
large income to the proprietors. The sap decocted 
is a good substitute for honey ; and the leaves are 
used for thatching the houses.—The birds of Chili 
are the Larks and Lark-warblers; But the Condor is 
the most celebrated bird of this region. There is 
also the Plant-cutter, and a singular species of Hum¬ 
ming bird. The Lama is found in Chili, as well as 
in Peru ; which is a wool-bearing animal, not very 
unlike a small Camel. The Vicugna, an animal 
resembling the Lama, is also a native of the country. 
There are several ports in Chili, which are visited 
by our whale ships, in the Pacific whale-fishery. 


ANIMALS OF FORMER PERIODS, NOW EXTINCT. 

In examining the crust of the earth, it has been 
found to be full of different organic substances, 
vegetable and animal (chiefly of the latter;) which 
have remained as the memorials of the revolutions 
and changes which have occurred on its sur- 
face, and the only proofs of animals long since pass¬ 
ed away. The attention of naturalists has been 
drawn to this subject, especially of late years, and 
they have endeavoured to classify these relics. 
And it appears that some of these belonged to ex¬ 
tinct species of still existing genera, and that others 
belong to a distinct genus, of which no type or spe¬ 
cies are now known. Such is the position of these 
organic remains in the earth, considered relatively 
as to their distance from the surface, that learned 
and experienced geologists are able to determine, 
with much plausibility and some probability, the 
relative periods when they existed. Among these 
remains there are some which are remarkable for 
their gigantic dimensions,—such are the Mammoth, 
or fossil Filephant; an extinct species of elephant 
found in North America and Asia; the Mastodon, 
found only (we believe) in the United States, of 
the enormous size of eighteen feet in length, and 
twelve in height: the gigantic Elk, an extinct spe¬ 
cies of deer, found in Europe, nine and a half feet 
in height: an extinct genus of the Sloth, of the 
size of the Rhinoceros, remains of which have been 
found in South and North America : A colossal 
monster of the Lizard family, seventy feet long. 

Comprehensive Atlas. 


The amount of Whale Oil brought into the Uni-, 
ted States during the year past, ]845,'according to 
a statement in a New Bedford paper, was 172,683 
barrels of spermaceti, and 120,649 barrels of com¬ 
mon or right whale; being in the whole 293,332 
barrels. There were brought into New Bedford 
84,966 barrels of sperm and 49,764 barrels of whale, 
making a total of 134,730.—Nantucket is the next 
highest on the list, having about 44,000 in all. And| 
New London is next highest, after Nantucket. 

31 









242 


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View pf St. Ptul’s Chureh, Troy, N. Y. 

































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


243 


ST. PAUL’S CHURCH, TROY, N. Y. 

Troy has greatly increased in population and in 
public buildings, since the Hudson and Erie Canal 
was finished. The canal is united to the Hudson, 
nearly opposite this place, and has been the occa¬ 
sion of a great increase of business. Troy is on 
the east side of the river, about six miles north of 
Albany, and within the county of Rensellear. This 
city is celebrated for the Female Literary Seminary, 
which is one of the first for advantages, and disci¬ 
pline perhaps, in the United States. It has been 
opened about fifteen years, and usually has two 
hundred and fifty pupils. The teachers are of the 
highest character for intelligence and deportment. 

St. Paul’s Church, in Troy, of which we now 
give a representation, was erected about eight years 
ago, by a Society of Episcopalians, in that town, 
and is a remarkably good specimen of the Gothic 
style of architecture. It is one hundred and three 
feet by seventy ; and the walls are of a dark coloured 
lime-stone, hammered and laid in mortar. At the 
west end of the building, a tower projects twelve 
feet, and is one hundred feet in height. There is 
a basement of nine feet, and the walls of the main 
building rise thirty-eight feet above it. The win¬ 
dow over the altar is very large, being forty feet by 
twenty. On each side of the building there are five 
windows; and three on each end. The galleries 
and ceiling are supported by clustered columns: 
The wood-work is painted in imitation of oak. 
The cost of the Church and lot amounted to nearly 
^40,000. The Episcopalian Churches in our 
country are generally more costly and elegant, than 
the buildings for public worship among the Congre- 
gationalists. We certainly do not think elegant 
buildings necessary for a pure and spiritual worship ; 
but we should like to see more taste displayed in 
the architecture of all public buildings in the United 

States. - 

MEN OF THE LAST GENERATION—OF THE 
REVOLUTION. 

Most of the patriots of the Revolution have now 
departed from the stage of life. Of the few which 
remain, every year and almost every month will 
bring us the intelligence of their death. It is but a 
few which still linger about us. And they should not 
pass off the scene, where they acted so noble, and 
to us, so profitable a part, without the expression of 
our regret at their departure, and of our gratitude 
for their generous devotion to the cause of civil lib¬ 
erty. These patriotic men may be divided into 
two classes, as to their age at least.—The men who 
w’ielded the pen in defence of freedom, and who, 
as legislators, opposed the doctrines and measures 
of an arbitrary ministry, from 1763 to the close of 
the war, and the establishment of our Independence 
in 1783; and those who entered the military ranks 
and bore arms, from 1775 to the treaty of peace. 
Those of the first class or character, were generally, 
from thirty-five years of age to fifty: There might be 
a few exceptions. And those of the other class, the 
military, were between the ages of twenty and thir¬ 
ty-five or forty ; with some exceptions also. For 
Washington was forty-four or five : Ward, Putnam, 
and Thomas were a few years older. All those of 
the first class have departed, (except Mr. Madison 


only ; and he was not in public life till 1780 or 1781,) 
and few have been with us for twenty years past. 
If they had not all paid the debt of nature twenty 
years ago, they had retired from the cares of public 
life. Those of the second are now also almost ex¬ 
tinct. The weekly chronicle does not appear, with¬ 
out a record of the death of some veteran of the 
Revolution. They tell of some brave man, who 
periled his life in the cause of freedom and his 
country, smitten by the cold hand of death, and 
laid low in the silent tomb. The last public papers 
inform us of the death of General William JSorth, 
of New York, but a native of Massachusetts; a 
brave officer, an accomplished man, a sincere pat¬ 
riot. We believe he has not left a fellow-officer of 
a higher grade, or of a more elevated character. 

But let us not indulge in vain regrets: rather let 
us seek to catch something of the spirit of our fath¬ 
ers, and imbibe the principles which animated them, 
in their opposition to tyranny, and in their sacrifices 
and efforts for the common weal. In the contest 
for power and in the struggles of party, there is 
danger of forgetting the generous principles of the 
patriots of the last generation, or of becoming less 
zealous for the liberties of the country, than for the 
triumph of political friends. Our fathers were sin¬ 
cere republicans or whigs ; and they were not sat¬ 
isfied with the name. They were opposed to mo¬ 
nopolies, and to exclusive privileges of every sort: 
and advocated equal rights and equal justice with 
regard to all classes of the people. Talents, virtue, 
and experience, were the only qualifications for 
places of public trust. The influence of party was 
scarcely known or exerted: and ‘ the spoils of party’ 
never grated upon their ears, nor haunted their im¬ 
aginations. They went forth in the hour of danger 
and of need, at the call of their country ; and their 
object was not to serve their own, but her interests. 

The doctrine of equal rights and privileges is es¬ 
sential to a true republican government; and con¬ 
stitutional provisions and barriers are necessary to 
the practical support of this doctrine. But when 
the citizens enlist under party leaders, or seek merely 
the triumph of party, the Constitution is forgotten 
or disregarded ; or what is as great an evil, they 
pervert it to justify their conduct, however arbitrary 
or unjust it may be. 

It is proper, it is highly important then, to look 
back to first principles—to principles and maxims, 
which governed the patriots of the Revolution, and 
of 1788, when the federal government was estab¬ 
lished. Rulers must have power—but no more 
than the people have given them by the Constitu¬ 
tion, to be used for the general welfare. There 
will be parties in a free government; but they 
should have it in view only, to watch and guard 
those in power, lest undue aiithority be exercised by 
them : and not to form cabals to embarrass the gov¬ 
ernment, merely because they themselves have not 
a share in administering it. 


The library of a Clergyman lately deceased in Eng¬ 
land, w'as valued at £3, while his wane was estimated 
to be worth £300. Some one observed, he must 
have thought as an apostle did, ‘ that the letter kil- 
leth, but the spirit giveth life.’ 






244 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE SABBATH, OR DAY OF REST. 

A slated time for religious worship and instruc- 
tionj often recurring, must be considered highly im¬ 
portant, and therefore, in some sense obligatory, by 
all who admit the benefit of piety and morality, 
either to individuals or society. The instructions 
of religion are important for man, as a citizen, and 
necessary for him, as an heir of immortality. And 
the worship, blended with such instructions, is ne¬ 
cessary to cherish the feelings of gratitude, reve¬ 
rence and piety, which are due from man to the 
beneficent Creator. To maintain such worship and 
to enjoy such instructions, it becomes indispensable 
that particular days and seasons be set apart, that 
all may attend ; and these times must often return, 
or the admonitions of religion will be forgotten, and 
piety and devotion will languish. And these sea¬ 
sons of religious worship and instruction, moreover, 
must be periods of rest from the common cares and 
labours of the world. A day of rest merely, which 
occurs as often as every seventh portion of time, so 
that there might be a suspension of labour for those 
required to work for the support of society, would 
be commendable. It would be not less a proof of 
good policy, than a dictate of humanity. But in 
proposing it merely as a day of rest, there would be 
danger of its becoming an occasion for recreation 
merely, and of its being thence changed into a sea¬ 
son of excess, extravagance, and riot. While then 
it is a suspension of laborious employment, so as to 
recruit the exhausted frame of the working man and 
of beast, it should be a season for moral and religious 
improvement, for devout aspirations, and preparation 
of the soul for its spiritual and immortal welfare. 
Such, we believe, was the original design of the 
Sabbath ; or the separation and consecration of the 
seventh day to religious purposes. ‘ God rested 
from the work of creation,’ says the sacred histo¬ 
rian, ‘ on the seventh day ; and he blessed and hal¬ 
lowed it.’ He hallowed it. He ordered that it 
should be hallowed alad sanctified by man : Should 
be kept holy to the Lord ; or employed in his wor¬ 
ship, as well as being without worldly labour and 
occupation. It is not merely said, that Jehovah 
rested on the seventh day, or Sabbath—but that he 
blessed it,and appointed it to be hallowed. And truly 
the day is blessed to those who hallow it by worship¬ 
ping their Creator, and seeking spiritual food from 
the instructions of his holy word. And when the 
ten commandments were given by Moses, on divine 
authority, to the people of Israel, after their exode 
from Egypt, and before their establishment as a na¬ 
tion in Canaan, they were directed to remember the 
Sabbath day. It was not then first appointed or 
set apart by God : but it had been long forgotten, 
or its due observance neglected in their bondage in 
Egypt; and perhaps, in the previous sojournings of 
their fathers. By all the generations and people 
(from a short period after the deluge,) it was disre¬ 
garded. And hence their ignorance and forgetful¬ 
ness of the true God, and their degeneracy into 
idolatry, polytheism and impiety. The long disuse 
and neglect of the Seventh day, for religious wor¬ 
ship and instruction, was the occasion of gross igno¬ 
rance, of licentiousness, violence and crimes. Man¬ 
kind became sadly degenerate, depraved and bru¬ 


talized, within four or five, especially within eight 
or ten hundred years from tlie deluge; and one 
great cause was the disregard of the holy Sabbath, 
and the neglect of stated and frequent religious 
worship and instruction. 

That the Sabbath was not originally appointed 
by Moses, we may also refer to the fact, that before 
the ten commandments were given, the Israelites 
were reminded of it, (See Exodus xvi,) and ordered 
to gather food on the sixth day, for that and the sev¬ 
enth also. Moses, and the prophets, often exhorted 
the people of Israel to sanctify the Sabbath day, and 
to keep it holy to the Lord. In the time of our 
Saviour, we learn that it was strictly observed, and 
the synagogues were open on that day, for religious 
worship and instruction to all classes of the people. 
Our Lord corrected the abuses of the Sabbath, and 
probably directed the change of the day, from the 
seventh to the first. Every seventh day was ob¬ 
served by his disciples ; and it cannot be important 
whether it be the same as the Jewish Sabbath, or 
not. But it is important that a stated season be 
set apart for religious w'orship; and it is plainly the 
direction of revelation, that it should be one day in 
seven. The keeping of this portion of time for holy 
purposes; not indeed as the Jews kept it, but for 
religious improvement; is necessary to the well-be¬ 
ing of society, and the welfare of mankind in the 
present world. How important is its due observa¬ 
tion and sanctification, to the spiritual progress and 
the cause of piety, every good man must be deeply 
conscious. B. 


Artificial Stone. —This recent and wonderful 
invention was made by a Mr. Parker, of Onondaga, in 
the State of New York. If the account of the Stone 
and its uses be correct, it is certainly a very impor¬ 
tant discovery. It is a composition, but the mate¬ 
rials or ingredients are not specified, originally pre¬ 
pared in a liquid state, like mortar; and w'hich in 
the course of a few days becomes a solid stone or 
substance, as firm and impenetrable as granite, and 
capable of a beautiful polish. It is found, after ex¬ 
posure to the severest tests, that the changes of 
weather do not injure it, but affect it beneficially. 
It is not injured or weakened by the severest frosts. 
Blocks of it penetrated with frost and then exposed 
to the fire do not cause it to crumble, nor to lose its 
firm texture. Cisterns made of it are not affected 
by the congealing of the water in them, into solid 
ice : While reservoirs of other materials are liable 
to bursting. The cement or composition can be 
formed of any size, shape or colour, and is far more 
beautiful than brick or common stone: And build¬ 
ings may be constructed of it, w ith great facility and 
strength. It has also been used for pavements, and 
is found to be uninjured by any changes of the 
weather. 


A Stone Dressing Machine has been invented 
at the Ley-mill stone quarries, (England,) which 
reduces and dresses more blocks of stone in thirty 
minutes, at thirty-seven and a half cents cost, than 
a first rate mason can do in five davs and a half. 







OF rSKFUL FNFORMATIOX 


O ! 


O 



A VIEW ON THE HUDSON RIVER. 


The Highlands bordering on the Hudson River 
for the distance of upwards of twenty miles, pre¬ 
sent some of the most interesting scenes in the 
United States; and the variety is such as to justify 
repeated notices of the views which this majestic 
river and its margin present. A little above Stony 
Point, at the distance of forty miles from the city 
of New York, the Highlands begin, and though all 
may justly be pronounced interesting and attractive; 
at some points on the river the view is more wild and 
picturesque than at others. A section of the river 
here presented, is a few miles below Newburgh, 
which is to be seen in the distance. The banks of 
the river below’ the Highlands are a better soil, and 
are better cultivated; and therefore present some 
rich and beautiful views. In passing the Highlands, 
the prospect is more attractive to those fond of nat¬ 
ural scenery, however wild and rugged in appear¬ 
ance. That there was ever, since the deluge, a 
large lake just above the Highlands, which served 
as a barrier for it, does not seem very probable, 
though the supposition has been made by some 
learned men. It must have been a tremendous 
convulsion to cause such an effect; and we have 
no proof of one adequate, since the flood, in the 
time of Noah. The face of the earth was then pro¬ 
bably greatly changed, as there was a breaking up 
or disruption, of all the waters of the globe. If 
there were once a continuous mountain of rocks, 
running across where the river now is, the force 
must have been most potent to have broken it and 
made the channel for the river, as we now behold it. 
Such theories may amuse, but are not to be admit- 1 


ted without strong proof. It has been conjectured, 
that the Mediterranean was once upland ; but we 
consider it altogether improbable, that it has suffer¬ 
ed any great alteration since the general deluge. 

Hudson river may be considered a natural canal, 
which, with the Erie canal, constructed in 1825, 
extends a continued water conveyance for produce, 
the distance of five hundred and twenty miles from 
the city of New York to Buffalo on Lake Erie. 
From New York to Albany, a distance of one hund¬ 
red and fifty miles, the passage in a steam-boat is 
now only about twelve or fourteen hours. Above 
Newburgh, there are several handsome cities and 
villages; indeed, they rank among the most beauti¬ 
ful in the country. The Champlain Canal, con¬ 
necting the waters of that lake with Hudson river, 
adds much to the business in navigation, between 
New York city and the north part of the State, 
and Vermont. 


The Halley Comet, having passed that part of 
iti orbit nearest the sun, is now on its return to its 
aphelion, in the far distant regions of space, the e.v- 
tremity of which, the imagination even is unable to 
conceive. It was discovered by the attentive as- 
stronomers of Yale College, with a large telescope, 
a few nights ago in the East: but it is not visible to 
the naked eye. Its progress has been most rapid 
since the first of September, when it drew near to 
the solar system. The elements, and the revolution 
of this comet, will probably be stated by the astrono¬ 
mers, more fully and accurately than had been done 
1 before 















































































































246 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


MR. MADISON. 

It can hardly be said, as has lately been asserted 
by a letter-writer, who had visited Mr. Madison, 
that he was ‘ one of the fathers of the Revolution 
lor he did not take part in the public political meas¬ 
ures till 1780, (when he was about thirty,) and the 
war began in 1775; and the discussions and pro¬ 
ceedings which led to it, and were preliminary and 
essential to it, were of an earlier date by ten years. 
The master-spirits, who argued the question be¬ 
tween the British government and the Colonies, 
who manfully protested against its arbitrary meas¬ 
ures, and convinced the people of the justice of 
their cause, and of the oppressions of the parent 
State—'they were ‘ the fathers of the Revolution;’ 
they are entitled to the highest praise,—and they 
wlio followed in their steps and supported the 
course began, are also deserving great credit for 
their resolution and patriotism. Mr. Madison was 
of this second class; but he early became distin¬ 
guished in the national councils, for his ability, and 
his devotion to the cause of American liberty. 
Soon after he became a member of Congress, in 
1731, he was placed on the committee for prepar¬ 
ing instructions to our Envoys then in Europe to 
negociate a treaty of peace with Great Britain. 
And no greater proof of confidence in his talents 
could have been given. Some of the members of 
Congress, from the New England States, I recollect, 
were not altogether satisfied with the instructions 
which he proposed to give to the Envoys. For it 
left too much to the French court, to dictate or de¬ 
cide as to the terms of a treaty; and did not insist, 
as a sine qua non, on a full and free right to the 
cod fishery. And it was the wish of the New 
England delegation, that this right should be fully 
recognised by treaty, and not to depend on the 
pleasure of any government to grant as a privilege. 
The instructions were modified accordingly ; and 
John Adams and John Jay, two of our Ambassa- 
dours then in Europe, faithfully urged our right and 
claim to the fishing ground, and thus secured a 
a great benefit to the Eastern States. 

Mr. Madison was a very active and efficient ad¬ 
vocate of the federal Constitution in 1788. His 
influence probably decided the question of its adop¬ 
tion in Virginia. And it is well known that his 
powerful pen, with the aid of Jay and Hamilton, 
contributed greatly to recommend it to the people 
of the United States, and to remove objections 
which were early raised against it. 

Whether the war of 1812, which was declared 
when Mr. Madison was President of the United 
States, and was brought to a close during his ad¬ 
ministration, without securing the objects, for which 
it was professedly made was right; is an inquiry not 
proper perhaps, for us to answer, or settle ; but it is a 
part of the secret history of that period, that Mr. Mad¬ 
ison himself was not fully in favour of that calami¬ 
tous measure, but was induced to approve of it 
officijil'.) by the urgent advice of his political friends 
and supporters. 

Mr. Madison is admitted by men of all parties to 
be a great statesman, and a sincere patriot. But it 
has been a question, whether he had the firmness 
of Washington ; or that degree of it, which the 


Chief Magistrate of this great Republic ought to 
possess. 

Mr. Madison’s opinions and views of tlie nature 
and powers of the federal Government are entitled 
to great respect. We believe they are strictly or¬ 
thodox. He says, it is partly federal and partly 
national— national, as to certain general j>urposes, 
as defined and delegated to Congress lor the wel¬ 
fare of the whole Union ; but federal also and 
chiefly, as the Constitution is a comj)act made by 
several independent Governments or States; and 
by and according to which they are united or con¬ 
federated as States, and not as a whole |)eople en 
mass. The majority of the people in each State 
govern; and therefore, their voice determined a 
State to accede to and adopt the Constitution ; and 
the majority, or two-thirds, of the States was neces¬ 
sary to establish the new Federal Government. It 
is always to be recollected also, that no power can 
be rightfully exercised by Congress, except what 
the States have delegated to it. ‘ 


A WARNING TO DRUNKARDS AND EXCESSIVE DRINKERS 
OF DISTILLED LIQUORS. 

There are several instances on record, authenti¬ 
cated by the most unexceptionable testimony, of 
habitual drunkards having been burnt up, by the 
intense internal heat of their bodies, owing to long 
and excessive use of ardent spirits. And the fact 
is satisfactorily explained by considering that alcohol 
is highly inflammatory and combustible. We have 
noticed several of these cases in our Magazine, which 
were stated and testified to, by learned and honour¬ 
able witnesses. The following case is in confirma¬ 
tion of the fact, that alcohol is combustible, and that 
it is fully capable of producing such eflects as have 
been before stated. The case to which we allude, 
is that of the burning of the blood of an habitual 
and obstinate drunkard. A medical student pre¬ 
vailed on a man, long given to intemperance, and 
who had for some time drank with great excess of 
rum, and eaten very little, to be bled. A pint bowl 
of the blood of the drunkard, was touched by a 
match, when a conflagration immediately ensued ; 
burning with a blue flame for about thirty seconds. 

‘Are they not Ministering Spirits ? ’—Heb. i, 14. 
What though we see no bright array, 

Nor flaming seraphs cleave the air; 

Blest spirits camp around our way, 

And God himself is present there,— 

’Mid wat’ry waste or woodland dell. 

Lone field, or crowded city’s pile. 

The armies of Emmanuel 

Marshal unseen, their radiant file. 

And silent oft some angel arm 

Is raised to aid the drooping saint. 

To lighten grief, forfend from harm. 

To cheer the sad, revive the faint. 

And when, released from earthly ties. 

The soul from death’s cold bed shall spring, 

Calm shall it seek its wished-for skies. 

Shelter’d beneath some seraph’s wing. 

Bright hosts of heaven ! I fain would see 
Your burning ranks unveiled around. 

And in your hallow’d company 
Feel every spot celestial ground. 

Fain would I live with God and you, 

More than with men and things of earth ; 

Till I may be a spirit too. 

Re-bom by death to heavenly birth. 

Christinn Obtervtr 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


347 



THE LIFE-liOAT, IN A STORM. 


If wo do not mistake, the first successful cfibrt in 
constructing a Life-boat was in 1790, by a Mr. 
Grealheed of England. It is said, he was induced 
to prepare the boat, from several (then) recent loss 
of lives by shipwrecks on the coast of Durham and 
Northumberland. In 1789, a large ship was strand¬ 
ed near the coast, and in a violent storm the crew 
all perished in plain view of the people on shore. 
A meeting was called, and a premium offered for 
the plan of a boat, on a principle, that it would not 
sink in the roughest sea. The invention of Mr. 
Greatheed was the result of this offer: and its value 
was soon proved, and recognised ; and in 1802, he 
received a reward from the British Parliament of 
£1200, and one hundred guineas from some mer¬ 
chants of London. On inquiry, before the reward 
was granted, it appeared to the satisfaction of a 
committee, that from 1790 to 1802, that three 
hundred persons had been saved by means of these 
boats off South Shields alone. And it was also 
proved, by the testimony of competent witnesses, 
that no sea, however high, would sink or upset the 
boat. It was stated by several experienced seamen, 
who had been in the boat, and who had seen her 
often go off and return, that it never failed in bring¬ 
ing away the crew from the wrecks, and vessels in 
distress. They also stated, that no other boat could 
have gone from the shore at the time in safety. 
The boat might be filled with water by the weaves, 
and yet would not founder, nor upset. It appears 
by recent accounts, that the Life-boat is more fre¬ 
quently used on the coasts of Durham and North 
umberland, which are very dangerous, than other 
pvts of England. 


The peculiar benefit of the Life-boat consists in 
its buoyancy,—the bottom is hollow and air-tight; 
and the sides are surrounded by boxes, or apart¬ 
ments air-tight. Some of these boats are lately 
furnished with copper tubes. The sides being di¬ 
vided into several parts, prevents danger to the boat 
when struck by a cross-wave; which, however, will 
seldom happen, as both ends of the boat are form¬ 
ed alike, and its direction can be changed with¬ 
out much exposure in a tempestuous sea. When 
the boat ascends a wave, the water which may have 
been shipped passes out at the lowest end, through 
holes made for that purpose. One of these boats, 
build at Sunderland in 1800, is twenty-six feet long, 
and nine and a half wide. The division of the sides 
into several parts is considered essential to the 
safety of the boat; and the air-holes are equally im¬ 
portant. They discharge the water in less than one 
minute, even if the boat were full. The boat is 
usually manned by eight or ten persons; and k ap¬ 
pears, that after a little experience, they meet every 
difficulty and every peril with great coolness and 
resolution. And their benevolence is equal to their 
courage. Indeed, this is the general character of 
the sailor, both British and American. They seem 
regardless of their own lives, when they see others 
in danger. The Life-boat has been instrumental 
of saving many from sudden death on the English 
coasts, within the last forty years. 

It is matter of surprise that a similar plan, m 
order to prevent the loss of lives by shipwrecks on 
the coast of the United States, has not been 
adopted; especially,as th« above plan has succeed¬ 
ed in England. 





















248 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


f 


ANECDOTE OF A FRENCHMAN, WHO DWELT AMONG 
THE SAVAGES 

Philip De Cocq, who was born in a little village 
of Pitou, went to Canada in his infancy, served 
there as a soldier, at the age of twenty years, dur¬ 
ing the war of 1754, and after the battle of Quebec 
retired to the country of the Five Nations, where, 
having married an Indian woman, he renounced 
the customs of his native land to adopt the manners 
of the savages. When I was travelling through 
the wilds of America, I was not a little surprised to 
hear that I had a countryman established as a resi¬ 
dent, at some distance in the woods. I visited him 
with eagerness, and found him employed in point¬ 
ing some stakes at the door of his hut. He cast a 
look towards me, which was cold enough, and con¬ 
tinued his work ; but the moment*! addressed him 
in French, he started at the recollection of his coun¬ 
try, and the big tear stood in his eye. These well- 
known accents suddenly roused, in the heart of the 
old man, all the sensations of his infancy. In youth 
we little regret the pleasures of our first years ; but 
the further we advance into life the more interest¬ 
ing to us becomes the recollection of them; for 
then, every one of our days supplies a sad subject 
for comparison. Philip intreated me to enter his 
dwelling, and I followed him. He had considera¬ 
ble difficulty in expressing what he meant. I saw 
him labour to regain the ancient ideas of civilized 
man, and I watched him most closely. For in¬ 
stance, I had an opportunity of observing that there 
were two kinds of relative things absolutely effaced 
from his mind, viz. that of any superfluity being 
proper, and that of annoying others without an ab¬ 
solute necessity for it. I did not choose to put my 
grand question, till after some hours of conversation 
had restored to him a sufficiency of words and ideas. 
At last I said to him : ‘ Philip, are you happy ?’ He 
knew not at first how to reply.—‘ Happy,’ said he, 
reflecting—‘ happy ! Yes; but happy only since I 
became a savage.’—‘ And how do you pass your 
life?’ asked I.—He laughed—‘I understand you,’ 
continued I. ‘You think such a question unworthy 
of an answer. But should you not like to resume 
your former mode of living, and return to your 
country?’—‘My country! France! If I were not 
so old, I should like to see it again.’—‘ And you 
would not remain there?’ added I.—The motion of 
Philip’s head answered my question sufficiently. 

‘ But what induced you,’ continued I, ‘to become 
what you call a savage ?’—‘ I don’t know,’ said he, 
—‘ instinct.’ This expression put an end to my 
doubts and questions. I remained two days with 
Philip, in order to observe him, and never saw him 
swerve for a single moment from the assertion he 
had made. His soul, free from the conflict of so¬ 
cial passions, appeared to me, in the language of 
the savages with whom he dwelt, calm as the field 
of battle after the warriors had smoked together the 
calumet of peace.— Chateaubriand. 

THE DOG KEEPER. 

The Dog is a remarkable animal in many re¬ 
spects : And there is a great variety of them, though 
believed, by writers on natural history, to have all 
proceeded from a common origin. They have some 


properties in common with the fox and the w'olf, but 
most resemble the latter; and are Indeed considered 
of the same genus. All kinds of Dogs have power¬ 
ful instincts, which places them near the rational 
creation. The elephant and the horse have similar 
powers and capacities. The Dog is sagacious, and 
discriminates by intuition, or instinct, with accuracy 
and promptness. And he is valuable also for 
fidelity and kindness towards those from whom he 
has received kind treatment, and in whose service 
he has been long engaged. There are many won¬ 
derful stories on record, of their attachment, sagac¬ 
ity and fidelity. Their ability to find the clothes or 
property or residence of their master, even when at 
a great distance, is very wonderful, and has been 
often related. One was carried to New Orleans 
from Boston, by water : and he soon returned to his 
master in the latter city, by land. 

The dog Keeper, was the offspring of a large 
Newfoundlander, and the old Finglish Ban dog: 
The sire could all but speak, and the mother had 
uncommon qualities, developed in fact by an excel¬ 
lent education. He was as fond of his master, as 
the master was of him ; and wmuld always accom¬ 
pany him, or find him, wherever he had gone, or 
however far distant. And when he found his mas¬ 
ter, he would look him in the face, in an inquisitive 
manner, as if he would ask, ‘may I go with you.’ 
If his master frowned on him, or did not look kind¬ 
ly, it was enough ; Keeper left him, though discon¬ 
solately, and returned to the house. The master 
never found it necessary to repeat his command; 
a look or nod w'as sufficient for Keeper. He knew 
what was meant, and instantly obeyed. After a 
long absence, on the return of the master, late in the 
evening. Keeper was the first to meet him, some rods 
from his house, and to offer his cordial though silent 
salutations. ‘ During my absence,’ said the owner, 
‘I sometimes forgot Keeper; but he did not forget 
me; though some other old friends were unable 
to recognise me.’ Keeper went with his master 
to the house of a friend, a very cold night, and w'hen 
the master entered, he supposed the dog would re¬ 
pair to his own shelter,—but at a late hour when ho 
retired, he found Keeper lying on the cold stone of 
the door, ready to escort him to his home in the 
sleet and dark. - 

Artesian Wells.— Wells which are made by 
boring to a great depth, called Artesian Wells, 
were first known in France ; but that peculiar mode 
of obtaining water has been pursued in other coun¬ 
tries. Improvements have been lately made in the 
construction of these Wells, in France, by which 
the impure water, near the surface of the earth, 
in populous places, can be carried off', as well as 
pure water raised from a great depth. In large 
cities, such a plan must be highly useful. 

‘ O, listen, man ! 

A voice within us speaks that startling word, 

‘ Man, thou shalt never die !’ Celestial voices 
Hymn it unto our souls; according harps. 

By angel fingers touched, when the mild stars 
Of morning sung together, sound forth still 
The song of our great immortality : 

Thick-clustering orbs, and this our fair domain. 

The tall, dark mountains, and the deep-toned seas. 

Join in this solemn, universal song.’ Dana 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


249 



BANK OF PENNSYLVANIA. 


The Bank of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is con¬ 
sidered among the elegant public buildings of this city, 
which is one of the first in the United States, for its 
literary institutions and for the good taste of its cit¬ 
izens. Philadelphia may justly boast of more build¬ 
ings apfiropriated f(ir [Miblic purposes than any other! 
in America. We have already referred to several | 
of these, with a view to excite a good taste for 
building in other parts of the country, as well as in 
a desire to do justice to the people of that ancient 
and justly renowned city. I 

The Bank of Pennsylvania fronts on Second Street, 1 
near Walnut Street. The view here given was ta¬ 


ken from Dock Square, and represents most promi¬ 
nently the western portico and ornamented grounds. 
The building is a parallelogram of 126 feet by 51, 
with two porticos of marble. The interiour of the 
Bank is so arranged as to unite convenience with 
elegance in a great degree. There is a circular 
banking room of 45 feet diameter, w hich is in the 
centre of the building. It is the opinion of the best 
judges in architecture, that the builder has succeed¬ 
ed in planning and constructing an edifice which 
affords an excellent specimen of the Grecian Ionic 
order in all its original purity and simplicity. 


THE PILGRIMS. 

The character of those resolute Englishmen who 
first settled upon the uncultivated shores of Massa¬ 
chusetts, the principles which governed them, the 
events connected with their history, both in Europe 
and in America, should never be forgotten. Their 
characters were composed of stern, enduring mate¬ 
rials, of moral courage, of active and suffering vir¬ 
tue ; their principles were piety to God, love of 
freedom, a conscientious adherence to duty, and a 
provident and most generous regard for posterity: 
and the story of their enterprise, sacrifices and la¬ 
bours, serves to show what may be effected by men 
acting under the influence of religion, and a deep 
sense^of their obligations to promote the moral good 
of future generations. With these impressions, I 
have thought you would readily give place to a few 
hasty remarks, touching our ancestors, the first Eng¬ 
lish inhabitants of New England. 

I am aware, that this subject has been frequently 


brought before the public. But can it be too often 
considered? Does not gratitude both to God and 
man require us to dwell upon it? Is it not useful 
to contemplate the characters and deeds of those 
brave and holy men? Can it fail to excite and 
strengthen a public spirit, a love of civil and relig¬ 
ious freedom, ardent feelings of benevolence, and 
elevated sentiments of piety? 

It is almost universally admitted, that our ances¬ 
tors, the founders of New England, were virtuous 
and religious men. Yet it is often said, by way of 
objection to them, that they were unreasonably strict, 
and in some degree chargeable with intolerance and 
bigotry. But what if we admit, that imperfection 
cleaved to their characters; that they laid undue 
stress upon some speculative and unimportant points, 
or were even intolerant in some cases, though in 
theory they were advocates for the rights of con-« 
science; there still remains so much to admire and 
to imitate, that we are fully justified in holding up 

32 






































































250 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


their characters and principles as worthy of uncom¬ 
mon praise. 

The consequences of the enterprise, which origi¬ 
nated in their rare and disinterested virtue, have 
been extensively beneficial. Rut these effects per¬ 
haps, will be attributed, in part at least, to the state 
of the world, and to circumstances not altogether 
under their controul: Be it so. A new world was 
open before them; and a theatre was prepared by 
the God of nature for the exhibition of their gene¬ 
rous dispositions and noble purposes. Still the 
leaven was in them; in their principles, in their dis¬ 
interestedness, their unconquerable love of liberty, 
their resolute adherence to duty, and to the voice 
of God, speaking to them in his holy word. 

Do we realize how much we owe to these men? 
Do we consider how much they suffered in our be¬ 
half? Do we appreciate, as we ought, their respect 
for the rights of conscience? Their resolution, their 
perseverance, their sacrifices, their disregard of self, 
and their willingness to endure reproach, persecu¬ 
tion, and the loss of all things worldly, for the cause 
of truth, of freedom, and of religion? 

These are the traits of character, for which (with 
all their mistakes and imperfections) we are called 
upon to cherish a grateful and respectful sense of 
the memories of our ancestors. They opposed civil 
and ecclesiastical tyranny, at the hazard of every 
thing personal and every thing worldly. They felt 
their responsibilities as rational and moral beings. 
They were diligent and faithful in seeking to learn 
their duty and the divine will; and under the gui¬ 
dance of a spirit of piety, of a pure conscience and 
of a sound mind, they devoted themselves to defend 
the cause of truth, with an ardour and firmness, not 
exceeded, if equalled, since the days of the Apos¬ 
tles. 

It is almost impossible to estimate the blessings 
and benefits of their resolute efforts, too highly. It 
is appalling, even in imagination, to think of the 
despotism, bigotry, ignorance and degradation, which 
would have still covered the earth, had not the 
English Puritans, the Leyden and Plymouth Pilgrims, 
the Massachusetts Company of Non-Conformists, 
opposed most resolutely the united power of the 
crown and the mitre, and thus exposed themselves 
fearlessly to persecution, poverty and martyrdom. 

But, blessed be God, ‘ the darkness is past, and 
the true light begins to shine.’ Luther and Calvin 
began the glorious work of religious reformation, 
which shed a cheering light upon the cause of civil 
liberty. ‘ The former cannot exist without the lat¬ 
ter.’ The Puritans, says the royal historian Hume, 
kept alive the spark of political freedom, in the days 
of the Charleses and of James II. But they stop¬ 
ped far short of perfection. They, indeed, resolved 
to see with their own eyes, and not to trust to the 
limited and cloudy vision of their predecessors ; and 
yet, they would have had all others see only as they 
saw. Not so the celebrated, the prophetic Robin¬ 
son. He perceived that ‘ more light was to break 
forth from the word of God.’ He believed that 
‘ the kingdom of God was progressive; ’ and with 
a truly Christian and liberal spirit, he exhorted his 
people, ‘ to examine and think for themselves ; and 
to follow him only in so far as he had followed 
Christ and his gospel.’ 


This is the spirit which is to regenerate and im¬ 
prove the world. It recognises ‘ the march of 
mind ;’ it encourages inquiry; it provides for con¬ 
stant progression in the cause of moral truth and 
human happiness. It is with these impressions and 
under these convictions, that I am led to anticipate 
the vast benefits flowing from the principles and 
efforts of our pious forefathers. The most happy 
and the most extensive results are evidently to fol¬ 
low from the difl'usion of such a spirit, and from an 
imitation of the noble example of the Puritans. 

At the present day, indeed, and especially in our 
favoured country, we need not fear persecution, or 
chains, or tortures. But are we not accessible to 
the ignoble and debasing influence of low ambition, 
of ease, and wealth, and of a love of popularity, 
which may deter us from the exercise of that inde¬ 
pendent spirit, which our fathers exhibited; to do 
and suffer ourselves for the great good of posterity 
and of mankind? ‘ Nothing important,’ says the 
elder Mr. Adams, ‘ is to be achieved, but by great 
efforts and perseverance, but by disinterested and 
ardent patriotism.’ ^ 

The merits of Carver, Robinson, Bradford, Wins¬ 
low, Standish, and Brewster, of Endicot, Winthrop, 
Phillips, Saltonsiall, and others, have been often 
and justly recited. But there was a Shirley, an 
Andrews, a Beauchamp, and a Hatherly, (most of 
whom, never came to America,) without whose 
generous co-operation and support, the feeble band 
of the Pilgrims would have been broken in pieces, 
and scattered to the four winds of heaven. 

Sons of the Pilgrims, go on in the glorious career 
which they commenced, under so many obstacles 
and discouragements. They have trodden the path 
to immortality. Let us build upon their foundation. 
Let us cherish the interests of learning and of relig¬ 
ion, the cause of free inquiry and of civil liberty ; 
and strengthen and improve the institutions, which 
they established. Let us imitate their virtues, im¬ 
bibe their noble spirit of independence, and their 
preeminent love of truth; and thus contribute our 
humble part to the improvement and happiness of 
our race. 

An interesting work relating to the Pilgrims, 
has recently been published in Boston, called 
“ The Peep at the Pilgrims in 1636, a Tale of 
Olden Times; by Mrs. H. V. Cheny.” A book 
every one should read. 


ASTRONOMY. —continued. 

The Planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and 
Saturn, have been known from the earliest ages in 
which astronomy has been cultivated. Uranus was 
discovered by Sir W. Herschel in 1781, March 13, 
in the course of a review of the heavens, in which 
every star visible in a telescope of a certain power 
was brought under close examination, when the new 
planet was immediately detected by its disc, under 
a high magnifying power. It has since been ascer¬ 
tained to have been observed on many previous 
occasions, with telescopes of insufficient power to 
show its disc, and even entered in catalogues as a 
star; and some of the observations which have been 
so recorded have been used to improve and extend 
our knowledge of its orbit. The discovery of the 




251 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


ultra-zodiacal planets dates from the first day of 1801, 
when Ceres was discovered by Piazzi, at Palermo ; 
a discovery speedily followed by those of Juno by 
Professor Harding, o( Gottingen; and of Pallas and 
Vesta, by Dr. Olbers, ot Bremen. It is extremely 
remarkable that this important addition to our sys¬ 
tem had been in some sort surmised as a thing not 
unlikely, on the groujid that the intervals between 
the planetary orbits go on doubling as we recede 
from the sun, or nearly so. Thus, the interval be¬ 
tween the orbits of the Earth and Venus is nearly 
twice that between those of Venus and Mercury ; 
that between the orbits of Mars and the Earth nearly 
twice that between the Earth and Venus ; and so on. 
The interval between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, 
however, is too great, and would form an exception to 
this law, which is, however, again resumed in the 
case of the three remoter planets. It was, there¬ 
fore, thrown out, by the late Professor Bode of 
Berlin, as a possible surmise, that a planet might 
exist between Mars and Jupiter; and it may easily 
be imagined what was the astonishment of as¬ 
tronomers to find four, revolving in orbits tolerably 
well corresponding with the law in question. No 
account, a priori, or from theory, can be given of 
this singular progression, which is not, like Kepler’s 
laws, strictly exact in its numerical verification ; but 
the circumstances we have just mentioned lead to 
a strong belief that it is something beyond a mere 
accidental coincidence, and belongs to the essential 
structure of the system. It has been conjectured 
that the ultra-zodiacal planets are fragments of some 
greater planet, which formerly circulated in that in¬ 
terval, but has been blown to atoms by an explo¬ 
sion ; and that more such fragments exist, and may 
be hereafter discovered. This may serve as a spec¬ 
imen of the dreams in which astronomers, like other 
speculators, occasionally and harmlessly indulge. 

We shall devote the rest of this article to an ac¬ 
count of the physical peculiarities and probable 
condition of the several planets, so far as the for¬ 
mer are known by observation, or the latter rest on 
probable grounds of conjecture. In this, three fea¬ 
tures principally strike us, as necessarily productive 
of extraordinary diversity in the provisions by which, 
if they be, like our earth, inhabited, animal life must 
be supported. There are, first, the difference in 
their respective supplies of light and heat from the 
sun ; secondly, the difference in the intensities of 
the gravitating forces which must subsist at their 
surfaces, or the different ratios which, on their sev¬ 
eral globes, the inertia of bodies must bear to their 
weights; and, thirdly, the difference in the nature 
of the materials of which, from what we know of 
their mean density, we have every reason to believe 
they consist. The intensity of solar radiation is 
nearly seven times greater on Mercury than on the 
Earth, and on Uranus 330 times less ; the propor¬ 
tion between the two extremes being that of up¬ 
wards of 2000 to one. Let any one figure to himself 
the condition of our globe, were the sun to be 
septupled, to say nothing of the greater ratio! or 
were it diminished to a seventh, or to a 300th of 
its actual power! Again, the intensity of gravity, 
or its efficacy in counteracting muscular power and 
repressing animal activity on Jupiter is nearly three 


times that on the Earth, on Mars not more than one 
third, on the Moon one sixth, and on the four 
smaller planets probably not more than one twen¬ 
tieth ; giving a scale of which the extremes are in 
the proportion of sixty to one. Lastly, the density 
of Saturn hardly exceeds one eighth of the mean 
density of the earth, so that it must consist of ma¬ 
terials not much heavier than cork. Now, under 
the various combinations of elements so important 
to life as these, what immense diversity must we not 
admit in the conditions of that great problem, the 
maintenance of animal and intellectual existence 
and happiness, which seems, so far as we can judge 
by what we see around us in our own planet, and 
by the way in which every corner of it is crowded 
with living beings, to form an unceasing and worthy 
object for the exercise of the Benevolence and Wis¬ 
dom which presides over all! 

Quitting, however, the region of mere specula¬ 
tion, we will now show what information the tele¬ 
scope affords us of the actual condition of the seve¬ 
ral planets within its reach. Of Mercury we can 
see little more than that it is round, and exhibits 
phases. It is too small, and too much lost in the 
constant neighbourhood of the Sun, to allow us to 
make out more of its nature. The real diameter of 
Mercury is about 3200 miles : its apparent diameter 
varies from 5" to 12". Nor does Venus offer any 
remarkable peculiarities: although its real diameter 
is 7800 miles, and although it occasionally attains 
the considerable apparent diameter of 61", which is 
larger than that of any other planet, it is yet the 
most difficult of them all to define with telescopes. 
The intense lustre of its illuminated part dazzles 
the sight, and exaggerates every imperfection of the 
telescope; yet we see clearly that its surface is not 
mottled over with permanent spots like the Moon ; 
we perceive in it neither mountains nor shadows, 
but a uniform brightness, in which sometimes we 
may, indeed, fancy obscurer portions, but can sel¬ 
dom or never rest fully satisfied of the fact. It is 
from some observations of this kind that both Ve¬ 
nus and Mercury have been concluded to revolve 
on their axes in about the same time as the Earth. 
The most natural conclusion, from the very rare 
appearance and want of permanence in the spots, 
is, that we do not see, as in the Moon, the real sur¬ 
face of these planets, but only their atmospheres, 
much loaded with clouds, and which may serve to 
mitigate the otherwise intense glare of their sun¬ 
shine. 

The case is very different with Mars. In this 
planet we discern, with perfect distinctness, the out¬ 
lines of what may be continents and seas. Of these, 
the former are distinguished by that ruddy colour 
which characterizes the light of this planet (which 
always appears red and fiery), and indicates, no 
doubt, an ochrey tinge in the general soil, like what 
the red sandstone districts on the Earth may possi¬ 
bly offer to the inhabitants of Mars, only more de¬ 
cided. Contrasted with this (by a general law in 
optics), the seas, as we may call them, appear green¬ 
ish. These spots, however, are not always to be 
seen equally distinct, though, when seen, they offer 
always the same appearance. This may arise from 
the planet not being entirely destitute of atmosphere 




252 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


and clouds; and what adds greatly to the probabilityof 
this is the appearance of brilliant white spots at its 
poles,—which have been conjectured with a great deal 
of probability to be snow; as they disappear when they 
have long been exposed to the sun, and are great¬ 
est when just emerging from the long night of their 
polar winter. By watching the spots during a whole 
night, and on successive nights, it is found that Mars 
has a rotation on an axis inclined about 30*^ 18" to 
the ecliptic, and in a period of 24*“ 29"' 21“ in 
the same direction as the Earth’s, or from west to 
east. The greatest and least apparent diameters 
of Mars are 4" and 18", and its real diameter about 
4100 miles. ^ 

We come now to a much more magnificent pla¬ 
net, Jupiter, the largest of them all, being in diam¬ 
eter no less than 87,000 miles, and in bulk exceeding 
that of the Earth nearly 1300 times. It is, more¬ 
over, dignified by the attendance of four moons, 
satellites, or secondary planets, as they are called, 
which constantly accompany and revolve about it, 
as the Moon does round the Earth, and in the same 
direction, forming with their principal, or primary, 
a beautiful miniature system, entirely analogous to 
that greater one of which their central body is itself 
a member, obeying the same laws, and exemplify¬ 
ing, in the most striking and instructive manner, 
the prevalence of the gravitating power as the ruling 
principle of their motions: of these, however, we 
shall speak more at large in the next chapter. 

The disc of Jupiter is always observed to be cross¬ 
ed in one certain direction by dark bands or belts. 
These belts are, however, by no means alike at all 
times; they vary in breadth and in situation on the 
disc (though never in their general direction). They 
have even been seen broken up, and distributed over 
the whole face of the planet: but this phenomenon 
isextremely rare. Branches running out from them, 
and subdivisions, as represented in the figure, as 
well as evident dark spots, like strings of clouds, are by 
no means uncommon ; and from these, attentively 
watched, it is concluded that this planet revolves in 
the surprisingly short period of 9'* 55"' 50“ (sid. 
time), on an axis perpendicular to the direction of 
the belts. Now, it is very remarkable, and forms 
a most satisfactory comment on the reasoning by 
which the spheroidal figure of the earth has been 
deduced from its diurnal rotation, that the outline 
of Jupiter’s disc is evidently not circular, but ellip¬ 
tic, being considerably flattened in the direction of 
its axis of rotation. This appearance is no optical 
illusion, but is authenticated by micrometrical meas¬ 
ures, which assign 107 to 100 for the proportion of 
the equatorial and polar diameters. And to con¬ 
firm, in the strongest manner, the truth of those 
principles on which our former conclusions have 
been founded, and fully to authorize their extension 
to this remote system, it appears, on calculation, 
that this is really the degree of oblateness which cor¬ 
responds, on those principles, to the dimensions of 
Jupiter, and to the time of his rotation. 

A still more wonderful, and, as it may be termed, 
elaborately artificial mechanism, is displayed in Sa¬ 
turn, the next in order of remoteness to Jupiter, to 
which it is not much inferior in magnitude, being 
about 79,000 miles in diameter, nearly 1000 times 


exceeding the Earth in bulk, and subtending an ap¬ 
parent angular diameter at the earth, of about 16". 
This stupendous globe, besides being attended by 
no less than seven satellites or moons, is surround¬ 
ed with two broad, flat, extremely thin rings, con¬ 
centric with the planet and with each other; both 
lying in one plane, and separated by a very narrow 
interval from each other throughout their whole cir¬ 
cumference, as they are from the planet by a much 
wider. 


GOVERNOR EVERETT’S SPEECH. 

We have purposely avoided entering into party 
politics, in editing this work; nor do we 
intend now to deviate from that purpose. But we 
cannot refrain from expressing our particular grati¬ 
fication on a perusal of the inaugural address of 
Governor Everett, before the Legislature of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in January 1836. As it is free from mere 
party feelings, and is conciliating and candid in re¬ 
lation to some topics, on which all do not think 
precisely alike, we think no oflence can be taken 
by any, in declaring our general approbation of the 
speech. Several highly important subjects are no¬ 
ticed ; but it is hazarding little, we think, to say, 
that the people will cordially respond to the senti¬ 
ments advanced, with equal frankness and candour. 
On capital punishment, if we mistake not, the public 
opinion will be in favour of the suggestion, that it 
should be abolished in all cases, except that of wilful 
and deliberate murder. As to slavery, every one who 
considers the federal compact, it is believed must sub¬ 
scribe to the opinion of the Governor on the subject. 
In recommending the abolishment of incarceration 
merely fordebt, the people will say Amen. If there still 
are any abuses or oppressions to be found in the ex¬ 
isting usages or practice of the law, they also should 
be removed. We pretend not to say there are any. 
But there should be no unnecessary delay, and no 
heavy expenses necessarily incurred, when an honest 
poor man has occasion to appeal to the courts for pro¬ 
tection or for justice.—The speech altogether shows 
the friend and the advocate of the people. The 
Governor is not the exclusive friend of the rich ; no: 
he is against all monopolies, and the grant of par¬ 
ticular privileges to any class of men. ‘ The great¬ 
est good of the greatest number,’ is his motto, as it 
always must be of every sincere republican. He • 
is for equal rights and equal justice. A nd since the ad¬ 
ministration of Gov. Brooks, no one has expressed 
sentiments more republican, or more consonant to 
the doctrines of the fathers of the Revolution. 


Indiana. —It is a remarkable fact, that the farm¬ 
ers in fifty-eight counties in Indiana can transport 
their productions from their own doors by water, 
in flat boats to market. Sixteen are bounded or 
intersected by the Wabash—ten by the north branch 
of White river—twenty by the south and its forks 
—fourteen by the Ohio and its little tributaries— 
five by Lake Michigan and St. Joseph’s, and others 
by other branches and creeks. From all parts of 
the State, farmers and mechanics can prepare their 
freight, and in the winter season float oft' to New 
Orleans or other markets, and return in season for 
another year’s labour. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 253 

ARTILLERY AND DRAGOONS. 



Train of French Artillery of I83v 


We cannot boast of much knowledge of military 
costume or tactics, having never served even in the 
ranks of a militia company, nor are we gifted with a 
taste for military parade or en'oi Is. Ihit in saying this, 
vve mean not to condemn the militia svstem; we should 
like ralluir to see it improved, that it may be respect¬ 
able. and thus prevent a standing army, one of the 
greatest dangers in a nipubraian government. We 
have a res|K;ct for the citizen-soldii'r, and think the 
public treasury in each State shouKl be drawn upon, 
for their efjuipments, and for a reasonable compen¬ 
sation for the time they devote to military discipline. 
But for a military, whose trade is war, we have no 
sympathy, nor can we act the part of an apologist. 
Our fathers of the Revolution were not fond of war; 
they were not mercenaries, but patriots, and buck¬ 
led on their armour in a day of peril to serve and 
to save the republic. But as we have a company 
of proud cavaliers, in the costume of modern ar¬ 
tillery, to present to our readers, some explanation 
will be expected. 

The use of artillery in military enterprise is of 
comparatively modern date ; and was not adopted 
till after the invention or knowledge of gun powder; 
which, though as early as the 12th or 13th century, 
was not applied to warlike purposes with cannon 
before the middle of the Mth. But soon after this 
time, it was known all through Europe: and gun¬ 
nery, or the use of artillery, became (]uitc a science. 
To manage artillery with good judgment and efl'cet, 
one must have experience in the use of cannon, and 
have a knowledge of mathematics and engineering. 
In flying artillery, much em[)loyed by Napoleon, 
it is necessary also to bo a good horseman. There 
is besides, a light artillery drawn by horses, but the 
men are not mounted. The latter is sometimes 
called artillery, as it is designed to be moved 

with greater rapidity than common heavy field ar¬ 
tillery. When artillery was first introducerl, though 
cavalry was used, its manoeuvres were awkward and 
inefficient. The emperor of Germany perceived 
the important use which might be made of it: and 
a general in the army of Frederic the Great showed 
its practicable effects. Bounaparte employed the 
cavalry in the artillery department more than any 
one of a preceding age. It would require too largo 


a space in our columns to give a minute des( ri[)tion 
of the habiliments and dress of one of the mounted 
artillery of dilferent periods. A brief notice must 
suffice. 

W^ith the foregoing view of some mounted or 
cavalry artillery, we give a drawing of a gunner, or 
one attached to cannon in the reign of Francis I, 
anil of two others in the time of Henry II. It may 



Artilleryman of Francis I, and Henry II. 


be proper to add, that the service of the artillery was 
extended and improved from 1500 to 1550; and 
bands or companies of artillerists were formed in 
all places where there were arsenals. In the French 
armies, from the 15th to 17th century, there was a 
great variety of cannon. Their calibre, determined 
by the weight of the ball, was from one to thirty- 
three pounds for the pieces most commonly used. 
Under Henry H, many were recast; and after him 
to the reign of Louis XHI, they had only seven 
different calibres. 

The men attached to the artillery acquired a high 
degree of consideration, when Sully had achieved 
the organization of his army. Before that time, there 
were only companies or bands of cannoniers, which 
were disbanded in time of peace. They were the 
most distinguished regiments of the army, and had 
charge of the materiel (the baggage.) d’he Swiss 
and Languenots, German infantry, frequently di¬ 
vided this honor. Sully established in their place 
some standing corps of bombardiers and cannoniers, 































254 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


to do service at all times. They perceived too late 
the insufficiency of these troops; and in 1691 was 
created the regiment of fusiliers du roi, which were 
specially attached to the service of the artillery. It 
was composed of four companies, one of cannoniers, 
one of sappers, and two of artificers. Twenty-two 
new companies, created the following year, made 
up a corps of two battalions of thirteen companies 
each, of which one was grenadiers. The number 
ol battalions was successively increased to six. In 
1684 companies of bombardiers, detached in differ¬ 
ent places, formed the regiment of royal bombard¬ 
iers, and in 1693 the regiment of fusiliers du roi 
took the name of regiment royal artillerie. 



Artillerymen of Louis XIV. 


DRAGOONS. 



Dragoons of 1554. 


A dragoon, or light-horseman, is of French origin ; 
which probably derived its name from the Roman 
draconarii, whose lances were adorned with figures 
of dragons. They were trained to fight either in 
or out of the line ; and singly or in a body. Though 
they were usually mounted, sometimes they 


fought on foot. Such armed horsemen were in 
use more than two centuries ago ; but experience 
proved that they did not answer the end designed, 
and they were seldom required to act with the in¬ 
fantry. In more recent times they form a useful 
kind of cavalry more heavy than hussars. Louis 
XIV, sent dragoons to convert, or chastise the Hu¬ 
guenots, in 1684. These were called dragoor^ 



Dragoon of 1684. 


conversions ; as sincere, no doubt, as other conver¬ 
sions made by persecutions and compulsion.—We 
cannot enter into details, as to the changes of their 
dress or arms, from one age to another. The ac¬ 
companying drawings will serve to give a general de¬ 
scription of their person and armour. 



Dragoon of 1834. 


It is an error to condemn pleasures merely as 
such—they may be innocent as well as criminal. 


Temperance in youth is the assurance of vigor¬ 
ous old age. 






































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


255 


PLACES OF PUBLIC RELIGIOUS WORSHIP IN 

BOSTON. 

According to a late census, the city of Boston 
contains 78,000 inhabitants; and by a report of the 
clergymen who are engaged in the religious instruc¬ 
tion of the poor, it appears that there are fifty 
places for religious worship belonging to Protestants ; 
besides two for the Roman Catholics. The num¬ 
ber of these are estimated at 8, or 10,000. There 
are then 70,000 or 68,000 Protestants for the fifty 
religious societies, three of which are new and small. 
Leaving forty-seven of tlie usual number, which are 
said to be 155 families on an average. If five to a 
family be assumed, the result is between 29 and 
30,000, who belong to and usually attend public 
worship, and (without including the Catholics) there 
must be 35,000 at least, who do not belong to, nor 
statedly attend societies for religious worship. If 
each family were supposed to contain six members, 
then the number who statedly and usually attend 
would be 10,000 more, viz. 40.000; which would 
still leave 28,000 who do not statedly attend. This 
result presents a serious view to the friends of vir¬ 
tue and social order. For what can be justly ex¬ 
pected of this part of the population, but disorder 
and crime? A partial remedy iiuleed, is applied. 
There are five places open for the religious instruc¬ 
tion of the poor. And the faithful and pious men 
devoted to this benevolent work, have done and are 
doing great good. But they are not sufficient for 
the labour of teaching so many people. The rich 
are called upon to furnish means of extending these 
benefits, by {)roviding places of worship, and com¬ 
pensating those who labour in the cause. 


GERMAN LITERATURE. 

The earliest written monument of the German 
language is the translation of the four gospels by 
bishop Ulphilas about the year 360. It was from 
the latin into what has been called the Moesogo- 
thic. This was earlier than any other of the living 
languages of Europe. In Gaul (France) the Franks 
first established schools in the sixth century ; but 
these taught barely reading and writing, and a little 
bad latin. As to German literature, it has neither 
been appreciated nor known by the English (our 
masters) till within the last half century. By the 
.earned and the inquisitive of the present genera¬ 
tion, it has been cultivated with great avidity and 
diligence. And by some of the theologians of our 
country, German literature and philosophy are view¬ 
ed with no favourable spirit. Some of the Sophists 
of that nation have shovvn less reverence for the 
Christian Scriptures, and have indulged in bolder 
theories and interpretations than the English di¬ 
vines had usually adopted. They seem desirous 
of subjecting all systems and doctrines to the test 
of human reason ; even those which are derived from 
revelation. The liberal, or rational divines of Eng¬ 
land and America contend (as all consistent protes- 
tants must) for the use and exercise of reason in 
the interpretation of Scripture. And yet, as to what 
is purely a matter of faith, they do not insist on the 
umpirage of human reason. The declarations of 
Scripture respecting the character of God, and the 


future and immortal destiny of man, liberal theolo¬ 
gians admit, without proof from reason ; because 
reason is not competent to decide ; and so also as to 
miracles, their reality is matter of faith, arising from 
historical evidence. Still there is nothing irrational 
or absurd admitted into their creed. But the Ger¬ 
man philosophers, or rationalists, of the present day, 
unless much misrepresented, demand a reason for 
every thing required to be believed; or, in other 
words, they reject or doubt whatever is not fully 
proved by reason to be true, or to exist. They 
therefore seem to set human reason above or in op¬ 
position to revelation, instead of making it the hand¬ 
maid, or the interpreter of it. The liberal theolo¬ 
gian considers reason the original revelation ; and 
the written one as a help, a guide, an addition to, 
and an improvement of that first impressed on the 
mind of man. What then is clearly taught by the 
last, reason teaches us to admit; and yet what the 
scriptures do really teach or reveal, reason only can 
decide or ascertain. 

German literature may be said to have begun, in 
the eighth century, in the reign of Charlemagne. 
This Prince established numerous monastic schools, 
collected documents of the language and laws, or¬ 
dered that religious instruction should be in Ger¬ 
man, and caused translations from the latin to be 
made. His immediate successors showed little re¬ 
gard for the interests of learning; but in the tenth 
or eleventh centuries, the Othos were the active pa¬ 
trons of literature. About this period, public libra¬ 
ries were formed, and a number of learned men 
flourished in Germany. From this time to the Re¬ 
formation, little progress was made in gooil learning, 
the great object of study being to snp[)ort the dog¬ 
mas and legends of the Romish church. In the 
sixteenth century, Erasmus, Luther,Melancthon and 
others were alike friendly to literature and religion. 
Schools and libraries vvere multiplied ; and philology 
and theology mutually assisted each other. 


THE STUDIES OF THE A^OUNG. 

We all admit that there is no royal or privileged road 
to science. No one can acquire or purchase learn¬ 
ing, but by labour and study. Attention and appli¬ 
cation are indispensible on the part of the pupil. 
Method, or system, is as necessary as study; And 
judgment in the teacher, in his requirements of the 
young, is equally important. But, in this respect, it 
is feared, that many err, We refer to the very 
young, under the age of ten or twelve, (and yet 
the remark would be just if applied to them) when 
w'e observe, that the mind is injured by requiring 
close application for a long period. The mind of 
the young will not bear a heavy load; and even with a 
light load, it will need recreation and repose. The 
memory is often too much crowded. It is filled to 
a plethora. And there is not mental power to di¬ 
gest or to bear it. The ideas are indistinct, and 
therefore confused. Nothing is fully and thoroughly 
understood. Or different subjects and topics are 
presented at once to the mind, and due discrimina¬ 
tion is not made. One subject should be well un¬ 
derstood and disposed of, before another is presented, 
unless it be for the sake of illustration. Teaching 





25G 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


by compulsion is also, generally, ill-judged ; espe¬ 
cially for those quite young. The instruction offer¬ 
ed will not attach ; there must be a willingness to 
receive it, or it is like water spilt on the ground. 
The child must be allured and enticed to study. It 
must be induced to put forth its own jiowers, feeble 
as they are, to ac(]uire what i» tendered, and to 
make it its own. Encouragemenis should be used. 
It is more easily wrought upon by commendation 
and kindness, than by angry menaces. If a child 
has any docility of mind, it will be manifested by 
persuasion; compulsion will not create it nor 
strengthen it. And if a love of learning and a de¬ 
sire for mental improvement do nut e.vist, and can¬ 
not first be kindled, there will be little ho[)e of 
advancing in the path of knowledge. The principle 
of emulation should not be disregarded ; but should 
not be made the only or cliief inducement to study. 
Children of ordinary capacity may be injured and 
discouraged, if the only motive to study which is 
presented to their minds is that of rivalry to others. 
Neither the intellect nor the dispositions of children 
are formed in one and the same mould. A judicious 
teacher will endeavour first to learn the temper and 
capacity of his pupil: and a faithful one will not be 
satisfied with the routine of instruction si.x hours a 
day. He deserves no thanks and he can claim no 
merit for that. He must study the tastes and powers 
and tempers of his pupils; and with kindness and 
discrimination, adapt his instructions and require¬ 
ments to each one, as it will endure and be benefit¬ 
ed by them. 

DESTRUCTION BY WAR. 

During the war betw'een England and France, 
which closed in 1763, the French lost thirty ships 
of the line, including four 50 gun ships— tioenty- 
frigates, and twenty-one sloops of war, from 24 
to 16 guns. And eleven more, (four of the line) 
were lost by being wrecked. The English lost one 
of sixty guns, one of fifty, and eight of from 24 to 
18 guns—and by accident they lost thirteen ships 
of the line, (including four fifty gun ships) and 
fourteen frigates, including seven sloops of war— 
making a total of ships lost by both nations, one 
hundred and thirty-four. Other property as w’ell as 
lives lost must have been immense! Such is the 
calamity such the destruction of war. 

THE WOLF.— (Canis Lupus.) 

The Wolf resembles a large dog, in which species it 
is classed ; and some even supposed it the original 
stock of the domestic dog: but their characters are 
exceedingly different. This animal is found both 
in Europe and America: whether they are of the 
same species seems not to be decided. In the first 
settlement of the British colonies, the wolf was every 
w'here found, but since the settlements have increas¬ 
ed, it has almost disappeared. The American, like 
the European Wolf evidently prefers a solitary life. 
It is fortunate that he does so. He is very destruc¬ 
tive to sheep ; and in the new settlements of Maine, 
New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, it 
has done much injury to the farmers, within forty and 
even twenty years: nor are their depredations yet 
entirely unheard of. There is also the barking or 
prairie Wolf, in the plains of Missouri. 


ON THE DEATH OF THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD. 

When first, descending from the moorlands, 

I saw the stream of Yarrow glide 
Along a bare and open valley, 

The Ettrick shepherd was my guide. 

When last along its banks I wandered, 

• Thro’ groves that had begun to shed 

Their golden leaves upon the pathways, 

My steps the Border Minstrel led. 

The mighty Minstrel breathes no longer, 

’Mid mouldering ruins low he lies; 

And death upon the braes of Yarrow 
Has closed the Shepherd-Poet’s eyes. 

Nor has the rolling year twice measured. 

From sign to sign, his steadfast course. 

Since every mortal power of Coleridge 
Was frozen at its marvellous source. 

The rapt one, of the godlike forehead. 

The heaven-eyed creature sleeps in earth; 

And Latnb, the frolic and the gentle. 

Has vanished from his lonely hearth. 

Like clouds that rake the mountain summits. 

Or waves that own no curbing hand. 

How fast has brother followed brother 
From sunshine to the sunless land! 

Yet I, whose lids from infant slumbers 
Were earlier raised, remain to hear 
A timid voice that asks in whispers, 

‘ Who next will drop and disappear?’ 

Our haughty life is crowned with darkness, 

Like London with its own black wreath. 

On which, with thee, O Crabbe, forth-looking 
I gazed from Hampstead’s breezy heath; 

As if but yesterday departed. 

Thou, too, are gone before; yet why 
For ripe fruit seasonably gathered 
Should frail survivors heave a sigh? 

No more of old romantic sorrows 

For slaughtered youth and love-lorn maid,— 

With sharper grief is Yarrow smitten. 

And Ettrick mourns her Shepherd dead! 

Wordsworth. 


TO THE YOUNG. 

’Tis the morning of life—Be blithe and gay. 

As the birds which around thee sing; 

Yet remember that morn is but part of thy day. 

That evening its shadows must bring. 

And the darkness of night must soon follow that eve 
When the fast fading twilight hath taken its leave. 

But fear thou not, let thy morning be spent 
So that eve its course may approve. 

And when stars come forth in the firmament. 

Thou shalt view them with hope and love. 

And mark unappall’d the gath’ring night 
Waiting a morning of endless light. 

’Tis thy spring-time of being; yet bear in mind 
Its Summer will soon be here: 

That its Autumn will linger not long behind 
When flowers and leaves turn sere, 

And that Winter will come, which comes to all. 

When the flower must die and the leaf must fall. 

So guard the blossoms thou bearest now. 

That when Summer shall be o’er. 

The fruitage of .^utumn on every bough 
May prove thy Winter store; 

And when time’s brief seasons no changes bring. 

Thou shalt know an everlasting spring. 

Juvenile Scrap Book. 

St. Paul exhorts to pray without ceasing—Ha 
bitual piety is ceaseless prayer. 








OF r>;FFrL INFORMATION. 


257 



A HUT OF THE PURIS. 


The Puris is a native tribe of Indians in South 
America, which inhal)it the flat, woody territory, 
north of the river Paraiba, in Hrazil. A late travel¬ 
ler in that extensive cf>nntry, after speaking of the 
wild scenery and natural curiosities which he met, 
and referring to the hunting sports of the natives, 
says, he and his com[)any requested to be shown 
their huts, ^J'he Indians passed on before, and we 
followed on horseback. We passed several fields 
of sugar-cane, and then entered a narrow path 
v\hich we pursued, till we reached their huts in a 
deep forest. They are of the most simple style and 
construction imaginable. A hammock of twisted 
V embira (the bark of a species of coulequin) is 
suspended from two ti links of trees, to which is at¬ 
tached above, by oziers, a transverse rod—obliquely 
against this ; and on the side of the wind, they fas¬ 
ten some large palm leaves, which are filled at the 
bottom with leaves of heliconia. On the ground, 
near a small fire, we perceived some flagons made 
of gourds ; small pieces of wax in several places, 
and some articles of finery, and trinkets ; some 
reeds for arrows, feathers,—and provisions, such as 
bananas and other kinds of fruit. The bow and 
arrows were leaning against a tree. Gaunt dogs re¬ 
ceive, with loud barking, every stranger who ap¬ 
proaches these solitary dwellings.—These huts are 
small, and exposed to all the changes of the atmos¬ 
phere; so that in bad weather the inmates keep 
close together seated on the ashes about the fire. 
The man is quietly sleeping in his hammock, while 
the woman keeps up the fire and roasts some pieces 
of meat, thrust on tlie end of a piece ef sharp stick. 


Fire is the first and chief want of the people of 
Brazil, though living almost under the equator; 
they never let it go out. They keep it up through 
the whole night ; for as they have not much cover¬ 
ing, they would sufl’er without it. It serves also to 
keep off' ferocious beasts from their huts. The 
people abandon such a cabin or hut, without much 
regret; and when their vicinity does not furnish 
provisions in sufficient quantity, they remove to a 
distant spot, where they expect to find more apes, 
stags, peccaris, agoutis, and other game. 

It is said the Puris kill in the country where we 
were, many bearded apes. Indeed, they offered to 
sell us several pieces lialf broiled. It was a head, 
or sometimes a breast with the arms, without the 
head ; a disgusting sight to an European ; for they 
did not take off' the skin of their game, which be¬ 
came black in broiling. They tore this dainty food 
with their teeth ; which was tough as leather and 
half raw. It has been even said, that they would 
devour, for revenge, human flesh : but we do not at 
this day meet any trace of this custom. It is attri¬ 
buted to them by old writers, who pretend that 
these people eat their dead, as a last mark of af? 
fection. 

When we aid arrived at their huts, there began 
immediately i trade of barter. We presented to 
the women some beads and mirrors. All these, 
savages receive willinglv ; also bonnets of red wool, 
red handkerchiefs and knives. They give us read¬ 
ily in exchange, bows and arrows, and wax, whicli 
they collect in the hollows of trees, vvliich serve the 
bees for hives. They set a great value on their 

SS 
























258 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


knife which they attach to a string tied about the 
neck, and which they let hang on their back. It is 
sometimes only a simple piece of iron; but they 
sharpen it constantly on a stone, and thus keep it 
extremely keen. When we gave them a knife, 
they generally broke the handle, and put a new one 
to it, to their taste. They placed the blade be¬ 
tween two pieces of wood, about which they wound 
a string, which they bound very closely. 


AMENDMENT AND REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH 

ESTABLISHMENT IN ENGLAND. 

[From John Bull’s Spy Glass, for discovering the Corruptions ajid 
Abuses in the Church.] 

In the amendment and reformation of the Church 
Establishment of England and Ireland, all the tink¬ 
ering, and tampering, and temporizing of ecclesi¬ 
astical ingenuity, even backed by the wisdom 
of the heads of the law and the State, will 
not be of the least avail. Its clerical and official 
members must assume more apostolical habits and 
manners, more apostolical feelings and motives, 
more apostolical practices and employments, than 
those which they, in their clerical craft and cunning, 
think proper to adopt and practice : They must put 
off the old man with his deeds, —they must, with a 
pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned, 
learn to labour for and eat their own bread—instead 
of cleaving to their own traditions, defending their 
world of iniquity; their thrones, palaces, and fat 
livings, tithes, enormous incomes and inordinate 
emoluments, with the tenacious grasp of the tiger, 
and an appetite as keen and ravening as that of 
death; they must strive, as much as in them lieth, to 
copy the example, ministry and motives of their divine 
Master, the meek, the lowly, the holy, the patient and 
heavenly-minded Jesus. If they are inclined, as a 
holy priesthood, taking the oversight of the church, 
not for filthy lucre's sake, but from love unfeigned, 
this they will endeavour to do: And if they will put 
in practice the above advice, they will put to silence 
the ignorance of foolish men, and reclaim and bring 
back their flocks from infidelity and neglect of reli¬ 
gious duties, that insensibility and indifl'erence to 
spiritual and eternal concerns, which now unhappily 
prevail in the community, and which their selfish¬ 
ness, worldliness and avarice, have been the chief 
cause of producing. 


COPPERAS MINE, IN HUBBARDSTON, MASS. 

This mine is situated near the bounds of Tem¬ 
pleton, on the brow of a hill of considerable emi¬ 
nence. It was first discovered to contain a valua¬ 
ble mineral substance, some eight or ten years since, 
by a gentleman professing some knowledge of min¬ 
eralogy, by the name of Tenney, a resident of that 
town. He made known his discovery to the pre¬ 
sent owners of the mine, Messrs. Bennetts of Hub- 
bardston, and Drs. Green and Heyward of Worces¬ 
ter, enjoining upon them secresy. Possessing no 
capital, Mr. T. desired their pecuniary aid, which 
was granted, and the land where the mine is locat¬ 
ed, together with several hundred acres of excellent 
woodland which surrounds it, was purchased by 
him for a mere trifle. After this, comparatively 
nothing was done to the mine, until last year, when 


the proprietors obtained an Act of Incorporation, 
and have now secured the services of a skilful 
agent, which will enable them to prosecute the man¬ 
ufacture of copperas on an extensive scale. We 
understand that last year they manufactured from 
fifty to sixty tons, of a superiour quality, and the 
present season they contemplate throwing into the 
market at least two hundred tons. The copperas 
meets with a ready sale, at from one to two cents 
per pound, while the expense of manufacturing it, 
costs about one quarter of a cent. 

This mine is doubtless inexhaustible; and if the 
proprietors pursue their work with energy, there is 
great reason to believe they will in a few years, rea¬ 
lize an immense fortune from it. 


Retirement. —There are minds which can be 
pleased by honours and preferments, but I see noth¬ 
ing in them save envy and enmity. It is only ne¬ 
cessary to possess them, to know how little they 
contribute to happiness. I had rather be shut up 
in a very modest cottage, with my books, my 
family, and a few old friends, dining upon simple 
bacon, and letting the world roll on as it likes, than 
to occupy the most splendid post which human 
power can give. Thomas Jefferson. 


BEAUTY AND TIME. 

Time met Beauty one day in her garden, 

Where roses were blooming fair ; 

Time and Beauty were never good friends. 

So she wondered what brought him there. 

Poor Beauty exclaimed, with a sorrowful air, 

I request father 'I'ime, my sweet roses you’ll spare— 
For 'rime was going to mow them all down ; 

While Beauty exclaimed, with her prettiest frown. 

Fie, father Time ' fie, father 'Pime ! 

Oh, what a crime ! Fie, father Time ! 

Well, said Time, at least let me gather 
A few of your roses here ; 

’Tis part of my pride, to be always supplied 
With roses the whole of the year. 

Poor Beauty consented, though half in despair. 

And I'inie, ns he went, asked a lock of her hair ; 

And as he stole the soft ringlet so bright. 

He vowed ’twas for love, but she knew ’twas for spite. 

Time went on, and left Beauty in tears— 

He’s a tell-tale, the world well knows; 

So he boasted to all, of the lady’s fair fall. 

And showed the lost ringlet and rose. 

So shocked was poor Beauty, to find that her fame 
Was ruined, though she was in no wise to blame. 

That she drooped like some flower, that’s torn from 
its clime. 

And her friends all mysteriously said—it was Time. 

English Journal. 


RELIGION.— From the pen or Sir Walter Scott. 

‘ There are those to whom a sense of religion 
has come in storm and tempest; there are those 
whom it has summoned among scenes of revelry 
and idle vanity ; there are those too who have heard 
‘ its still small voice ’ amid rural leisure and placid 
contentment: but perhaps the knowledge which 
causeth not to err, is most frequently impressed 
upon the mind during scenes of affliction : and tears 
are the softened showers which cause the seed of 
heaven to spring and take root in the human breast.’ 












OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


259 



THE GREAT WHITE, OR POLAR BEAR. 


The Bear ( Ursus) is generally described as carni- 
torous ; but sometimes, as frugi-carnivorous, one 
living on both fruit and flesh. The general descrip¬ 
tion of the genus is a heavy and apparently clumsy 
body, with a thick, woolly covering, a large head, 
witli a long and tapering snout, and the lips capa¬ 
ble of being much extended. They have five toes 
on the feet, and long and hooked claws, which give 
them power to burrow easily, and render them for¬ 
midable to other beasts and to man. There are 
five species usually mentioned, by writers on natural 
history, or zoology. Some of these have been de¬ 
scribed in a former number of our Magazine. We 
now refer to the White, or great Polar Bear, (some¬ 
times called the maritime Bear,) which is found in 
North America, and chiefly beyond the fifty-fifth or 
sixtieth degree of latitude, as far as the arctic or 
frozen ocean ; the extent of the region on this conti¬ 
nent to the north, which has been visited by civil¬ 
ized man. This animal has been considered par¬ 
ticularly typical of these regions ; and it has been 
said, is not known in Siberia or Kamtschatka, nor 
in the islands, between America and Siberia: But 
Swainson asserts, that the White Bear of Siberia is 
the same species. It is however admitted by all 
writers, to be larger than the Bear found in Siberia, 
as well as the common Bear of Spitzbergen, Nova- 
Zembla, Greenland, and Hudson’s Bay. It is said, 
never to have been found south of fiftieth degree of 
north latitude. 

The Polar Bear of North America is uniformly 
white, and is very daring and ferocious. They are 
amphibious, are expert divers and swimmers, and 
appear quite in their element when in the sea far 
from land. They have been seen swimming across 
Melville Sound, latitude 72®, and 30 miles from the 
shore. This species is supposed to subsist chiefly 
on flesh and fish; as seals, young whale, and on the 
carcases of whales. Few have been attempted to 
be tamed. One was exhibited in New York, about 
ten years ago. It appeared to suffer much from the 
heat; and when ice was presented, it rolled on it 
very eagerly. 

‘ The ferocity of the Bear is as remarkable as its 
attachment to its young. A few years since, the 


crew of a boat belonging to a ship, in the whale 
fishery, shot at a Bear at a short distance, and 
wounded it. The animal immediately set up the 
most dreadful yells, and ran along the ice towards 
the boat. Before it reached it, a second shot was 
fired, and hit it. This served to increase its fury. 
It presently swam to the boat; and in attempting to 
get on board, reached its fore-foot upon the gun 
wale; but one of the crew having a hatchet, cut it 
off. The animal still, however, continued to swim 
after them till they arrived at the ship ; and several 
shots were fired at it, which also took effect; but 
on reaching the ship, it immediately ascended the 
deck ; and the crew having fled into the shrouds, it 
was pursuing them thither, w hen a shot from one of 
them laid it dead upon the deck.’ 


THE HOPE OF FUTURE LIFE. 

Few think of all the lofty and divine hopes that 
the belief of immortality opens to us. One of the 
purest of these, is the expectation of a more entire 
intelligence—of the great gift of conversing with all 
who lived before us—of questioning the past ages, 
and unravelling their dark wisdom. How much in 
every man’s heart dies away unuttered ! How lit¬ 
tle of what the sage knows does the sage promulge ? 
How many chords of the lyre within the poet’s 
heart have been dumb to the world’s ear! All this 
untold, uncommunicated, unheard-of hoard of wis¬ 
dom and harmony, it may be the privilege of our 
immortality to learn. The best part of genius the 
world knows not—the Plato buries much of his lore 
within his cave—and this, the High Unknown, is 
our heritage. With these thoughts, you see how 
easy it is for the parting soul to beautify and adorn 
death 1 With how' many garlands we can hang 
the tomb ! Nay, if we begin betimes, we can learn 
to make the prospect of the grave the most seduc¬ 
tive of human visions—by little and little, we wean 
from its contemplation all that is gloomy and ab¬ 
horrent—by little and little, we have therein all the 
most pleasing of our dreams. As the neglected 
genius whispers to his muse, ‘ Posterity shall know 
thee, and thou shall live when I am no more ;’ so we 
find in this hallowed and all-promising future, a 










260 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


recompense for every mortification, for every disap¬ 
pointment in the present. It is the belief of the 
Arabs, that to the earliest places of human worship, 
there clings a guardian sanctity—tliere the wild bird 
rests not, there the wild beast may not wander; it is 
the blest spot on which the eye of God dwells, and 
which man’s best memories preserve. As with the 
earliest place of worship, so it is with the last haven 
of repose—as with the spot where our first imper¬ 
fect adoration was ofiered up, our first glimpse of 
divinity indulged, so should it be with that where 
our full knowledge of the I'irst Cause begins, and 
we can pour forth our gratitude, no longer clouded 
by the troubles and cares of earth. Surely, if any 
spot in the world be sacred, it is that in which grief 
ceases, and from which, if the harmonies of crea¬ 
tion, if the voice within our hearts ; if the impulse 
which made man so easy a believer in revelation ; if 
these mock and fool us not w'ith an everlasting lie, 
we spring up on the untiring wings of a pangless 
and serapliic life—those whom we loved around us; 
the aspirings that we nursed, fulfilled ; our nature, 
universal intelligence ; our atmosphere, eternal love! 

E. L. Bulwer. 


CAPITAL PUNISFIMENTS. 

This great subject is now receiving particular at¬ 
tention and consideration, from theJegislators and 
philanthropists of our country: And it certainly 
claims mature and thorough examination. So 
great a change, as some propose, should not be 
made, but after very dclibcjrate and impartial inves¬ 
tigation. That some improvements may be made 
in the present criminal code, most of the citizens 
agree :—The question is, to what extent, or in what 
cases. At present, the crimes, to which the pun¬ 
ishment of death is annexed by the laws of Massa¬ 
chusetts, are the following: murder, arson, bur¬ 
glary with a deadly wea[)on, highway robbery arm¬ 
ed with a deadly weapon, and rape. Formerly, 
other Climes sulrjected to the punishment of death. 
In looking over the early laws of the Colony, we 
find these—blasphemy, idolatry, and witchcraft, wil¬ 
ful perjury, profaning the Lord’s day, reviling the 
magistrates, rebellion in children against parents, 
adultery, incest, man-stealing, bearing false witness; 
being in all eleven, besides those first above men¬ 
tioned. Thus a great amelioration has been alrea¬ 
dy made in our criminal code. And it is believed 
by many, that it would be wise to abolish the pun¬ 
ishment of death in all cases, with the exception of 
wilful and deliberate murder. The great question 
to be decided is,—will society be safe, if a substitute 
be provided for capital punishment, and the crimi¬ 
nals be confined to hard labour for life? 


Reminiscence of Caucuses in 1772.-There were 
three political clubs or meetings, called Caucuses in 
Boston, in 1772. One at the North end, one at 
the South end, and another in the central part of the 
town. The meetings at the North part of the 
town are most fully known, as their records have 
been preserved. A caucus was held at the North 
end, in March, 1772, when sixty members were 
present. Several of these, were gentlemen of pub¬ 
lic education, and of the learned professions; and 


the others were respectable merchants, traders and 
mechanics. Among them, we find the following: 
Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Winthrop, Jo¬ 
seph Warren, Nathaniel Appleton, Moses Grant, 
Joseph Greenleaf, Benjamin Hitchborn, I’aul Revere, 
Thomas Tileston, Berez Morion, Ezekiel Cheever, 
William Hickling, J. R. Sigourney, Thomas H. 
Peck, Benjamin Kent, Wm. Breck, Jonathan Stod¬ 
dard, James Swan, Nathaniel Homes, Benjamin 
Edes, Edward Proctor, Nathaniel Barber, William 
Dennie, J. F. Condy, Elias Parkman, John Ballard, 
Abiel Ruddock, Henry Bass, John Symrnes, Gib- 
bens Sharp, &.C. Only one of these still lives. 
This meeting often communicated with the other 
two in the town, and gave notice of their [iroceed- 
ings. At a meeting 4th of March, the Caucus 
voted to support John Hancock for Moderator of 
the approaching annual town meeting. October 
23d, 1773, it was voted ‘to oppose the vending of 
any Tea, sent by the East India Company, with 
our lives and forUines.^ November 2d, voted ‘ to 
invite the committee of correspondence, and also, 
John Hancock, Esq. to meet with us at the ad¬ 
journment.’ Also voted, at the same time, ‘ that 
this body is determined, the tea sftipped by the 
East India Company shall not be landed.’ May 
9th, 1774, voted to ‘ support Samuel Adams, for 
Moderator of the town meeting.’ 


SELF-CONTROL. 

“ Brave conquerors ! for so you are, 

That war against your own affections, 

And the huge army of the world’s desires.” 

SlIAKSPEARE. 

‘ Losse is no shame, nor to bee lesse than foe ; 

But to bee lesser than himselfe doth marre 
Both loosers lott, and victours prayse alsoe ; 

Vaine others overthrowes who selfe doth overthrow.” 

Spenser. 

The complete control over the passions is diffi¬ 
cult to be obtained; perhaps no one ever possessed 
this to its fullest extent. The greatest heroes and 
philosophers have ever had their ruling passion; 
Alexander, who wished to govern the world, was 
in this respect himself a slave; and Peter the 
Great, of Russia, candidly acknowledged, that 
while he could conquer others, he could not sub¬ 
due himself. 

Alexander conquered — so did Peter ; and they 
both obtained the name of “Great;” how much 
more deserving of that title those who have gained 
a victory over themselves ! Love, the most pow¬ 
erful of all human passions, is most difficult to 
subdue, even when the object has ceased to be 
that which first excited the passion; but to love 
that object when he or she is no longer virtuous, 
would tend to degrade us in our own estimation ; 
therefore, self-control is, under such circumstances, 
one of the highest species of human virtue. 


A substitute for wafers and sealing wax, called 
graphic wafers, has been introduced into England, 
from Germany. It is expected that they will soon 
be in common use. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


26 ) 



i':::aALi: sivMinary, at caaandaigua. 


Rapidly as the vast State of New York has in¬ 
creased for thirty or forty years past, in numbers 
and agricultural products, its attention to the inter¬ 
ests of learning has been equally conspicuous. The 
means of education, and religious institutions are 
there not inferiour to the old States of New Eng¬ 
land: And the education of females has received 
special encouragement and support. The State 
may be justly said to abound in Seminaries, for the 
instruction of young ladies. Among these, the 
Ontario Female-Academy at Canandaigua, deserves 
a favourable notice. It has been established about 
ten years; and has a principal Teacher, a Vice- 
Principal, and seven Assistants. The chief build¬ 


ing is two stories in height, and is seventy-five feet 
by fifty ; but connected with this, is a building three 
stories high, fifty feet by thirty. The students are 
upwards of one hundred, and it is now in a very 
flourishing state. The locality of the Seminary has 
been well chosen ; and the building and grounds 
present a striking view. Canandaigua is built on 
the ridge of a commanding eminence, on the north 
of the lake of that name, which is a very beautiful 
sheet of water; and the view from the high and 
principal Street, is uncommonly fine. Canandaigua 
is thirty-five or forty miles south of Rochester, and 
about two hundred and seventy from Albany. 


The last Report of the Prison Discipline 
Society states,—That seventy-three in 125 con¬ 
victs in the Vermont State Prison, were men of intem¬ 
perate habits; sixty-eight confessed that intoxica¬ 
tion was the cause of their crimes. In the State 
Prison in Connecticut, more than three-fourths were 
of intemperate habits ; viz. 150 in 200—eighty-eight 
of these committed crimes when intoxicated. In 
the Auburn State Prison (New York) are 747 con¬ 
victs, 560 of them, intemperate persons; 450 intox¬ 
icated when they committed crimes. What an ap¬ 
palling picture ! 

We believe Newspapers are very important in a 
free government; for the people, being the .source 
of all political power, should be well informed 
respecting the passing events of the day :—And yet, 
we think the following remark of the late President 
Jefferson, rather extravagant:— 

‘ Importance of Newspapers .—Were it left for 
me to decide, whether we should have a Govern¬ 


ment without newspapers, or newspapers without a 
Government, I should not hesitate to prefer the 
latter.’ 


A traveller, who has lately visited the Barbary 
coast in Africa, when describing the dress of the 
people, says, ‘ the females confirm the definition of 
an ancient philosopher, that woman is an animal 
which delights in finery. They paint their legs and 
arms, and are fond of ear-rings and liracelets of silver 
and gold : and, if they cannot procure such, they 
sport trinkets of baser metals.’ 


The manufacture of salt in the interiour of the 
country is increasing, greatly to the accommodation 
of the inhabitants distant from the Atlantic coast. 
During the year 1835, there have been manufactured 
and inspected, at the Salt Springs in Onondagua 
county, in the State of New York, 2,200,000 
bushels. 






































































263 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


RECOLLECTIONS OF ENGLAND : BY CHATEAUBRIAND. 

There is much lately written of English character 
and manners ; and every thing published on the sub¬ 
ject from the pen of a scholar and philosopher is 
interesting to the people of the United States. And 
it is natural it should be so, since England is our 
t at her-land, and we have still a close connexion 
with it, both as to commerce and literature. 

‘ Erasmus is the most ancient traveller, w'ith whom 
I am acquainted, that speaks of the English. He 
states that, during the reign of Henry VIII, he found 
London inhabited by barbarians, whose huts were 
full of smoke. A long time afterwards, Voltaire, 
wanting to discover a perfect philosopher, was of 
opinion that he had found tliis character among the 
Quakers upon the banks of the Thames. During 
his abode there the taverns were the places, at which 
the men of genius, and the friends of rational liberty 
assembled. England, however, is known to be the 
country, in whidli religion is less discussed, though 
more respected than in any other; and where the 
idle questions, by which the tranquillity of empires 
is disturbed, obtain less attention than any where 
else. 

‘ It appears to me that the secret of English man¬ 
ners, and their way of thinking is to be sought in 
the origin of this people. Being a mixture of French 
and German blood, they form a link of the chain by 
which the two nations are united. Their policy, 
their religion, their martial habits, their literature, 
arts, and national character appear to me a medium 
between the two. They seem to have united, in 
some degree, the brilliancy, grandeur, courage, and 
vivacity of the French with the simplicity, calmness, 
good sense, and bad taste of the Germans. 

‘Inferiour to us in some respects, they are superiour 
in several others, particularly in every thing relative 
to commerce and wealth. 7’hey excel us also in 
neatness: and it is remarkable that a people, appa¬ 
rently of a heavy turn, should have, in their furni¬ 
ture, dress, and manufactures, an elegance in which 
we are deficient. It may be said of the English that 
they employ in the labours of the hand the delicacy, 
which we devote to those of the mind. 

‘The principal failing of the English nation is pride: 
which is indeed the fault of all mankind. It pre¬ 
vails at Paris as well as London, but modified by 
the French character, and transformed into self-love. 
Pride, in its pure state, appertains to the solitary 
man, who is not obliged to make any sacrifice; but 
he, who lives much with his equals, is forced to dis¬ 
simulate and conceal his pride under the softer and 
more varied forms of vanity. The passions are, in 
general, more sudden and determined among the 
English ; more active and refined among the French. 
The pride of the former makes him wish to crush 
every thing at once by force; the self-love of the 
other slowly undermines what it wishes to destroy. 
In England a man is hated for a vice, or an offence, 
but in France such a motive is not necessary ; for 
the advantages of person or of fortune, success in 
life, or even a bon mot will be sufficient. This an¬ 
imosity, which arises from a thousand disgraceful 
causes, is not less implacable than the enmity found¬ 
ed on more noble motives. There are no passions 
so dangerous as those, which are of base origin; for 


they are conscious of their own baseness, and are 
thereby rendered furious. They endeavour to con¬ 
ceal it under crimes, and to impart, from its effects, 
a sort of apalling grandeur, which is wanting from 
principle. 7'his the French revolution sufficiently 
proved. 

‘ Education begins early in England. Girls are 
sent to school during the tenderest years. You 
sometimes see groups of these little ones, dressed 
in white mantles, straw-hats tied under the chin 
with a ribband, and a basket on the arm which con¬ 
tains fruit and a book, all with downcast eyes, 
blushing if looked at. When I have observed our 
French female children dressed in their antiquated 
fashion, lifting up the train of their gowns, looking 
at every one with effrontery, singing love-sick airs, 
and taking lessons in declamation, I have thought 
with regret of the simplicity and modesty of the 
little English girls. A child without innocence is 
a flower without perfume. 

‘ The boys also pass their earliest years at school, 
where they learn Greek and Latin. Those who 
are destined for the church, or a political career, go 
to the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. 7'he 
first is particularly devoted to mathematics, in mem¬ 
ory of New'ton ; but the English, generally speak¬ 
ing, do not hold this study in high estimation ; for 
they think it very dangerous to good morals when 
carried too far. They are of opinion that the sci¬ 
ences harden the heart, deprive life of its enchant¬ 
ments, and lead weak minds to atheism, the sure 
road to all other crimes. On the contrary, they 
maintain that the belles lettres render life delightful, 
soften the soul, fill us with faith in the divinity, and 
thus conduce, through the medium of religion, to 
the practice of all the virtues. 

‘ When an Englishman attains manhood, agricul¬ 
ture, commerce, the army and navy, religion and 
politics, are the pursuits of life open to him. If he 
chooses to be what they call a gentleman farmer, 
he sells his corn, makes agricultural experiments, 
hunts foxes and shoots partridges in Autumn, eats 
fat geese at Christmas, sings ‘ Oh the roast beef of 
old England,’ grumbles about the present times, and 
boasts of the past which he thought no better at the 
moment; above all, inveighs against the minister 
and the war for raising the price of port-wine, and 
finally goes inebriated to bed, intending to lead the 
same life on the following dav. 

‘ The army, though so brilliant during the reign 
of Queen Anne, had fallen into a state of disrepute, 
from which the present war has raised it. The 
English were a long time before they thought of 
turning their principal attention to their naval force. 
They were ambitious of distinguishing themselves 
as a continental power. It was a remnant of' an¬ 
cient opinions, which held the pursuits of commerce 
in contempt. The English have, like ourselves, 
always had a species of physiognomy, by which 
they might be distinguished. Indeed, these two 
nations are the only ones in Europe, which properly 
deserve the appellation. If we had our Charle¬ 
magne, they had their Alfred. Their archers shared 
the renown of the Gallic infantry ; their Black Prince 
rivalled our Diiguesclin, and their Marlborough our 
Turenne. Their revolutions and ours keep pace 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


263 


with each other. We can boast of the same glory; 
but we must deplore the same crimes and the same 
misfortunes. 

In England the name of the law is almighty. 
When the law has spoken, resistance is at an end. 

The English clergy are learned, hospitable, and 
generous. They love their country, and exert their 
powerful services in support of the laws. In spite 
of religious differences, they received the French 
emigrant clergy with truly Christian charity. The 
university of Oxford printed, at its expense, and 
distributed gratis to our poor priests, a new Latin 
Testament, according to the Roman version, with 
these words : ‘ For the use of the Catholic clergy ex¬ 
iled on accpunt of their religion.’ Nothing could 
be more delicate or affecting. It was doubtless a 
beautiful spectacle for philosophy to witness, at the 
close of the eighteenth century, the hospitality of 
the English clergy towards the Catholic priests ; nay, 
further, to see them allow the public exercise of this 
religion, and even establish some communities. 
Strange vicissitude of human opinions and affairs! 
The cry of ‘ The Pope, the Pope!’ caused the revo¬ 
lution during the reign of Charles the First; and 
James the Second lost his crown for protecting the 
Catholic religion. 

They, who take fright at the very name of this 
faith, know but very little of the human mind. 
They consider it such as it was in the days of fa¬ 
naticism and barbarity; without reflecting that, like 
every other institution, it assumes the character of 
the ages, through which it passes. 

The English church has reserved for the dead the 
principal part of those honours, which the Roman 
religion awards to them. The last duties paid to 
the departed would, however, be of a sad complex¬ 
ion indeed, if stripped of the marks of religion ; for 
religion has taken root at the tomb, and the tomb 
cannot evade her. It is right, that the voice of 
hope should speak from the coffin ; it is right, that 
the priest of the living God should escort the ashes 
of the dead to their last asylum. It may bo said, 
on such an occasion, that Immortality is marching 
at the head of death. 


PALMYRA, OR TADMOR. 

There is a portion of our readers who are fond 
of articles referring to and explaining ancient history. 
For such, the following account of Palmyra is giv¬ 
en ; and it is presumed will not be wholly uninter¬ 
esting to others. This city has now long been in 
ruins; and modern writers have been astonished 
that more notice of it is not to be found in the his¬ 
torians of antiquity. It is now indeed, worthy of 
notice chiefly for its magnificent ruins; but these 
fully indicate a state of great splendour at a very re¬ 
mote period. Our object, in this short notice, is to 
refer to its origin and early history, and then to de¬ 
scribe it in its present state of ruins, as mentioned 
by modern travellers. 

The site of this once celebrated and opulent city 
is ascertained, not only by the extent and variety of 
its ruins, but by notices in very ancient historians 
and other writers. It is in the eastern part of Sy¬ 
ria, north of Arabia, and west of the river Euphrates 
and of the ancient Mesopotamia. It is distant from 


the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, (and nearly 
in the same latitude as Tripoli, but a little north) 
two hundred and ten miles. It lies northeast of 
Damascus, (a very ancient city in Syria) about one 
hundred and eighty miles; and nearly the same dis¬ 
tance from Aleppo, in a southeast direction. For 
a great distance from it, at all points of the compass, 
the country is a sandy desert, except a few moun¬ 
tains and ledges in the vicinity. And this fact has 
caused the astonishment of the moderns, that such 
a magnificent city should ever have been built, where 
Palmyra once stood. The belief now is, that it was 
a great depot for goods coming from the east to the 
west of Asia and to Europe, and for such products 
and articles as were sent from the west to the east, 
in return. The traffic and commerce between the 
east and thewest,inearly times, wereby this route,and 
then to and down the Euphrates, much more than by 
the Red Sea. The Euphrates is about twenty 
leagues eastward of Palmyra. 

'File earliest account there is extant of Palmyra, 
is to be found in sacred history ; where it is said 
‘ that Solomon built Hamath, Tadrnor in the wil¬ 
derness, and other store cities.' This was about 
one thousand years before our era, and when Sol¬ 
omon was in all his glory and strength ; a wise, 
powerful, enterprising and commercial prince. He 
had an extensive navigation both in the Mediterra¬ 
nean and in the Red Sea ; and he had built store- 
cities, or cities for trade, (and Tadrnor was one of 
the principal) as well as fenced or walled cities, for 
the protection of his empire. 

The Hebrew name (Tadrnor, or Tedmor) has re¬ 
ference to the Palm tree, which abounded there. 
The Romans, at a later period, called it Palmyra. 
The wealth and magnificence of this ancient city 
are owing to its rich and extensive trade, and to the 
pacific character of its inhabitants, who were wise 
enough generally to keep out of the wars of sur¬ 
rounding nations. They do not appear to have be¬ 
come a warlike people till the time of Zenobia, their 
celebrated Queen, about the year 270 of the Chris¬ 
tian era. The Arabs still call the place Tadrnor ; 
and they pretend also that it was a place of impor¬ 
tance before Solomon, who only repaired or enlarg¬ 
ed it. It is thought strange by some writers, that 
more notice is not to be found in ancient history 
respecting this city, if it ever were so rich and pop¬ 
ulous as supposed. The answer is, that it was not 
a warlike people that inhabited it, and therefore 
took no part in the political revolutions of the times. 
Another conjecture is offered to solve the difficulty 
alluded to ; which is, that Tadrnor was greatly de¬ 
faced and injured by the vast armies of Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar which invaded and conquered Judea, four 
hundred years after Solomon and six hundred years 
before our era : that it long lay in comparative ruins ; 
and then again was rebuilt, and became a populous 
and flourishing place in the time of the successors 
of Alexander the Great, (upwards of two centuries 
before Christ) and so continued after the power of 
Rome extended over all that part of the world. It 
appears to have been a place of great trade and wealth 
in the time of Pompey and Mark Anthony, (sixty 
years before our era ;) and though it suffered some 
by the Roman Armies, it still prospered. 








264 


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Anth<>ny is said to have committed some depre¬ 
dations ttn the rich citizens ; but the most of them 
fled, and removed their most valuable effects. But 
the Romans soon became fond of the goods and 
products of the far Bast; and therefore more gen¬ 
erally favoured and cncoura^ied than oppressed 
the inhabitants, d’hus probably, was the Grecian 
and Roman style of building, introduced among the 
rich citizens of Palmyra ; and thus may we reason¬ 
ably account for the numerous ruins of temples, 
monuments, and other buildings. The ruins now 
described by travellers, cannot be justly supposed 
to have belonged to buildings erected by Solomon. 
In his time, it was rather a place of traflic, than of 
magnificent buildings. These must have been 
erected by the Romans, as late as our era, or pro¬ 
bably one and two centuries still later. The mate¬ 
rials, the monuments, and the inscriptions, all point 
to the period last mentioned. 

Pliny says, ‘ Palmyra is finely located ; it is well 
watered, and the soil is rich ; but it is surrounded 
on all sides by a sandy desert, which separates it 
from the rest of the world ; and it has long pre¬ 
served its independence between the two great em¬ 
pires of Rome and Parthia. It lies directly between 
Seleucia on the Tigris and Antioch.’ The cele¬ 
brated Zenobia, (widow of a brave General, who 
was himself formidable to the Romans) had the 
courage to resist the power of Rome, and for some¬ 
time had quiet possession of Syria and Mesopota¬ 
mia, during the unpopular reign of the cruel and 
effeminate Gallienus. She even asserted an here¬ 
ditary right to the dominion of Egypt, as being a 
descendant of the Ptoletnies ; and afterwards, by 
her successes over the Roman army in that quarter, 
became mistress of the country. The greater part 
of Asia Minor also, submitted to her sway. The 
Emperours Claudius and Aurelian (in the third 
century) successively undertook to subdue the Pal¬ 
myrenes ; but each lost many men before they were 
able to conquer this brave and resolute people. 
The latter besieged the city; and after various re¬ 
verses became master of it, and carried away or 
destroyed most of its movable riches. The learn¬ 
ed Longinus was a friend and adviser of Zenobia; 
but she betrayed her generous counsellor to the 
Emperour, by whose order he was put to death. 
We have not room to describe the ruins of monu¬ 
ments and temples mentioned by recent travellers. 
The most perfect piece of antiquity which remains, 
is a Mausoleum, probably 1760 year old ; the stairs 
and floors of which are entire, though the building 
is five stories high. One of these travellers says, 
‘ the people of Palmyra took their funeral customs 
from Egypt, their luxury from the Persians, and 
their literature and arts from Greece.’ 


One of Bishop Burnet’s parishioners, who was ta¬ 
ken in execution for debt, applied to him for as¬ 
sistance. The Bishop requested to know what would 
serve him—the man named the sum. Burnet in¬ 
stantly called the servant to give it him. ‘ Sir,’ said 
he, ‘’tis all we have in the house.’ ‘ Well, give it 
this poor man ; you do not know the pleasure there 
is in making a man glad.’ 


The New York Canals .—The income from the 
two principal canals, in the state of New York, the 
Erie and the Champlain, for the year 1835, amount¬ 
ed to ^‘1,893,694; of which ^‘1,404,710 were for 
tolls, after deducting the expenses of collection. 
The expenditures for the year were ^‘707,503, of 
which 4*260,957 were paid for interest on the canal 
debt, and the residue, ^446,546 for repairs, salaries, 
&.C. The net income, after defraying the expense 
of repairs, superintendence, and interest on the canal 
debt, was 1,086,146. The surplus revenue of all 
the Canals in that State for tolls only, exclusive of 
repairs and salaries, &lc. was ^979,98. 


THE MORAL EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 

In retiring from the editorial department of the 
American Magazine, after fourteen months’ labour, 
if there is any one subject more than another, on 
which I wish to say a parting word, it is that of 
advice and warning to parents, respecting the moral 
education of their children. Some remarks have 
already been made, in reference to this highly inter¬ 
esting topic; for it has always been kept in view, 
that this work is designed to be useful. Without 
speaking of oneself in this last paragraph, which 
(though it might be pardoned, as custom could be 
pleaded to sanction it,) is neither delicate nor wise, 
I will seize the occasion to urge attention to the 
moral education of the young. Children may be 
made amiable, obedient and respectful, if duly direct¬ 
ed and governed when young. They are naturally 
docile and affectionate. These traits of character 
should be nursed and strengthened. But how often 
are they neglected ; how often blunted and destroy¬ 
ed ! If neglected, they are not sure to grow or to 
continue. If subject to unkind, harsh, arbitrary and 
severe treatment on the part of parents, all theii 
natural docility and original affectionate feelings will 
be destroyed or much impaired. Children are not 
born demons ; they have a capacity for good, for 
moral improvement; a kind and genial soil may be 
found in their hearts, if the seeds of kindness and 
truth are duly sown—Indeed, they are naturally 
found there; and only want a judicious, faithful and 
4iffectionate hand for the work of culture and de- 
velopement. Children naturally love and respect 
their parents ; and are disposed to be kind and 
obedient: If they become otherwise, it is because 
of the neglect, or severity or unfaithfulness of 
parents; or because of early falling into bad company, 
when no parent is near to restrain or to advise. 
Ask then the parents, if they intend their children 
should be honest, kind and useful when they grow 
up; And if they do, let them remember, that kind¬ 
ness and mildness, with a proper degree of firmness, 
and with faithful attention, are indispensible oa 
their part. The Editor. 

February 1836. 

A Good Education is a better safe-guard for 
liberty, than a standing army or severe laws. 


No one can improve in any company, for which 
he has not respect enough to be under some re¬ 
straint. 








WASHINGTON. 


What American has not beheld the majestic fea¬ 
tures of Washinoton ! — A <reneration lias been 
liorn, and arrived at middle aiie, since he departed. 
Yet, were it possible that his illii-;trinus shade should 
return, to mark the mighty growth of the country 
which he made a nation—were he to walk, in visi¬ 
ble shape, the streets of our cities, not one among 


the crowd but would know Washington ; were he 
to enter the most solitary farm-housc!. its inmates 
wouhl at once recognise their aw ful guest ; w'cre he 
to visit that far westi'm region, which he left a wil¬ 
derness. the populiitii.n of its busy towns would how 
before him ; or w’ere he to pause near a Neu' Eno- 
lund school-house, the group of children round the 

' 34 













266 


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door wuald gaze at him, and whisper—‘It is 
Washington, our Father! ’ 

In some of its innumerable representations, his 
face must have met every eye. His figure in Ital¬ 
ian marble, wrought with the noblest sculpture, 
looks down from its pedestal upon the deliberations 
of our legislative halls. His bust is seen in the 
niches of our galleries, and his picture, with the calm 
dignity which every painter of Washington has 
thrown over the canvass, meets our gaze upon the 
walls. His statue, indeed, has not yet taken its 
destined place, beneath the dome of the Capitol. 
But the chisel of an American sculptor is even 
now re-creating the form, from which the nation, 
and posterity, shall receive its idea of the living 
presence of Washington. The successful accom¬ 
plishment of this most honourable task is worth the 
toil of a life-time, and will satisfy the loftiest aspira¬ 
tions of the artist, by indissolubly connecting his 
fame with the immortality of his subject. Yet, 
were the mein and aspect of Washington preserved 
only in the statues, busts, and pictures, which adorn 
our halls of state, our galleries of art, and the man¬ 
sions of the wealthy, such honours alone would not 
distinguish him from the vulgar crowd of heroes, 
who have grown illustrious by the ruin of their 
country, and to the sorrow of the world. It is a 
far surer token of the universal reverence which 
hallows his memory, that his waxen image always 
keeps its place among those of the great men of 
the day, who figure at a country show—that the 
village painter tries his skill upon that noble face, 
and hangs the unworthy effigy before the tavern- 
door—that the silver medal, which was struck after 
his death, bearing his urn and profile, is treasured 
by the poor—and, more than all, that prints of 
Washington, dark with smoke, are pasted over the 
hearths of so many American homes. And long 
may he be there! No cottage should be without 
his likeness, no mansion without his picture, no 
legislative hall without his statue, that rich and poor, 
the highest statesman and the humblest citizen, 
may have him always before their eyes, and copy, 
each according to his station, the public and private 
virtues of Washington. 

We here present a portrait of the Father of our 
Country, as the first of a series of vignettes of the 
successive Presidents of the United States. The 
bust of Washington is represented on a pedestal, 
amid the battle-smoke and lowering clouds, but 
with a radiance brightening about his head, pro¬ 
phetic of the peaceful prosperity which his skill and 
valour won for us. Military emblems are displayed 
around him ; there are the stars and stripes, which 
he reared so high among the banners of the nations, 
and there the cap which he placed on the trium¬ 
phant head of Liberty ; while the cannon, the mus¬ 
ket and bayonet, the war-like drum, the pyramid of 
balls, and other martial insignia, are strewn at the 
base of the pedestal. In the back-ground, is seen 
the famous Passage of the Delaware. On the right, 
the chief figure among a group of officers, sits 
Washington on horseback, and downward to the 
bank of the river goes the ponderous artillery and 
all the military array. On the left, the troops are 
embarking, some already ip the midst of the river, 


and others just pushing from the strand. This 
scene has been worthily selected to adorn the vign¬ 
ette of Washington ; for it was one of the hero’s 
greatest military exploits, by which, at the darkest 
period of the Revolution, he not only escaped a su- 
periour enemy, but surprised and cajitured a large 
body of Hessian troops, at Trenton ; and thus gave 
another aspect to the war. 

These emblems refer exclusively to Washington’s 
military deeds.—But it should never be forgotten, 
that it is not merely in the character of a hero, that 
his fame shines resplendent, and will remain undim¬ 
med by the gathering mist of ages. It is true, that 
no other man possessed the peculiar military talent, 
the caution mingled with boldness, the judgment, the 
equanimity which never sank too low nor rose too 
high, that were requisite to carry us triumphantly 
through the Revolutionary contest. Yet it may be 
justly said, that, even while the war was raging, his 
civil virtues and abilities held no inferiour place to 
those which marked him as a soldier. It was his 
moral strength of character that gave firmness to a 
tottering cause. Other great generals have been 
idolized by their armies, because victory was sure to 
follow where they led ; their fame has been won by 
triumphant marches, and conquest on every field. 
Fortune has been the better half of all their deeds. 
But his defeats never snatched one laurel from the 
brow of Washington. In him, his soldiers recog¬ 
nised qualities far superiour to those of the mere 
military chieftain, and gave him their confidence as 
unreservedly at Long Island, as at Yorktown. And, 
in the troubled times that succeeded the Revolution, 
no influence but Washington’s could have harmo¬ 
nized the discordant elements of our country ; no 
other arm could have upheld the State. 

If, therefore, they could have been visible amid 
the war-smoke and the thunder-cloud, the artist 
would have mingled tokens of the peaceful virtues, 
and the statesman’s calmer wisdom, with those he¬ 
roic emblems. A canopy of state, to represent his 
civil sway—a horn of plenty, scattering its abun¬ 
dance on the soil—a written scroll, to denote the 
power of his pen—a Bible, to point out his trust, 
in doubt and danger—a bounteous harvest-field, in¬ 
stead of warriors and^ steeds, and a wintry river—all 
these might have been fitly seen around the bust of 
Washington. In our pride of country, let it be the 
proudest thought, that America, in the very strug¬ 
gle that brought her into existence as a nation, gave 
to history the purest and loftiest name that ever 
shone among its pages. 

An obsolete Law.— At the trial of a Puritan, 
being asked by the Clerk of the Court, how he 
would be tried, the prisoner answered—‘ by the Law 
of God.’ ‘ Whereat,’ says the old writer, from 
whom we take the fact,—‘ the Lawyers gave a 
great hiss !’ - 

Parisian Post Office.— Thirty-six thousand let¬ 
ters, on an average, are daily sent from Paris, 
through the Post Office, and twenty-five thousand 
are received. Besides this enormous number, five 
hundred thousand franked letters are yearly sent 
from Paris, tvvo-fillhs of which are addressed to 
foreign parts. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


267 



MAJOR GENERAL LINCOLN. 


General Lincoln was a Massachusetts man, and 
born of reputable parentage, in the year 1733, at 
Hingham, a town long famous for wooden ware. 
He received a common school education, and spent 
the early part of his life in the homely New England 
way, toiling on his hereditary farm, and performing 
the duties of town-clerk, representative, and other 
honourable offices, both civil and military. At the 
breaking out of the Revolution, he was more than 
forty years old, and like a thousand other gentleman 
farmers in the province, had cherished his wife, 
ruled his household, and ploughed his own furrow, 
ever since the age of manhood. On the day of 
Lexington battle, being the Colonel of the second 
regiment of Suffolk militia, he mustered his men for 
the field, but was prevented from marching by the 
news of the flight of the British forces back to Bos¬ 
ton. In February, 1776, he was made a Brigadier, 
and in May of the same year, a Major General of 
the State militia, and received the latter rank in 
the Continental army, early in 1777. 

Being stationed at Bound Brook, on the Raritan, 
he had an extent of five or six miles to guard, with 
a force of less than five hundred men, fit for duty. 
On the thirteenth of April, owing to the negligence 
of his patroles, he was surprised by a large party of 
the enemy, under Cornwallis and Grant, who came 
upon him so suddenly, that the General and one of 
his aids had barely time to get on horseback. The 
other aid was taken, as were also a few pieces of 
artillery. On account of his popularity with the 
New England militia, Lincoln was now sent to join 
the northern army, under Schuyler, and afterwards 
under Gates, to whose success at Saratoga he mate¬ 
rially contributed. But, in one of the conflicts that 
preceded Burgoyne’s surrender, Lincoln, as he pass¬ 
ed with his aids from one part of the line to 
another, perceived a small body of troops in the 
German uniform, near the point whither he was rid¬ 
ing. As many of the American soldiers wore cap¬ 


tured uniforms, the General conceived that tKi, 
party was of the number, and was galloping up to 
take the command, when the Germans let fly a vol¬ 
ley and hit him in the leg. The wound was very 
severe, compelling him to retire from the seat of 
war, first to Albany, and afterwards to Hingham; 
nor (though he resumed his duties in the course of 
the following Summer,) did he entirely recover his 
health for several years. 

At the request of the delegates from South Caro¬ 
lina, General Lincoln was next placed in command 
of the Southern Department. In December, 1778, 
he arrived at Charleston, having fallen from his car¬ 
riage on the way thither, and grievously injured his 
knee. The difficulties of his present command 
were such as to preclude any very brilliant exploit; 
and some of the southern people expressed their 
discontent, in such a manner that it reached the 
General’s ear, and, with other reasons, induced him 
to solicit a recall. But the Governour and Council 
of South Carolina, with General Moultrie and the 
principal inhabitants, persuaded him to continue at 
the head of the department. In the winter of 1779 
and 1780, Sir Henry Clinton having set on foot an 
expedition against South Carolina, the General re¬ 
solved to defend Charleston ; and accordingly sus¬ 
tained a siege from the thirtieth of March till the 
eleventh of the following May. Then, the princi¬ 
pal inhabitants and county militia having petitioned 
for a surrender, and the militia of the town having 
thrown down their arms; the troops being worn 
down with fatigue, and nothing to eat but rice, nor 
half enough of that; there being nine thousand men 
of the flower of the British army, within twenty 
yards of the American lines, besides their naval 
force and a great number of blacks; his own troops 
amounting to but two thousand five hundred, part 
of whom had refused to act; the cannon being dis¬ 
mounted, or silenced for want of ammunition ; the 
citizens discontented ; and affairs generally in a 
hopeless state; Lincoln found it necessary to ask 
terms of capitulation. The country did him justice. 
He continued to enjoy the respect and confidence 
of Congress and the Commander in Chief; and by 
his long defence, the plans of the British were frus¬ 
trated, and North Carolina saved from their domin¬ 
ion, during the remainder of the year. 

General Lincoln returned to Hingham on parole, 
and was exchanged in the November following. 
At Yorktown, he commanded a central division 
with great credit, and was deputed by General 
Washington to receive the sword of the vanquished 
commander, as a requital for the misfortune of giv¬ 
ing up his own, at Charleston. In October, 1781, 
without losing his rank in the army, he was appoint¬ 
ed Secretary of War, and retained that office for 
the next two years ; when he resigned it with a high 
eulogium from Congress. He now betook himself 
to his farm again, till, during Shay’s War, he was 
put at the head of the militia of Massachusetts, and 
gained an almost bloodless victory over the insur¬ 
gents, at Petersham. He was afterwards elected 
Lieutenant Governour. In 1789, he was appointed 
Collector of Boston, and, in the Autumn of the same 
year, while proceeding to the South, as a Commis¬ 
sioner to treat with the Creek Indians, he visited 




268 


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Mount Vernon, and enjoyed another meeting with 
his old Commander in Chief. After these good 
services, and in the enjoyment of his well-won 
honours, General Lincoln died of natural decay, on 
the 9th of May, 1810, in the seventy-seventh year 
of his age. 

General Henry Lee, of Virginia, in his Memoirs 
of the War, has said tliat ‘ Lincoln was a good, but 
not a consummate soldier,’ The judgment is a fair 
one. In our view, it would have detracted from 
the character in which we would hold him up to 
the observation of our readers, had his soldiership 
been perfect. Few men have a better claim to be 
remembered by j)osterity, than General Lincoln, but 
not on the score of s|)lendid achievements, or deep 
knowledge of the mditary art, or a natural genius 
for war. He is an admirable example of what the 
New England soldier generally has been, and al¬ 
ways ought to be—a man of plain good sense and 
respectable abilities, which he exercised in i)eaceful 
pursuits, till the situation of his country made him 
leave the ploughshare for the sword. He then set 
his mind to work, with its native force, u()on the 
new business of warfare, and accomplished it well. 

Trained soldiers could find little to criticise in his 
management of a battle or a siege. He might be 
pretty confidently relied upon, to do all that ought 
to be done, whether in attack or defence, with the 
means committed to his charge. With such lead¬ 
ers—and there will be enough of them in every 
contest—we need never fear that an enemy should 
step far within our borders, or remain there long. 

THE SCtENCE OF NOSES. 

Turning over an old book, the other day, we lighted 
upon a set of rules for discovering people’s charac¬ 
ters, by the leiiirth and fiuination of their noses. 
This ancient and forgotten science appears to us, 
far preferable to the })hrenological inventions of later 
times. It is simple in its application, and compre¬ 
hensible to the meanest understanding. Its chief 
advantage however, is, that—whereas the bumps 
on a man’s head are hidden beneath his hair or a 
wig, and the worse qualities they indicate, the less 
will he permit them to be examined—here, on the 
contrary, the index of his character is precisely the 
most prominent feature of his face. It would seem 
as if Nature had taken this precaution, in order to 
render hypocrisy unavailable. A person might en¬ 
deavour, no doubt, to keep the world in the dark by 
merely putting his handkerchief to his nose, like a 
chicken that thrusts its head into a corner and fan¬ 
cies itself invisible. But in a case of this studied 
concealment, it would not be uncharitable to con¬ 
clude, that he was characterized by such an atro¬ 
cious nose, as it would aflVight mankind to look 
upon. Without further preface, we shall favour 
our readers with the elements of the science, be¬ 
seeching them not only to study their neighbours' 
noses, but to glance in the looking glass at their 
own. 

‘ A Nose long, slender, and small, denotes a per¬ 
son a.idacious, testy, hasty, peevish, credulous, irre- 
sol'.te.’ Not a very amiable nose, this ! The next 
is better. 

‘ A Nose long, and declining downwards over the 


upper lip, signifies a person sagacious, secret, ser¬ 
viceable, true to his friend, honest and fair in his 
dealings.’ This, methinks, is iiot a very pretty nose 
to look at. We lear that some of our lair readers 
would j)refer a better-sluq^etl one, even with worse 
indications. 

‘ A Nose sharp in the end, and of middling pro¬ 
portion, denotes a person conceited, unstable, con¬ 
tentious, irritable, scornful, cunning, malicious, but 
with a good memory.’ Doubtless, a good memory 
is a desirable thing enough ; but it will hardly make 
amends for so many evil attributes as are here 
enumerated—especially as, when combined with 
malice, the possessor will be likely to remember an 
old grudge. 

‘ A Nose crooked in the upper part, long, and 
grosser than ordinary, marks a person bold, proud, 
fierce, tenacious, envious, covetous, luxurious, de¬ 
ceitful, vain-glorious, j)erfidious, and a scold.’ We 
would flee from this nose, as far as we could see it 
with a telescope. 

‘ A Nose broad in the middle, and growing less 
towards the upper part, is a sign of a person varia¬ 
ble, luxurious, nice in his language, and of a churl¬ 
ish disposition.’ Tliis, we presume, is the sort of 
nose that its owner is addicted to turning up, when 
matters do not happen to suit his fancy. 

‘ A Nose long, and very thick, denotes a person 
greedy, covetous, simple in good things and witty in 
evil, fawning, dissembling, and much more ignorant 
than he would be reported to be.’ Whoever has a 
nose of this pattern, we advise him never to go 
abroad without clapping his handkerchief to it, as if 
it were bleeding. 

‘ A Nose unusually elevated in the middle, like 
the arch of a bridge, marks a j)erson lying, idle, in¬ 
constant, luxurious, credulous, importunate, ready- 
witted, a gross liver, and irreligious.’ Mercy on us ! 
Are there no good noses in the list ? For our own 
part, if we were not already provided, we had about 
as lieve do without a nose, as make a shift with 
any such wicked snouts as these. 

‘ A Nose indifferently long, and small in the mid¬ 
dle, signifies a person bold, rational, honest, soon 
angry, but soon pleased.’ As noses go, this is 
worth any money. It is not to be sneezed at. 

‘ A Nose somewhat hairy at the end, bigger than 
ordinary, but small where it joins the forehead, de¬ 
notes a person of good disposition, but too easily 
deceived.’ Supposing this to be a lady’s nose, w-e 
should feel no sort of inclination to take advantage 
of her easy nature. It seems to be a good honest 
nose, but a very hideous one. 

‘ A Nose every way very big, very long, and with 
wide nostrils, denotes a person more weak than 
wise, fallacious, subtle, contentious, luxurious, vain 
glorious, envious,and impertinently curious.’ Wher¬ 
ever we meet this nose, we shall hardly refrain from 
giving it a tweak. 

‘ A Nose conveniently big, and reasonably straight, 
denotes a person peaceful, meek, faithful, laborious, 
diligent, secret, and of good intellect.’ Oh, happy 
nose ! Mayst thou continually inhale the scent of 
roses! And may we, no long time hence, find just 
such a nose on a fair lady’s face ! 





OF F.SEFUL INFORMATION. 


269 


JERUSALEM. 

Jerusalem was first called Salem, and Solyma, 
and is supposed to have been founded by Mel- 
chizedek. It was built upon Mount Sion, and 
gradually spread over other hills in the vicinity, with 
deep vales sinking down between. The Jebusites, 
a people of Canaan, conquered it from its original 
founders, and were themselves driven out by Joshua, 
who, in his division of the Land of Promise, assign¬ 
ed this, afterward sacred city, to the tribe of Benja¬ 
min. A strong hold, however, remained in the 
possession of the Jebusites, till the days of the war- 
riour-psahnist, by whom they were utterly expelled. 
Jerusalem was thence called the city of David. 

No other city in the world presents such a dismal 
history of siege, storm, intestine commotion, cap¬ 
tivity, famine, pestilence, and every sort of ruin, 
continued and repeated through a course of ages, 
as Jerusalem. In the year 3046 before Christ, it 
was taken by Shishak, who is supposed to have been 
Sesostris, king of Egypt. It was afterwards de¬ 
stroyed by Nabuzaradan, general under Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar ; ‘ the walls,’ as Nehemiah says, ‘ were bro¬ 
ken down, and the gates were burned with fire 
and in this desolation it remained, a hundred and 
fifty years. Many centuries after it had been re¬ 
built, Alexander ‘ the Great,’ being refused assist¬ 
ance by the Jews in his warfare, determined again 
to destroy the city. But as he drew near, at the 
head of his triumphant army, a procession came 
forth from the gate—where now we may see yonder 
train of camels entering—and advanced to meet 
him, with the wild clangour of the Jewish music. 
First marched the people, all in white, followed by 
the Levites in their robes, all preceding the High 
Priest, who had put on his garments of purple and 
gOid and wore a tiara on his head, whereon was a 


golden plate, inscribed with the name of the Lord. 
Overawed by the magnificence of the array, the 
Conquerour of the World bowed himself before the 
Priest, and offered his worship to that God whose 
holy city he had threatened to cast down. But 
Jerusalem was seldom so fortunate in its victors, as 
in the case of the mighty Macedonian. The east¬ 
ern monarchs made war upon it, time after time, 
slaughtered its inhabitants, by hundreds of thou¬ 
sands, or made slaves of them, and defiled the tem¬ 
ple with the statues of Heathen deities. 

In the year 66 of the Christian era, the Jews at¬ 
tempted to throw off the Roman yoke, which had 
long before been imposed upon them by Pompey. 
The Emperour Nero sent Vespasian to quell them, 
who, being subsequently called to the imperial pur¬ 
ple, deputed his son Titus to carry on the war. 
Titus accordingly laid siege to Jerusalem, which 
was almost torn asunder by the factions of its in¬ 
habitants ; so that the civil war w'ithin the walls 
was even more frightful than the war of invasion at 
the gates ; and to increase the horrors of the period 
to the utmost, a famine raged within the city. In 
Scripture there is a prophecy, that Jerusalem being 
reduced to the extremity of want, a tender and deli¬ 
cate woman should devour her own child ; and, in 
the course of the siege, the terrible words of the 
prophet were literally fulfilled ; and she, on whom 
was laid the doom of the ancient prophecy, was 
named Mary, a lady of one of the noblest families 
in the city. Titus was so shocked by this horrible 
fact, that he swore to bury the remembrance of it 
under the ruins of the city. He had intended, how¬ 
ever, to preserve the temple; but after Jerusalem 
was taken, a soldier flung a blazing torch within 
the holy edifice, which burst into sudden flames, 
and was consumed to ashes. A small number of 



The Walls of Jerusalem. 





































270 


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Jews were suffered to continue in their native city, 
and paid tribute to the Romans. But, about half 
a century afterwards, the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
having become numerous and again stirring up a 
rebellion, the Emperour Adrian made war upon 
them, slaughtered five hundred thousand men, razed 
the city to its foundation, and sowed the hills, 
where it had stood, with salt. Thus the words of 
its terrible prophets were made good, by Jerusalem’s 
complete destruction. 

The Christian Emperour, Constantine the Great, 
afterwards partially rebuilt the city, and protected 
the Christians who had settled there in considerable 
numbers. In the year of Christ 363, the Emperour 
Julian, the Apostate, scorning the prophecies of 
Scripture, attempted to renew the temple; not one 
stone of which had lain upon another, since the 
time of Titus. But no sooner was the work com¬ 
menced, than earthquakes shook down the rising 
structure ; fire burst from the earth and consumed 
the materials that had been collected ; and other 
awful wonders so affrighted the workmen, that, al¬ 
though Pagans, they no longer dared to set their 
feet on the site of the Jewish Temple. 

Many noble and sanctified persons now came on 
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and monks took up their 
residence there. In 614, when the city was taken 
by the Persians, nine thousand Christians were made 
slaves. Heraclius afterwards gained possession of 
it, and forbade any Jew to come within three miles 
of its walls. The next conquerour of Jerusalem 
was the Caliph Omar, from whose reign it contin¬ 
ued several centuries under the dominion of the 
Saracens. In 1076, it was taken by the Turks. A 
few' years subsequently, Peter the Hermit preached 
the Crusades among the princes and nobles of Eu¬ 
rope, and persuaded many of them to lead their 
vassals to the Holy Land, which they wrested from 
the Pagans, and made Godfrey of Bouillon, king of 
Jerusalem. Five monarchs of Gothic origin suc¬ 
ceeded each other in a dominion that was little more 
than nominal; the Pagans again established them¬ 
selves in the city, and could not be driven out by 
the valour of subsequent Crusaders. 

In after ages, though the Turks still governed 
Jerusalem, Christians were permitted to settle there, 
and almost every nation in Europe was represented 
by a small community of stationary monks. A 
church was built upon Mount Calvary, which, 
though less than a hundred paces long and fifty 
wide, contained under its roof twelve or thirteen 
holy places, where some incident, relative to the 
death or resurrection of our Saviour, was supposed 
to have occurred. There was the very spot on 
which the Cross had stood ; there was the Holy Se¬ 
pulchre, around w'hich the rock had been hewn 
away, so that it was now a grotto above the earth, 
instead of a cave beneath it; there, too, was the 
cleft, which the earthquake rent asunder at the time 
of the crucifixion. It was held as faith by the 
Greeks and Arminians, that, every Easter eve, a 
flame descended into the Holy Sepulchre, and kin¬ 
dled all the lamps and candles which were there. 
The pilgrims, who visited Jerusalem, lighted tapers 
at this sacred flame, and daubed the melting wax 
upon pieces of linen, which they intended as their 


shrouds. The monks of the Greek Church were 
accustomed to contend with those of the Church of 
Rome, for the privilege of celebrating Mass in the 
Holy Sepulchre ; and it is a curious and rather 
melancholy fact, that these Christians have shed 
blood in such a quarrel, in that place of awful sanc¬ 
tity—and the unbelieving Turks have interfered to 
keep the peace ! 

AN ONTARIO STEAM-BOAT. 

The Steam-boats on the Canadian lakes, afford 
opportunities for a varied observation of society. 
In the spacious one, on board which I had em¬ 
barked at Ogdensburgh, and was voyaging west¬ 
ward, to the other extremity of Lake Ontario, there 
were three different orders of passengers ;—an aris¬ 
tocracy, in the grand cabin and ladies’ saloon ; a 
commonalty in the forward cabin; and, lastly, a 
male and female multitude on the forward deck, 
constituting as veritable a Mob, as could be found 
in any country. These latter did not belong to 
that proud and independent class, among our native 
citizens, who chance, in the present generation, to 
be at the bottom of the body politic; they were the 
exiles of another clime—the scum which every wind 
blows off the Irish shores—the pauper-dregs which 
England flings out upon America. Thus, within 
the precincts of our Steam-boat—which indeed was 
ample enough, being about two hundred feet from 
stem to stern—there were materials for studying the 
characteristics ofdifferent nations,and the peculiarities 
of different castes. And the study was simplified, 
in comparison to what it might have been in a 
wider sphere, by the strongly marked distinctions of 
rank that were constituted by the regulations of the 
vessel. In our country atjarge, the different ranks 
melt and mingle into one another, so that it is as 
impossible to draw a decided line between any two 
contiguous classes, as to divide a rainbow accurately 
into its various hues. But here, the high, the mid¬ 
dling, and the low, had classified themselves, and 
the laws of the vessel rigidly kept each inferiour 
from stepping beyond his proper limits. The mob 
of the deck would have infringed these immutable 
laws, had they ventured abaft the wheels, or into 
the forward cabin ; while the honest yeomen, or 
other thrifty citizens, who were the rightful occu¬ 
pants of that portion of the boat, would have incur¬ 
red both the rebuke of the captain and the haughty 
stare of the gentry, had they thrust themselves into 
the department of the latter. Here, therefore, was 
something analogous to that picturesque state of 
society, in other countries and earlier times, when 
each upper class excluded every lower one from its 
privileges, and when each individual was content 
with his allotted position, because there was no pos¬ 
sibility of bettering it. 

I, by paying ten dollars instead of six or four, had 
entitled myself to the aristocratic privileges of our 
floating community. But, to confess the truth, I 
would as willingly have been any where else, as in the 
grand cabin. There was good company, assuredly ; 
—among others, a Canadian judge, with his two 
daughters, whose stately beauty and bright comple.\- 
ions made me proud to feel that they were mv 
countrywomen; though I doubt whether thest» 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


271 


lovely girls would have acknowledged that their 
country was the same as mine. The inhabitants of 
the British provinces have not yet acquired the 
sentiment of brotherhood or sisterhood, towards their 
neighbours of the States. Besides tliese, there was 
a Scotch gentleman, the agent of some land com¬ 
pany in England; a Frenchman, attached to the 
embassy at Washington; a major in the British 
army; and some dozen or two of our own fashion¬ 
ables, running their annual round of Quebec, Mon¬ 
treal, the Lakes and Springs.—All were very gentle¬ 
manly and ladylike people, but too much alike to be 
made portraits of, and affording few strong points 
for a general picture. Much of their time was 
spent at cards and backgammon, or in promenading 
from end to end of the cabin, numbering the bur¬ 
nished mahogany panels as they passed, and view¬ 
ing their own figures in one or other of the tall 
mirrors, which, at each end of the long apartment, 
appeared to lengthen out the scene. Then came the 
dinner, with its successive courses, soup, fish, meat, 
pastry, and a dessert, all attended with a somewhat 
affected punctuality of ceremonies. Lastly, the 
slow sipping of their wine kept them at the table, 
till it was well nigh time to spread it again for sup¬ 
per. On the whole, the time passed wearily, and 
left little but a blank behind it. 

What was the state of affairs in the forward cabin, 
I cannot positively say. There the passengers of 
the second class feasted on the relics of the original 
banquet, in company with the steward, waiters, and 
ladies’ maids. A pleasant sketch, I think, might be 
made of the permanent household of a steam-boat, 
from the captain downward ; though it is observa¬ 
ble, that people in this and similar situations have 
little variety of character, and seldom much depth 
of intelligence. Their ideas and sentiments are 
confined within a narrow sphere ; so far as that ex¬ 
tends, they are sufficiently acute, but not a step be¬ 
yond it. They see, it is true, many different fig¬ 
ures of men and women, but scarcely any thing of 
human nature; for the continually varying crowd, 
which is brought into temporary connexion with 
them, always turns the same surface to their view, 
and shows nothing beneath that surface. And the 
circumstances of their daily life, in spite of much 
seeming variety, are nevertheless arranged in so strict 
a routine, that their minds and characters are mould¬ 
ed by it. But this is not what I particularly meant 
to write about. 

The scene on the forward deck interested my 
mind more than any thing else that was connected 
with our voyage. On this occasion, it chanced that 
an unusual number of passengers were congregated 
there.—All were expected to find their own provis¬ 
ions ; several, of a somewhat more respectable rank 
in life, had brought their beds and bedding, all the 
way from England or Ireland; and for the rest, as 
night came on, some sort of litter was supplied by 
the officers of the boat. The decks, where they 
were to sleep, was not, it must be understood, open 
to the sky, but was sufficiently roofed over by the 
promenade-deck. On each side of the vessel was 
a pair of folding doors, extending between the 
wheels and the ladies’ saloon; and when these were 
■hut, the deck became in reality a cabin. I shall 


not soon forget the view which I took of it, after it 
had been arranged as a sleeping apartment for at 
least, fifty people, male and female. 

A single lamp shed a dim ray over the scene, and 
there was also a dusky light from the boat’s furna¬ 
ces, which enabled me to distinguish quite as much 
as it was allowable to look upon, and a good deal 
more than it would be decorous to describe. In 
one corner, a bed was spread out on the deck, and 
a family had already taken up their night’s quarters; 
the father and mother, with their faces turned to¬ 
wards each other on the pillow, were talking of 
their private affairs ; while three or four children, 
whose heads protruded from the foot of the bed, 
were already asleep. Others, both men and wo¬ 
men, were putting on their night-caps, or envelop¬ 
ing their heads in handkerchiefs, and laying aside 
their upper garments. Some were strewn at ran¬ 
dom about the deck, as if they had dropped down, 
just where they had happened to be standing. 
Two men, seeing nothing softer than the oak-plank 
to stretch themselves upon, had sat down back to 
back, and thus mutually supporting each other, 
were beginning to nod. Slender girls were prepar¬ 
ing to repose their maiden-like forms on the wide, 
promiscuous couch of the deck. A young woman, 
who had a babe al-her bosom, but whose hushand 
was nowhere to be seen, was wrangling with the 
steward for some better accommodation than the 
rug which he had assigned her. In short, to dwell 
no longer upon the particulars of the scene, it was, 
to my unaccustomed eye, a strange and sad one—and 
so much the more sad, because it seemed entirely a 
matter of course, and a thing of established custom, 
to men, women, and children. I know not what 
their habits might have been, in their native land; 
but since they quitted it, these poor people had led 
such a life in the steerages of the vessels, that 
brought them across the Atlantic, that they proba¬ 
bly stept ashore, far ruder and wilder beings than 
they had embarked ; and afterwards, thrown home¬ 
less upon the wharves of Quebec and Montreal, and 
left to wander whither they might, and subsist how 
they could, it was impossible for their moral natures 
not to have become wofully deranged and debas¬ 
ed. I was grieved, also, to discern a want of fellow- 
feeling among them. They appeared, it is true, to 
form one community, but connected by no other 
bond than that which pervades a ffock of wild geese 
in the sky, or a herd of wild horses in the desert. 
They were all going the same way, by a sort of in¬ 
stinct—some laws of mutual aid and fellowship had 
necessarily been established—yet each individual 
was lonely and selfish. Even domestic ties did not 
invariably retain their hallowed strength. 

But there was one group, that had attracted my 
notice several times, in the course of the day ; and 
it did me good to look at them. They were a 
father and mother, and two or three children, evi¬ 
dently in very straightened circumstances, yet pre¬ 
serving a decency of aspect, that told of better days 
gone by, and was also a sure prophecy of better 
days to come. It was a token of moral strength, 
that would assuredly bear them through all their 
troubles, and bring them at length to a good end. 
This family now sat together near one of the fur- 



212 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


naces, the light of which was thrown upon their 
sober, yet not uncheerful faces, so that they looked 
precisely like the members of a comfortable house¬ 
hold, sitting in the glow of their own fireside. And 
so it was their own fireside. In one sense, they 
were homeless, but in another, they were always at 
home; for domestic love, the remembrance of joys 
and sorrows shared together, the mutual anxieties 
and hopes, the united trust in Heaven, these gave 
them a home in one another’s hearts; and what¬ 
ever sky might be above them, that sky was the 
roof of their home. 

Still, the general impression that I had received 
from the scene, here so slightly sketched, was a very 
painful one. Turning away, 1 ascended to the 
promenade deck, and there paced to and fro, in the 
solitude of wild Ontario at nightfall. The steers¬ 
man sat in a small square apartment, at the forward 
extremity of the deck; but I soon forgot his pre¬ 
sence, and ceased to hear the voices of two or three 
Canadian boatmen, who were chatting French in 
the forecastle. The stars were now brightening, as 
the twilight withdrew. The breeze had been strong 
throughout the day, and was still rising; while the 
billows whitened around us, and rolled short and 
sharp, so as to give the vessel a most uneasy motion ; 
indeed, the peculiar tossing of the waves, on the 
lakes, often turns the stomachs of old seamen. No 
land was visible ; for a head-wind had compelled us 
to keep farther seaward than in the ordinary pas¬ 
sage. Far astern of us, I saw the faint gleam of a 
white sail, which w'e were fast leaving ; and it was 
singular, how much the sight of that distant sail in¬ 
creased my sense of the loneliness of our situation. 

For an hour or more, I paced the promenade, 
meditating on the varied congregation of human 
life that was beneath me. I was troubled on ac¬ 
count of the poor vagabonds of the deck. It seem¬ 
ed as if a particular Providence were more neces¬ 
sary, for the guidance of this mob of desperate in¬ 
dividuals, than for people of better regulated lives; 
yet it was difficult to conceive how lliey were not 
lost from that guidance, drifting at large along the 
stream of existence. What was to become of them 
all, when not a single one had the certainty of food 
or shelter, from one day to the next? And the 
women ! Had they been guarded by fond fathers, 
counselled by watchful mothers, anrl wooed with 
chaste and honourable love ? And if so, must not 
all these good influences have been done away, by 
the disordered habits of their more recent life? 
Amid such reflections, I found no better comfort 
than in the hope and trust, that it might be with 
these homeless exiles, in their passage through the 
world, as it was with them and all of us, in the voy¬ 
age on which we had embarked together. As we 
had all our destined port, and the skill of the steers¬ 
man would suffice to bring us thither, so had each 
of these poor wanderers a home in futurity—and 
the God above them knew where to find it. 

It was cheering, also, to reflect, that nothing short 
of settled depravity could resist the strength of 
moral influences, diffused throughout our native 
land ;—that the stock of home-bred virtue is large 
enough to absorb and neutralize so much of foreign 
vice ;—and that the outcasts of Europe, if not by 


their own choice, yet by an almost inevitable neces¬ 
sity, promote the welfare of the country that re¬ 
ceives them to its bosom. 


OLD PIRATES. 

Among the British State Trials, are recorded the 
trials of several pirates, who infested the coast ol 
South Carolina, about the year 1718. The name 
of one of them was Thatch. He had a ship of forty 
guns, and one hundred and forty men, with a fleet 
of smaller vessels, over which he e.xercised the 
authority of Commodore. Such was the force of 
his armament, that he lay at the bar of Charleston, 
in full sight of the town, and seized and rifled sev¬ 
eral ships, bound inward and outward. He levied 
contributions on the government, and took prisoner 
a member of the Colonial Council. Notwithstand¬ 
ing these outrages, some of his men were allowed 
to land, and walk openly about the streets of 
Charleston. One Vaughan afterwards acted in a 
similar way. The feats of these bold rovers sound 
strangely, when we reflect that they took place on 
the North American sea-coast, now so secure; al¬ 
though a century later, the pirates of the West In¬ 
dies have displayed almost equal effrontery. 

But the most noted hero of the black flag—the 
‘ Archipirate, or Chief of Pirates,’ as the prosecuting 
officer calls him—was Major Stede Bonnet. The 
Attorney General of South Carolina complained, 
that some persons had expressed themselves favour¬ 
ably towards Bonnet, as being a ‘ gentleman, a man 
of honour, a man of fortune, and one that had re¬ 
ceived a liberal education.’ All the government 
witnesses appear to have felt a high respect for this 
accomplished and excellent person. Pell, the boat¬ 
swain of his vessel, who had turned King’s evidence, 
was almost willing to relinquish his own pardon, 
rather than testify against Major Bonnet. The Ad¬ 
miralty Judge seems to have partaken of the gen¬ 
eral sympathy; he passed sentence with singular 
courtesy, and expressions of high consideration to¬ 
wards the criminal; and the hangman did his office 
with as much politeness as the circumstance would 
permit. 

This Major Bonnet, and his associates, appear to 
have been partisans of the Stuart family, which was 
then in exile, and whose hopes of returning to the 
British throne, had recently been frustrated by the 
accession of the House of Hanover. It is noticed 
that the Pretender’s health had been drunk by the 
pirates, aboard one of their prizes. As the exiled 
monarch might be considered as always at war with 
his rebellious kingdom, so his adherents might con¬ 
sider themselves justified in carrying on actual hos¬ 
tilities ;—at least, such an argument might satisfy 
the consciences of desperate men, and throw a spe¬ 
cious veil over their crimes. Hence, perhaps, the 
sympathy which they received from the South Caro¬ 
linians, who probably were not such devoted Whigs 
as the people of New England. But, in truth, the 
days of the Buccaneers were then so recent, that 
the public feeling was every where very lenient to¬ 
wards pirates; although the laws against them were 
as severe, and as rigidly executed, as at present- 
1 The famous Captain Kidd was suffered to go at 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


378 


large, several days, in Boston, and it was even 
whispered that the British ministry, and the king 
himself, were concerned in his depredations. 

FISHER AMES. 

Mr. Ames may justly be classed with the most 
eminent and political characters in our country. 
The period of his public services and greatest glory, 
was from 1788 to 1800. He died in 1808, at the 
age of fifty. He had been an invalid for several 
years before his death ; and this consideration, to¬ 
gether with the course of public measures, of which 
he disapproved, probably induced him to retire 
from political life. Mr. Ames was a native of Ded¬ 
ham, Massachusetts, and son of a respectable phy¬ 
sician. He entered the University at the early age 
of twelve years. Leaving College at sixteen, he or 
his relations, thought it too early to enter on the 
study of law, the profession which had been early 
chosen for him. He spent between three and four 
years in teaching youth; but the school, under his 
care, was of the higher order than the common 
public schools, in the country towns. In 1778, at 
the age of twenty, he entered the office of William 
Tudor, and devoted himself to the study of the 
law: And in 1781, he began the practice, in his 
native town. His professional business was suffi¬ 
cient to employ the most of his time; but he was 
too much of a patriot, and of too elevated views to 
devote himself to the low employment of making 
money. The subject of politics soon engaged his 
attention, and occupied much of his time. The 
debt of the Commonwealth was then very great, 
and its credit at the lowest point of depression. 
Mr. Ames took part with other patriots of the day, 
in devising measures for paying off the debt, and 
for reviving the credit of the State. But it was in 
1788, when he was scarcely thirty years old, and as 
a member of the State Convention of Massachusetts, 
for adopting the Federal Constitution, that he burst 
forth in the political horizon, as a bright luminary, 
which gave high promise of light and heat which 
would assist in renovating the dark and gloomy 
period which had visited the United States. He 
was among the ablest members of that very respec¬ 
table Convention, where sat a Bowdoin, a Samuel 
Adams, a Strong, and a Parsons. His arguments 
were equal to his zeal and ardour, in favour of the 
Constitution ; and after its adoption, he was the 
first member of Congress from Suffolk County, 
(then including the towns which now compose the 
County of Norfolk,) though several able and tried 
statesmen of Boston were also proposed for that high 
trust. Mr. Ames was repeatedly elected to Con¬ 
gress, till his feeble health, in 1797, induced him to 
decline. While he was a member of the National 
Legislature, his brilliant powers were often called 
into exercise. On several occasions, and especially 
on the question of money and measures, for carrying 
into effect the treaty with Great Britain, made by 
Washington, in 1794, he surprised and convinced 
his political opponents, by the united force of elo¬ 
quence and argument. Flis speeches were far from 
being declamatory ; nor were they merely brilliant. 
They were justly characterized as eloquent—but, 
like Pitt and Burke, they were discriminating, they 


had truth and patriotism for their foundation; and 
therefore were convincing, unless when addressed 
to those governed wholly by party feelings.—Mr. 
Ames was a short time at the Council Board, after 
retiring from Congress, and when Governour Sum¬ 
ner was in the chair. On the death of General 
Washington, in December, 1799, he was chosen by 
the Legislature to deliver an eulogy on that most 
eminent patriot. It was a chaste and faithful, but 
sober memoir of the hero and the statesman. It 
wanted the fire and eloquence of some of his earlier 
productions; but will be read, at this distant period, 
with far more profit and satisfaction than most of 
the orations on that occasion, which then received 
enthusiastic commendation. The health of Mr. 
Ames continued quite infirm, and some of his 
friends thought he yielded too much to his feelings. 
A more active life might have given him better 
health, and protracted his valuable life. While in 
this feeble state of health, he wrote frequently in 
the public papers, on the public affairs of the nation, 
when difficulties arose between our government and 
the rulers of France; and some persons supposed 
his writings received their tone from the morbid 
state of his mind induced by disease. He indulged 
much in apprehensions of political evils from the 
ambition and intrigues of the few, and the inatten¬ 
tion and love of change of the many. He feared 
the spread of Jacobinical or radical notions; and 
thought he saw a speedy downfall of our republi¬ 
can institutions. Mr. Ames made a distinction be¬ 
tween republicanism and democracy. The former, 
he said, consisted in conforming to the Constitution, 
and to the laws and measures of the representatives 
of the people. And the latter, in a more pretended 
love or regard for the people, while the interested 
demagogue, who cried liberty the loudest or the 
most frequently, would break down the constitu¬ 
tional barriers, erected for the preservation of equal 
rights: And anarchy and despotism would ensue. 
There is too much truth in this distinction, and in 
the fears of Mr. Ames , and yet a representative 
democracy and a republic seems to be synonymous 
terms. In 1804, Mr. Ames was requested to take 
the office of President of Harvard University ; but 
the state of his health was such, that he declined 
the proposal. He thought the place required full 
health and vigour to meet the duties and responsi¬ 
bility of the office. He was the third person cho¬ 
sen to that place, who was not a clergyman. Judge 
Leverett, in 1708, was one of the other. Mr. 
Ames was a good classical scholar, and possessed a 
fine taste for composition : And his disposition and 
deportment were very conciliating. Had he been in 
good health, he would have made a distinguished 
Principal of that ancient and respectable Seminary. 
Mr. Ames died in 1808: and ‘his setting sun,’ as 
one has justly said, ‘ was serene as philosophy and 
religion could make it.’ The Hon. Samuel Dexter, 
his intimate friend and compatriot, pronounced an 
eulogy on his character at the place of interment; 
which, though short, and in some measure probably, 
extemporaneous, did justice to himself and to the 
illustrious dead. B* 


Any character is better than none. 

35 





274 


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View of the City of New York. 











































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


275 


NKW YORK. 

Tliie first European discoverer of the island, on 
which New York is situated, was Henry Hudson, 
an Englishman in the service ot the Dutch East In¬ 
dia Company. In 1609, when lie visited the site 
which is now covered with the innumerable edifices 
and thronged with the population of this great city, 
it was wild, rough, and desolate. The island, 
which is about fourteen miles long, and less than 
a mile m average breadth, was overshadowed 
by a thick forest, wherever the soil was fruitful 
enough to supply nourishment. The beach was 
sandy, but broken by ledges of rock, and interrupt¬ 
ed by numerous inlets ; the surface of the interiour 
was diversified with sandy hills, masses of rock, 
ponds, swamps, and marshes. Such, when the old 
Dutch vessel anchored oil’ Manhattan island, was 
the aspect of the spot, which the engraving now 
represents as a mass of contiguous roofs, with stee¬ 
ples pointing to the clouds, and the ships of every 
nation thronging at its wharves. Old Henry Hud¬ 
son would have been even more wonderstruck at 
the steam-boats which w'e see in the river, than the 
red men were at his big canoe. 

The Dutch early planted a garrison upon the 
island ; but the city appears not to have been laid 
out till 1656, forty-five years after the first discovery. 
It was originally called New Amsterdam, deriving 
its name from the capital of Holland, whose daugh¬ 
ter it might be considered. But the Dutch govern¬ 
ment was not long to retain its sway over the infant 
city. In the year 1664, it was claimed by Colonel 
Robert Nicolls, under the authority of king Charles 
the Second, as being within the English jurisdiction, 
which, on very doubtful grounds, was said to cover 
the whole space between Virginia and New Eng¬ 
land. The right of the strongest, however, was in¬ 
disputably on the English side ; and Peter Stuy- 
vesant, the Dutch Governour, a stout old soldier 
wdth a wooden leg, was reluctantly compelled to 
surrender New Amsterdam—which misfortune, ac¬ 
cording to Knickerbocker, a highly esteemed histo¬ 
rian, went near to break his heart. At the period 
when Colonel Nicolls took possession of the city, it 
consisted of several small streets, with houses in the 
Dutch fashion, presenting their gable-ends in front. 
Nine years afterwards, during a war between Great 
Britain and Holland, New York again came into 
possession of its original founders, being taken by a 
Dutch fleet; but was restored to the English authori¬ 
ties at the peace of 1674. 

In 16S9, when the Stuarts were driven from the 
throne of England by the Prince of Orange, the 
Dutch inhabitants of New York eagerly seized the 
opportunity to place the city under the dominion of 
a monarch of their own blood. The English rulers, 
and principal gentlemen, were favourers of the Stu¬ 
arts ; but Jacob Leisler, a Dutchman, took military 
possession of the town with a force of forty-nine 
men, and sent a written message to the Prince of 
Orange, informing him of this important accession 
to his party. Leisler doubtless anticipated some 
distinguished mark of favour from the Prince, who 
had now become King William the Third. But 
the unfortunate Dutch captain had made many ene¬ 
mies during his short period of power in New York. 


and by their machinations, he was condemned to 
death for high treason, and underwent his sentence 
soon after the arrival of Colonel Sloughter, the Eng¬ 
lish Governour, whom King William had sent over. 
The troubles, arising from this dark and complicat¬ 
ed aflair, continued to disturb the city and province 
for several years afterwards. 

In the year 1708, the original Dutch settlers of 
New York had become intermingled with many new 
emigrants from other countries; there were then in 
the city a great majority of Dutch Calvinists, whose 
mode of worship was on the plan of the church of 
Holland—a considerable number of French refu¬ 
gees, who had been exiled by Louis XIV, for their 
adherence to the faith of Geneva—a few English 
Episcopalians, and a yet smaller proportion of Eng¬ 
lish and Irish Presbyterians. Notwithstanding these 
amalgamations of various stocks, the city continued 
to be Dutch in its aspect and general character, for 
many succeeding years. The language, however, 
went gradually into disuse, and in 1756, there were 
but two churches wherein religious services were 
performed in Dutch, and their congregations con¬ 
tinually diminished. It is a proof, indeed, that the 
national character of Holland is strongly marked 
and deeply ingrained, that so small a community as 
that of New Amsterdam, passing under a foreign 
government, should so long have retained the char¬ 
acteristics of the country whence it sprung. 

No historical sketch of New York, however brief 
and rapid, should omit to notice the Negro Plot, 
which seems to partake somewhat of the character 
of the Catholic and innumerable other plots, that 
threw England into such confusion, and cost so 
many men their lives, in Charles the Second’s days. 
This mysterious business took place in 1741, at 
which period there were eighteen thousand inhabi¬ 
tants in the city, one-sixth of whom were slaves. 
Several incendiary attempts having been made, it 
was rumoured that the slaves, in conjunction with 
a few white men, had laid a conspiracy to burn the 
whole city to ashes, and murder the inhabitants. 
On this suspicion, one hundred and fifty-four ne¬ 
groes were imprisoned, fourteen of whom were sub¬ 
sequently burnt to death at the stake, eighteen 
hanged, and seventy-one transported. Twenty 
whites were also committed to prison, of whom two 
were executed. This horrible severity, which 
would hardly have been justifiable, even had the 
slaves fully succeeded in their alleged plot, make? 
us shudder when we read the doubts of the histo¬ 
rian, whether any such design had ever had exist¬ 
ence. There was probably a panic and excitement; 
the inhabitants were at once terror-struck and blood¬ 
thirsty ; and if ever New York should reproach New 
England with the martyrdom of the witches, it 
will be fair to ask, where they have hidden the 
ashes of their negroes who perished at the stake. 

In 1776, after the battle of Long Island, the city 
was taken by the British; and a few days subse¬ 
quent to that event, a fire broke out which consum¬ 
ed one thousand houses. New York continued the 
head-quarters of the hostile army, the capital of the 
English government in America, and the metropolis 
of its afiairs, till the peace of 1783; u hen the !as‘ 
roll of the British drum was In-ard aloi:g its streets 



276 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


as the troops marched to the point of embarkation. 
Since that period, the events wliich would chiefly 
be touched upon, in a sketch like this, are the prev¬ 
alence of Yellow Fever, at some seasons, the rava¬ 
ges of the Cholera in 1832, and the Great Fire of 
December, 1835 ; which latter calamity will doubt¬ 
less be an epoch in the history of New York, and 
never, we trust, be outshone by any future confla¬ 
gration. We cannot give a better idea of the rapid 
growth of the city, since the peace of Independence, 
than by stating the number of its inhabitants, at 
successive periods. In 1785, there were 35,000; 
in 1800, they had nearly doubled, being 60,000; in 
1810, they had become 95,000; in 1825, they 
amounted to 165,000, and in 1830, to 200,000; 
and the increase of every year would be sufficient, 
were they to take up their residence in a desert, to 
form a very considerable city. Besides the perma¬ 
nent population, from ten to twenty thousand stran¬ 
gers are usually there. 

The geographical position of New York will se¬ 
cure it against any of those reverses, which have 
sometimes caused grass to grow in the streets of 
cities, once as busy and populous as this. It is hap¬ 
pily situated on the central portion of the sea-board, 
the most convenient for intercourse with the Ameri¬ 
can ports, for regular communication with France 
and England, and for cotnmerce with all the mari¬ 
time countries of the world. Canada and all the 
West send their produce thither, by the Erie and 
Champlain canals, and down the Hudson river. It 
is already a great city, and can hardly fail to in¬ 
crease, and cover the whole island on which it 
stands. Broadway, which runs through it like a 
back-bone, while the cross streets form the ribs, is 
about three miles long, and eighty feet in width. 
Here the jewellers have their shops, with the deal¬ 
ers in silks, and all sorts of showy commodities, 
making it the most splendid promenade on our side 
of the Atlantic. South street is where the wholesale 
merchants most do congregate ; at least, they did so, 
before the recent conflagration. In Pearl street, 
the chief business is the retailing of dry 'goods. 
Wall street is the haunt of the stock-brokers, and of 
all who buy money or sell it; and the effect of the 
transactions there is felt at the Bourse in Paris, and 
on the Exchange in London. The Battery is a 
beautiful walk, whither the citizens may escape from 
the dust and din, and enjoy the fresh sea-breeze. 
It would require a volume to describe the public 
buildings, the institutions of learning and science, 
the hundred churches, the theatres, the great hotels, 
which have clustered on the spot where the Dutch¬ 
men traced their muddy streets; and where still a 
few of their antique houses, with high-peaked roofs, 
remain among the edifices of brick, stone, and mar¬ 
ble, with which their successors have burdened the 
narrow island. 

The site of New York, as will be seen by the en¬ 
graving which we present of it, has none of those 
inequalities which give a picturesque aspect to a 
city. In this particular, Boston far exceeds it. 
But the land and water scenery, of which New 
York forms a component is said to be excelled 
by no prospect in the wot Id. 


Bei^ls of Moscow.—One jf the most remaika- 
ble bells in the world is that of the Church of Saint 
Ivan, at Moscow. It weighs one hundred and four¬ 
teen thousand pounds, and is never sounded except 
on great occasions. The bell itself remains immov¬ 
able, and is rung by means of a rope fixed to the 
clapper, which alone is heavier than our ordinary 
bells. When a peal is rung, its vibrations are per¬ 
ceptible throughout the city, and produce a solemn 
impression upon the hearer, in which the effect of 
the distant roll of thunder is harmoniously combin¬ 
ed with the deepest and softest tones of an im¬ 
mense organ. - 

A FAMILY. 

I saw Content, the other day. 

Sit by her spinning wheel, 

And Plenty in a wooden tray 
Of wheat and Indian meal. 

Health, also, at a table sat. 

Dining upon a ham ; 

But appetite demanded yet 
A cabbage and a clam. 

Wealth sat enthroned upon a green 
And fragrant load of hay ; 

And Happiness conjpelled a dog 
Behind the cart to play. 

Delight was chasing butterflies. 

With Laughter and with Joy ; 

Affection gazed with ardent eyes 
Upon the sweet employ. 

Beauty was watering flowers 
Beside the cottage door ; ^ 

And Pleasure spoke about a tour 
To Mr. Staple’s store. 

Industry bid good morrow, and 
Invited me to tea ; 

But Jolly bid me stay away. 

Unless I came with Glee. 

Patience sat in an easy chair. 

Unravelling a skein ; 

While Mirth, with roguish eye, and air. 

Would tangle it again. 

Benevolence had built a tower 
Of pudding, bread and meat, 

And bid Compassion take it o’er 
To Want, across the street. 

But I was gratified to see 
Easy, and free, and fair. 

With Innocence upon his knee. 

Old Satisfaction there. 

He took me by the hand, and led 
Me down a vista green. 

Where Fun and Frolic antics played. 

Two ancient oaks between. 

But, best of all it was to find. 

That Love, the day before. 

The fopling Dress had kicked behind. 

And tossed him out of door. 

And now kind reader, if you choose 
This family to know, 

A farmer’s here I’ll introduce :— 

A ‘ hundred years ago.' 


Lombardy Poplars.— In the United Stales, if a 
boy set out one of these trees, it will probably have 
arrived at its full growth, and have begun to decay 
at the top, while he is still a young man. But at 
Whitton, formerly the residence of Archibald, Duke 
of Argyle, a Lombardy poplar was set out by that 
nobleman, about a century ago, and is still alive 
and flourishing. It is now 115 feet high, and 
measures nineteen feet and eight inches round the 
I trunk, at two feet from the ground 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


277 



View of the Deep Cut of the Lowell Rail Road, near Lowell. 


LOWELL RAIL ROAD. 

The engraving represents the passage of the 
Lowell Rail Road through a ledge of solid rock. 
It is on the northern part of the road, within the 
limits of the town of Lowell. The arch-bridge, 
which is seen in the view, crosses the Rail Road 
near the northern extremity of the ledge, and is 
about three thousand nine hundred feet from the 
Merrimack House, in the village. This bridge is 
on a country highway, and, at the moment when 
the view is taken, a horse and gig are crossing 
above, while the engine and train of cars come 
steaming beneath. 

The Rail Road runs through the ledge, upwards 
of six hundred feet. The depth of the Cut, straight 
downward through the solid rock, is, in some places, 
forty feet; though, in the far greater portion of the 
tract, it is less. The passage is thirty feet in 
breadth at the bottom, and gradually becomes wider 
to the top. The expense of cutting this avenue, 
through a solid ledge of rock, is said to have been 
more than ,940,000. The whole length of the 
Road from Boston to Lowell, is twenty-five miles, 
and one thousand feet. The travel on the Rail 
Road is very great. Last Summer, soon after its 
completion, three trains of cars daily passed over 
the road, and returned, carrying a thousand persons 
each day. The time occupied in the passage is 
from an hour to an hour and fifteen or tw'enty min¬ 
utes ; but the cars have occasionally performed it in 
less than an hour. 

This work is highly honourable to the enterpris¬ 
ing spirit of the proprietors. It will contribute to I 
the prosperity of Lowell, which is still rapidly in¬ 
creasing, and will probably long be the first manu- ; 
factoring town in the United States. The situa¬ 
tion is admirable, and the water abundant; the sur- | 


rounding country is well cultivated; the preser, 
owners of the factories possess great wealth, and 
combine much energy with a degree of prudence 
and calculation, that will deter them from all ex 
travagant enterprises. Thus Lowell has all the ele¬ 
ments of prosperity, and its growth will contribute 
to the welfare of the country at large. The manu¬ 
facture of cottons and woollens, but especially of 
cottons, has already done much towards that end. 


SONG. 

[From the .American Monthly Magazine.] 

There is a wee and pretty maid. 

As sweet and winsome as a fairy, 

I wadna ask wi’ wealth to wed, 

If I could wed wi’ thee, Mary. 

I’ve wandered east—I’ve wandered west— 

As wanton as the winds that vary. 

But ne’er was I sae truly blest 
As when I met wi’ thee, Mary. 

Like a wee purple violet. 

That hangs its blushing head a-w'eary, 

When wi’ the dew its leaves are wet, 

Sae modest sweet art thou, Mary. 

Thy brow is white, as is the mist 

That sleeps on Heaven’s forehead starry— 

Dr mountain snow by sunrise kissed,— 

Thy heart is whiter still, .Mary. 

Thine e’en are like an eagle’s e’en 
That sitteth proudly in his aerie- 
They glitter with a starry sheen,— 

Yet modest as thy heart, Mary. 

Upon thy rosy cheek, the sou! 

Seems in the gushing tide to vary ; 

An’ crimson currents in it roll. 

As tho’ it wad break thro’, Mary. 

If I could press thee in my arms. 

As my wee wife and bonny firiry ; 

I wadna gie for thy sweet charms 
The warld an’ a’ its wealth, Mary. 

How sweetly wad the hours gae by 
That now sae solemn are and dreary 
If thou upon my breast didst lie. 

My ain, my lovely, dear Mary. A. Pike. 







































































































278 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


SCHUYLER, CLINTON, AND JAY. 

[From Hamilton’s Life, by his Son.] 

In New York, (in 1775,) the ministerial party 
maintained their ascendency in the Assembly, al¬ 
though not without a severe and persevering con¬ 
flict. Not daring longer to defend the measures of 
the ministry, they sought by holding out the pros¬ 
pect of a favourable answer to their petitions, and 
by assuring to their constituents a special exemption 
from the common calamity, to quiet the minds and 
paralize the efforts of the people. The opposition 
m this body was still led by two men of the most 
determined resolution,—Philip Schuyler and George 
Clinton,—who, together with John Jay, were the 
leading patriots of New York ; and when the im¬ 
portance of the concurrence of this Province, and 
the embarrassments with which it was surrounded, 
are taken into view, contending, at the same time, 
with the whole influence of the ministry, with the 
power of the colonial government, adroitly exercis¬ 
ed, with a large body of its wealthy proprietors ac¬ 
tively co-operating with the timid portion of the 
mercantile community, amid a divided population 
and distracted councils, it is difficult to measure the 
extent of their services. 

The first of these. Colonel Schuyler, had been a 
partisan officer in the war of seventeen hundred and 
fifty-six. By his fertility of resource and unyielding 
energy, he rendered distinguished services to the 
British commander. Lord Howe, who fell, lamented, 
by his side, and to him the honour of his interment 
was confided. Descended from one of the early 
Dutch settlers of this province, the influence and 
respectability of w'hose family had been transmitted 
through successive generations, he exercised an al¬ 
most unrivalled sway over the minds of the de¬ 
scendants of a people, whose first mention in history, 
as a distinct political community, is associated with 
the assertion of their liberties. 

Possessed of great wealth, he embarked it in the 
contest, as a pledge of his patriotism, and, in the 
course of the Revolution, sacrificed as much of for¬ 
tune and of feeling, as any other individual in 
America. 

Party to the most secret councils of the conti¬ 
nent, he had staked every thing on the issue of the 
conflict, and had acquired a weight of influence 
which led both Virginia and Massachusetts, to re¬ 
gard him as the connecting link in the great pur¬ 
poses at which they aimed. ‘ On the shoulders of 
this great man,’ said Judge Benson, ‘the conduct 
of New York rested.’ 

His love of fame was less than his love of coun¬ 
try ; and when the misadventures of some robbed 
him of the glory to which he was entitled, and while 
artifice withheld from him an opportunity of vindi¬ 
cation, he is not seen indulging in invidious com¬ 
ments on the successes of others, but continuing 
within the sphere of his great influence and resour¬ 
ces, to advance the cause of his early preference. 
Thus, his strength of character sustained him when 
other men sunk, and his adversity gave him more 
true honour than he could have derived from suc¬ 
cess.* Sullied by no private vices, and misled by 

* ‘ I hope, said Mr. Jay, ‘ yon will seriously determine to serve 
your country, at least in a legislative capacity. Class yourself I 


no small passions, his path through life was high, 
unspotted, equal; and he died with a reputation, 
which those who knew and followed him, have con¬ 
tended to perpetuate. 

Sprung from a family of Irish descent, which 
counted among their ancestry a gallant officer of 
the cavaliers who fell with Charles the First,— 
George Clinton, in a nobler cause, displayed all the 
perseverance and courage of his blood. 

In early youth he broke from the thrall of paren¬ 
tal authority, and exchanged for his father’s house, 
a berth on board of a privateer, in which he made 
a cruise during the French war. He is next seen 
in service with his father and brother in an attack 
which resulted in the capture of Frontinac. He 
then became a lawyer, and was placed soon after in 
that sphere in which he was the associate of Schuy¬ 
ler, in opposition to the influence of the crown. 
Transferred by the popular choice to the Continen¬ 
tal Congress, he took part in the measures of 1775 
and 1776, and on the formation of the Constitution 
of the State of New York, was chosen its governour, 
and filled that station during a period of eighteen 
years. On the first call to arms, he was appointed 
a brigadier general, and during the most trying 
years of the war commanded in the Highlands, and 
held the keys of that natural citadel. In intrepidity, 
perseverance, and love of liberty, he was not less 
distinguished than his great compatriot; but in the 
modes of obtaining their objects, and in their politi¬ 
cal views, they were most unlike. By Schuyler, 
the Declaration of Independence was regarded but 
as the first step toward the creation of a great na¬ 
tion, pledged to the principles which that instru¬ 
ment proclaimed. With Clinton, the love of liberty 
was a fiercer passion. 

In Schuyler, it was a principle of high benevo¬ 
lence, enlarging with the sphere of action. With 
Clinton, it was a jealousy of power, contracting and 
deforming the object of his adoration. The one, 
conscious of his own imperfections, regarded man¬ 
kind with a kindred feeling, as full of weaknesses 
from which they were to be protected. The 
other, with a profound knowledge of human nature, 
and consummate talents for popularity, looked 
more to the passions of men, as a field from which 
could be gathered a store of influence for his own 
advancement. The one aided in building up the 
Constitution of the United States on the basis of a 
firm and perpetual union. The other, had he pre¬ 
vailed, would have doomed them to perpetual an¬ 
archy. 

John Jay, younger than either, was educated for 
the bar, and had already acquired celebrity in his 
profession. His father, the descendant of a perse¬ 
cuted Hugonot, established himself in the vicinity 
of New Rochelle, where, surrounded by a small 
community, who traced their origin and their ad¬ 
versities to the same source, he pursued an agricul¬ 
tural life, and preserved all the simplicity of habits 
and purity of character, which had been cultivated 
by the Protestants in France, amid the varied vicis- 

with those great men of antiquity, who, unmoved by the ingrati¬ 
tude of their country, omitted no opportunities of promoting the 
public weal.’—February 12, 1778. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


979 


sltttdes of their fortunes. Educated in such a 
school, he espoused the cause of liberty, with an 
ardour equal to the zeal with which he defended it, 
and soon acquired the ascendency, to which his 
probity, and the soundness of his understanding, 
entitled him. 

By some, his jealousy of errour was supposed to 
have run into a proneness to suspicion ; and his 
strict adherence to right, to have bordered on se¬ 
verity ; but the basis of his character was lofty vir¬ 
tue and manly self-dependence. Elevated by these 
qualities in the public confidence, he rose to some 
of the highest stations in the civil branch of the 
government, and long shone conspicuous among 
the great lights which ushered this nation into exist¬ 
ence,—a pure, consistent, and unyielding patriot. 

punishmp:nt of death. 

From the Report of the Committee of the Massachusetts House 
of Representatives, on the abolition of Capital Punishment, we 
extract their arguments against the inhiction of death for the crime 
of murder. The report is well written, and urges the abolition of 
laws of blood, chiefly on the sensible and sustainable ground, that 
they do not conduce to that end which was proposed in enacting 
them,—the prevention of crime. 

‘ There remains for our consideration the crime 
of Murder, and to this crime it is supposed by some 
that the punishment of death should be affixed, 
even though it should be dispensed with in all other 
cases. The object of punishment is the security of 
society by the prevention of crime. If society have 
the right to take away life in any case, nothing but 
an absolute necessity can justify the exercise of that 
right; and such absolute necessity, if clearly made 
out, would justify capital punishment in any other 
case as well as in that of murder. The experience 
of Great Britain proves that the threatened penalty 
of death cannot prevent or essentially diminish the 
frequency of such crimes as horse stealing, house 
breaking, shop lifting, forgery, or even simple lar¬ 
ceny. If the terrour of such a punishment be not 
sufficient to deter from lesser crimes, much more 
certain is it that it cannot prevent murder, to which 
the guilty must be drawn by much more powerful 
temptations, or impelled by much more violent pas¬ 
sions, and which is therefore much less under tlie 
controul of any reasonable calculation of conse¬ 
quences. The fear of being burned to death, when 
such was the law, could not prevent a timid gitl 
from preparing, concealing, or passing to others a 
few white-washed farthings ; it is not to be expected 
that the remote and uncertain chance of death, in 
a much milder form, will prevent him whose heart is 
steeled to the requisite degree of hardness from the 
commission of murder. A punishment confessedly 
ineffectual for the suppression of comparatively triv¬ 
ial offences, cannot be necessary, because it cannot 
be competent, to suppress a degree of crime so far 
beyond its power. 

‘ We punish the murderer to make the lives of 
others more secure. Let us not then punish him 
by taking away his life, for that will defeat our ob¬ 
ject—that will make life less secure by breaking 
down its greatest safeguard, its sanctity, if the ex¬ 
pression may be used—the natural horrour which 
every man feels at the idea of the violent extinction 


of another’s life, until, by frequent repetition, it be¬ 
comes familiar to his mind, and ceases to excite the 
same emotion. If the spectacle or knowledge of 
an execution, tends to deter from murder, the effect 
would be much heightened by repeating it every 
day. Suppose by an arrangement with foreign na¬ 
tions all the criminals condemned in all the courts 
of the old world could be brought within this Com¬ 
monwealth, and executed in its different towns 
throughout the next year. Does any one believe 
that such is the moral effect of these exhibitions, 
that capital crimes would be less frequent after the 
expiration of that period than before ? Is it not a 
more reasonable conclusion that the value of human 
life would be so cheapened in the eyes of the spec¬ 
tators of such a lavish waste of it, that capital crimes, 
and particularly murder, would be fearfully multipli¬ 
ed, and almost in the ratio of the executions ? If a 
thousand executions would produce this most mis¬ 
erable effect, one execution would produce much 
more than a thousandth part of it, since the first 
execution that a man witnesses gives a much severer 
shock to his moral sense, and inflicts a deeper and 
more lasting injury upon his character than any ten 
or twenty scenes of the same sort that he may wit¬ 
ness afterwards. 

‘ When the law punishes murder by death, it 
gives a legal sanction to the unholy passion of re¬ 
venge, one of the most frequent motives of murder. 
It sets an example of revenge pushed to its farthest 
possible extent. It does all it can to justify murder 
in revenge of a great wrong, for it holds up the 
spectacle of a life violently taken away—taken away 
too, without an absolute and apparent necessity, 
and with this infernal feature peculiar to the trans¬ 
action, that whereas most private murders are com¬ 
mitted in the heat of blood, and without much de¬ 
liberation on the nature of the act or its conse¬ 
quences, society perpetrates its revenge with a cool 
and deliberate malignancy, and after years of fore¬ 
cast and calculation. By so doing it becomes the 
model for the individual who makes himself the 
avenger of his own wrongs—the murderer. By so 
doing, it blunts the virtuous sensibilities, dissipates 
the wholesome prejudice, if it be a prejudice—let 
us rather call it a universal instinct, implanted in us 
for the wisest purposes, which n)akes the unsophis¬ 
ticated heart regard with awe and horrour the vio¬ 
lent extinction of life—a feeling a thousand fold 
more effectual for the security of human life than 
all human legislation, actual or possible, could be. 
Let the law then cease to counteract its own ob¬ 
jects, and let it rather teach that great lesson which 
pure Christianity, sound philosophy, and the in¬ 
stinctive dictates of our better nature concur ia 
teaching, that the life of man is something sacred— 
not to be violated by human hands—rightfully to 
be taken away only by Him who gave it. 

‘ It has sometimes been imagined, that the Mo¬ 
saic and ante-Mosaic laws upon this subject are 
still binding upon Christian communities, and that, 
therefore, capital punishment for this crime cannot 
be done away with. If the great antiquity of these 
laws is supposed to prove their universal obligation, 
let us go back farther to an adjudication of divine 
wisdom in a case much more ancient than any of 





280 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


them, the case of the first murderer, Cain, upon 
whom a mark was set, not that he might be capi¬ 
tally punished, but purposely to prevent such a 
catastrophe, lest men finding him should slay him. 
Coeval with the law referred to, and promulgated 
with quite as many indications of an intention to 
render it universally obligatory, is the regulation 
forbidding animal food to be eaten with its juices, 
in the manner now practised by all Christian nations, 
yet no Christian has any scruples about regarding 
this as a local and temporary ordinance, although it 
is one of the few provisions expressly retained by 
the Committee of the Apostles when they declared 
the Mosaic ritual generally to be abolished. As a 
part of the same system, resting upon the same 
grounds, and meant for all that we can discover to 
have the same duration, the law of Moses punished 
with death a slight infringement of the prescribed 
rest of the Sabbath, and authorised also a parent to 
put to death a disobedient child. So well satisfied 
are we all that the change in the whole condition 
and fundamental construction of society has abro¬ 
gated these provisions of the Jewish law, that wliile 
the whole community acknowledges their divine 
origin, a Jew who should carry into effect these 
precepts of his religion among us, would be tried, 
convicted and executed for the crime of murder— 
a murder too, which, if the Mosaic law' on this and 
collateral subjects is still in force, it was his duty to 
commit; and from which as a pious and conscien¬ 
tious professor of his ancient religion, he could not 
excuse himself. 

‘ Let those who believe that the ante-Mosaic and 
Mosaic law of murder is still in force, recollect what 
that law is, and they will be among the first to 
disclaim it. It introduced no new principle of ac¬ 
tion, but merely for wise reasons growing out of the 
then existing state of society, sanctioned the indul¬ 
gence of private revenge. The avenger of blood, 
without judge or jury, upon his owri personal re¬ 
sponsibility executed the law. How would intelli¬ 
gent men receive a proposition to re-enact, in the 
present state of civilisation, a code so liable to the 
grossest abuses ? These laws w'ere framed to meet 
the wants of a rude society, and should cease, as 
for the most part they have ceased, with the condi¬ 
tion to which they were suited. In the imperfect 
organization and irregular action of the Jewish Gov¬ 
ernment through most of the period of its indepen¬ 
dent existence, it was necessary that the execution 
of the law against murder should be lodged in hands 
where interest and the passion of revenge would 
ensure that it should not remain a dead letter. 
Such was the situation of the avenger of blood, his 
bad passions were allowed full scope in this instance, 
for through them only could the violated majesty of 
the law be vindicated. Upon the known and uni¬ 
form principles of human nature he must have been 
a most efficient judge in his own cause, executor of 
his own decrees, and swift and indefatigable pursuer 
and destroyer of his victim. 

‘ The impossibility of any secure perpetual im¬ 
prisonment left those barbarous ages without any 
eligible substitute for capital punishments. This, 
the only valid plea in excuse of that savage practice, 
has long been done away ’ 


By the proposed Act, the crime of murder is to be punished with 
solitary imprisonment for life. The following section sets forth the 
manner in which the civil condition of the guilty person will be af¬ 
fected by his punishment. While yet alive, he will be blotted out, 
as it were, from the book of life—from the roll of living men. In¬ 
stead of being hanged, buried, and forgotten, he will remain, per¬ 
haps for half a century, an awful example of enduring retribution 
for long-past crime. 

‘ Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That when any 
person shall hereafter be convicted of the crime of 
murder, all contracts of whatever nature to which 
the person so convicted shall be a party, shall be af¬ 
fected, changed, or annulled, in the same manner 
as they severally would have been by the death of the 
person so convicted. The bonds of matrimony be¬ 
tween the husband or the wife, as the case may be, 
and the person so convicted, shall be dissolved ; the 
person so convicted shall cease to have any title to 
or interest in his own estate, real and personal, and 
the same shall be treated, be disposed of, and de¬ 
scend, in all respects as if his actual death had taken 
place on the day when he was convicted as afore¬ 
said ; and all power and authority of whatever na¬ 
ture which he might lawfully have or exercise over 
any other person or persons, shall from and after 
his conviction as aforesaid, cease and determine as 
if he were dead.’ 


The Waterloo Vase. —This magnificent speci¬ 
men of modern art has been recently removed to 
the National Gallery, in Trafalgar square. It was 
found necessary to have it sent there before the com¬ 
pletion of the building of the gallery, as the dimen¬ 
sions of the Vase would render it impossible to admit 
it within the building when finished. The circum¬ 
stances connected with the marble of which the Vase 
is composed may be considered as remarkable. Na¬ 
poleon Bonaparte, having seen the blocks in passing 
through Tuscany, in his ‘progress’ to the Russian 
campaign, desired that they might be preserved, in 
order that a trophy of the‘anticipated’ victory might 
be worked from them by some eminent sculptor. A 
few years afterwards the identical blocks of marble 
were sent to his late Majesty George IV, who 
caused them to be sculptured into a Vase of enor¬ 
mous size, in order to commemorate the victory of 
Waterloo. The height is about sixteen feet; the 
diameter of the top about nine or ten feet. On one 
end is represented King George IV, on his throne, 
with Fame presenting the palm of victory. Bona¬ 
parte, on the other side, is seen dismounted from his 
horse. The rest is filled up with allegorical figures. 
This choice specimen of British art is the work of 
Richard Westmacot, Esq. R. A. and it is without 
doubt the largest and most splendid Vase in the 
world. It was originally intended to adorn ‘ the 
Waterloo Gallery,’ in Windsor Castle; but, in 
consequence of its great weight, (about twenty 
tons) the idea was abandoned, as it was considered 
unsafe to place it in that situation. It is stated 
that the Emperour of Russia has requested a cast 
of the vase in bronze .—English paper. 

Olive Oil is often mixed with oil of poppies. 
It requires a less degree of cold to congeal the pure 
1 oil than the adulterated. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


861 



Capt. Franklin’s Encampment, sketched by himself. 


CAPTAIN FRANKLIN’S EXPEDITION. 

In May, 1819, Captain Franklin left England for 
America, to the northern regions of which country 
he was bound, on a land expedition of discovery and 
research. His companions, besides two sailors, were 
Midshipmen Hood and Hack of the British navy, 
and Dr. Richardson, a learne{l naturalist. Toward 
the last of August the party arrived at York, a prin¬ 
cipal depot of the Hudson’s Bay Company, where 
they received the instructions necessary to the fur¬ 
ther prosecution of their enterprise. It was past 
the middle of October, when they reached the station 
called the Cumberland House, after a jotirney of 
nearly seven hundred miles, since leaving York. 
In that high latitude, of sixty-four degrees, the au¬ 
tumnal weather was as severe as that of midwinter, 
in a more southern clime ; and Captain Franklin felt 
the necessity of awaiting the return of Spring, before 
venturing further towards the inclement region of 
the Arctic Circle. But, as he had been advised to 
visit the district of Athabusca, in order to obtain 
guides and interpreters, as well as information re¬ 
specting the country which stretches north of Slave 
Lake, he started for Fort Chippewayan, accompa¬ 
nied by Mr. Back and one of the sailors. Mr. Hood 
and Dr. Richardson remained at Cumberland 
House. 

Captain Franklin and his companions were two 
months in reaching Fort Chippewayan, which is little 
short of a thousand miles from Cumberland. The 
country through which they passed was thinly in¬ 
habited, and seldom afforded them any shelter from 
the inclement sky, during the long and dreary nights 
of a nortnern winter.—The engraving is from a de¬ 
sign sketched by Captain Franklin, and represents 
on« of their encampments. The dogs are unharness¬ 


ed from the sledges, and may be seen trotting about 
in the open space, or reposing themselves after 
their fatigues. The fire is kindled, and sends its 
smoke up among the wintry pines, while its blaze 
glows upon their huge trunks and snow-covered 
branches, and gleams far into the wild avenues of 
the forest, till its light is lost in their lonesome ob¬ 
scurity. Supported by three stakes over the fire, 
hangs the kettle, wherein the adventurers are cook¬ 
ing a rich stew, composed of birds, rabbits, and other 
delectable ingredients, which will soon be set smok 
ing upon the ground, and make them an excellent 
supper. The dogs also will partake, and then lie 
down comfortably at the feet of their masters, who, 
when their hunger is satisfied, will seat themselves 
round their fireside in the forest, and talk of the 
beloved ones whom they have left at the hearths of 
distant England. Then, their hearts yearning with 
the remembrances that have been roused, they will 
stretch themselves on the frozen earth, whence the 
snow has been shovelled away, and strive to sleep 
that they may be ready for the toils of the morrow. 
The deep, broad tones of the wind will sigh through 
the overarching brandies—the trunks of the pines 
will creak,and cause the dogs to awake, with a sharp 
and sudden bark—sometimes, too, it will be need¬ 
ful to throw afresh heap of wood upon the fire, and 
kindle up the wintry wilderness with a more cheer¬ 
ful light. But, after awhile, the twinkling stars, in 
the cold blue firmament, will cease to glimmer upon 
the travellers’ eyes; they will sleep, and dream o^ 
home. May they awake with their toes unharmed 
by frost, and spend the next winter with their sweets 
hearts and wives, by a good coal fire in England! 

We must not forget to notice the marks on the 
trunk of the large tree, on the right, by which, when 

36 








































202 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



they resume their journey in the morning, the travel¬ 
lers will direct their course. 

In the Spring, after Captain Franklin’s visit to 
Fort Chippewayan, he and his companions set out 
northward, to accomplish the objects of their expedi¬ 
tion. They were accompanied by about a score of 
Canadians and Indians, who were to serve as guides 
and interpreters. Their course lay north and west, 
and carried them as high as the sixty-eighth degree 
of latitude, when it was deemed necessary to retrace 
their steps. It was now the Autumn of 1821. 
Their journey back towards the civilized world, 
through a dreary waste, where the winter had set 
in at the beginning of September, was one of ex¬ 
treme hardship, and attended with many misfortunes. 
Sometimes, indeed, they were fortunate enough to 
kill a musk-ox ; in which case, they immediately de¬ 
voured the intestines raw, and even made a meal 
of the contents of the stomach, which had already 
satisfied the appetite of the poor ox. Occasionally, 
they caught a few fish, or shot a bear, which, from 
the nature of his food, tasted as much like fish as 
flesh. One or two reindeer, also, afforded them a 
providential supply. But owing to the number of 
mouths to be fed, a-nd partly to the improvidence 
of the Canadians, they were almost continually in 
want of food, and often compelled to gnaw the bones 
of deer or musk-oxen, the flesh of which had been 
long ago devoured by the wolves. A certain un¬ 
palatable herb, which they found among the snow, 
was also made use, of to allay their hunger, although 
it caused a terrible commotion of their inward re¬ 
gions. Some sat down, in starvation of body and 
anguish of spirit, and ate up their old shoes—a por¬ 
tion of their apparel which, one would think, they 
could least dispense with, being to travel through 
the snow. 

Sonie of the party were so worn out by tljesp 


hardships, that it was deemed expedient for Captain 
Franklin to hasten onward, with those who were 
in a condition to accompany him, and seek assist¬ 
ance for their more exhausted companions. Dr. 
Richardson and Mr. Hood were among those who 
remained behind ; and the latter, happening to be 
left alone with an Iro(]uois Indian, who belonged to 
the party, was shot by him through the head. The 
murderer and the survivors travelled on together for 
a considerable time ; but, as the Iroquois appeared 
to meditate further bloodshed. Dr. Richardson tried 
the case in his own mind, and felt it his duty to take 
this Indian’s life. Accordingly, he shot him dead 
with a pistol. It was the act of a determined man, 
yet a conscientious one; and we know of few more 
striking incidents than this, when a gentleman of 
education and sensibility found himself compelled 
to act as judge, jury, and executioner, on a fellow 
creature, and put him to death in cold blood. 

It would require too large a portion of our pages, 
to trace all the weary and painful steps of the travel¬ 
lers, and tell how one sank down and died in the 
snow, and was frozen like a block of ice, before his 
companions found him—and how all were pined away 
to skin and bone; so that they looked like a party 
of skeletons, straggling back to repose their fleshless 
joints in the grave yards of their native country. 
They at length encountered some Indians, with 
whom they had formed an acquaintance on their 
outward journey, and who were under the influence 
of the North-West Company. These wild people, 
when Captain Franklin first came to their regions, 
had heard that a great chief was about to visit them, 
and likewise a great medicine chief, whose skill 
could not only cure tlie sick, but raise dead corpses 
and clothe skeletons with flesh. And now they be¬ 
held the great chief, a half-starved man, so weak 
that one of their children miglit have overcome him ; 






























OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


283 


and Dr. Richardson, the great Medicine Chief, him¬ 
self a skeleton, and far more likely to die than raise 
the dead. However, they treated the poor stran¬ 
gers kindly, and gave them so much food that they 
had nearly split asunder—the Doctor, as well as the 
rest; for while exhorting his companions to abstain, 
he kept eating at an enormous rate. 

When the party had recovered sufficient strength 
to pursue their journey, the Indians put their bag¬ 
gage into canoes, to which they harnessed their dogs, 
and set forth across the frozen and snow-covered 
surface of Slave-Lake. This is the scene to which 
our cut refers. The dogs, as the reader will per¬ 
ceive, are stout animals, and go at a pretty brisk 
trot, with their tails curled over their backs, in to¬ 
ken of good spirits. They are an excellent substi¬ 
tute for horses, except in the trifling particular, that 
a man must walk by their side, instead of riding 
comfortably in the vehicle behind them. 


MILITARY ADVANTAGE OF RAIL ROADS. 

General Gaines, of the United States’ Army, in a long letter re- 
Bpecting certain proposed rail roads in Tennessee and the neigh¬ 
bouring states, takes the following professional view of the subject. 
It probably has not occurred to most people to consider it in this 
light. 

In reference to the military aspect of the subject 
of rail roads with steam power applied to vehicles 
of land transportations, I have much to say, more, in¬ 
deed, than I can flatter myself with a hope that the 
committee of the legislature would feel inclined dur¬ 
ing the present session to hear. It is a subject so 
much altogether within the unquestionable sphere of 
my professional vocation—a subject too, of such 
tremendous and awful import, when taken in con¬ 
nection of the national defence, that I have felt it 
to be as much my duty for some five years past, to 
devote my attention to it, as I ever deemed it, in 
obedience to my official oath, to meet in battle my 
country’s enemy. It is tremendous and awful, be¬ 
cause it is destined soon to enable us, the people of 
the United States, with the aid of our State gov¬ 
ernments and our United States government, to 
wield with irresistible effect, all the vast elements 
of the military power and countless resources of the 
central and interiour States and districts, to any 
threatened point of our national frontier in time to 
crush the invader, strong as he may be, before he 
could possibly take any one of our first rate fortifi¬ 
cations if prepared for a vigorous defence; and with¬ 
out an expense of more than one tenth of time or 
of money that the present and all former means of 
national defence required—with little or no expense 
on our part of health or of life.—The subject is aw¬ 
ful, because it places at the controul of instructed 
man, a power which hitherto, from the beginning 
of the world up to the present age, was believed to 
belong only to Him who created and who controuls 
the elements of all power! It presents to us the 
means of wielding without the usual animal power, 
from this spot to an Atlantic seaport, distant six 
hundred miles, with seventy-two locomotive engines, 
an army of one hundred thousand men, and six hun¬ 
dred tons of cannon or other arms, in sixty hours 
—in the short space of sixty hours! A cargo of 


men and arms that would, with our present roads, 
require thirty-six thousand draught horses and six 
thousand wagons, thirty days to convey the baggage 
and ordnance and stores of this army the same 
distance —■ whilst the 6,000 wagons and 36,000 
horses would cost ^*3,600,000 

And the cost of the 72 locomotives 

at ^5,500 each, would be but 396,000 

Making a difference in money of ^3,204,000 
Three millions two hundred and four thousand 
dollars in favour of the rail road movement, in the 
march of one hundred thousand men in the space 
of sixty hours. Besides a difference in time (often 
more precious than any thing that money can com¬ 
mand) of more than ten to one in favour of rail roads 
—and which would constitute a clear saving of 
twenty-seven days out of thirty ; or, in other words, 
would enable us to pounce upon the invader with 
our hundred thousand disposable Tennesseans or 
Kentuckians, fresh from the heart of the country, 
twenty-seven days sooner than, according to all for¬ 
mer experience, and with our present miserable 
roads, we could hope (fatigued, sickened and de¬ 
pressed, as we should in all probability be,) to meet 
in battle the invader: and we should then most prob¬ 
ably meet him, under all the untoward disadvan¬ 
tages of having our own improved cannon turned 
against us, from our own splendid fortifications, con¬ 
quered and fallen into his hands for want of rail 
roads, such as those now recommended, to throw 
in them timely succour; for unbounded as is my con¬ 
fidence in the gallantry of our brethren of the sea¬ 
board and the adjacent districts, that could be brought 
together at the point of attack, in time to co-operate 
with the garrisons of our works of defence—a pow¬ 
erful veteran foe would, if possible, cover himself 
from their attack, and thus enjoy the advantage ta¬ 
ken from us of acting on the defensive whilst car¬ 
rying on the most vigorous approaches upon our 
principal works,—he might thus, in the course of 
two, three, or four weeks, not only destroy in 
detail a very large portion of our minute men of 
the States and districts of the place besieged, but 
triumph in taking our fortifications, with every 
thing of value near the theatre of action. 

• I have said, that to a clear saving in time of twen¬ 
ty-seven days out of thirty, we would effect a saving 
in money to the enormous amount of .^3,204,000, 
and this in the short period of sixty hours from the 
time our young sharp-shooters shall have taken leave 
of those most dear to them at the place of their de¬ 
parture. Apply these views to the well established 
axioms that ‘ time is power,’ —and that ‘ a dollar 
saved is at least equal to a dollar gained,’ and add 
the obvious and self-evident truth that all the most 
expensive means of national defence hitherto em¬ 
ployed, such as fortifications, cannon and ordnance 
stores essential in war, are useless and even worse 
than useless in peace, being both expensive in their 
repairs and preservation, and at the same time wholly 
unproductive, whilst rail roads in war are indispen¬ 
sable appendages to our fortifications: and on the 
return of peace, when fortifications become useless, 
rail roads continue their utility to every class of the 
commnnitv; whilst they almost impcrct'ptibly create 






234 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


a revenue from the commerce and wealth to which 
they give facilities, equal in 8 to 12 years to the 
whole amount of capital invested in their construc¬ 
tion ! are these views indeed visionary? or are they 
based on demonstrated realities, such as tnust fill 
to overflowing every patriot heart with gratitude to 
Heaven, and joy to the cause of national liberty for 
the signal blessing bestowed on our beloved country 
in having discovered the indubitable means of perfect 
security from all the countless evils of war:—Means 
in the employment of which we are sure of contribu¬ 
ting much to the benefit of our agriculture, our 
commerce, mechanic arts and manufacturmg es¬ 
tablishments, and above all to tlie efficiency of our 
militia, our political, literary, scientific, moral and 
religious institutions, whilst we are equally sure 
that in the accomplishment of these great objects 
we shall not only not sink or waste our money or 
labour, but shall doubtless convert the capital neces¬ 
sary for the attainment of these inestimable bene¬ 
fits into investments that will to a certainty afford us 
more than the lawful interest—most probably, in¬ 
deed, compound interest upon all such investments. 

With rail roads, such as those which I have deem¬ 
ed it to be my duty to advocate, this disposable 
force may be thrown, in four days time, from these 
central States to any section of the national fron¬ 
tiers, in season to meet and beat an invading foe, 
before he could possibly take, by the best means of 
approach yet devised, any one of our strong forti¬ 
fications. Whereas, without rail roads, this great 
disposable force would waste millions worth of 
health and life and treasure, in vain eflbrts to meet 
the invader, without being able to find any other 
trace of his footsteps than such as may be marked 
with his and sword. He will have time to land 
and to measure his strength with the gallant border- 
men that may happen to be near the point of at¬ 
tack, and whether repulsed or victorious, the enemy 
will have withdrawn from that point, and by the aid 
of steam power applied to his fleet, he will have di¬ 
rected his attention to some other vulnerable point, 
where he may be least expected, and where he will 
have time to re-enact his tragedy of fire and deso¬ 
lation. And in this way, our whole Atlantic and 
Mexican border may, in a war of two or three years, 
be completely overcome and sacked to an amount* 
of property (to say nothing of national honor) more 
than sufficient for the construction of ten such rail 
roads as those which I have advocated ; and these 
disasters may be eflected by a force of less numeri¬ 
cal strength, and less prowess than the force which 
these two States could alone furnish! 


A MODERN SAMPSON. 

A correspondent of the Keeseviile (N. Y.) Herald gives an ac¬ 
count of .Toseph Call, recently deceased; who according to the 
Editor, ‘ undoubtedly possessed more bodily strength than any 
man since the days ofSampson.’ We extract the following instances 
of his wonderful prowess.— 

As he grew older, his natural joviality of dispo¬ 
sition led him to frequent w'himsical displays of his 
physical superiority. At one time he would lift a 
barrel of cider to his lips, and after having satisfied 
ms o.vn thirst from the bung-hole, would gravely 


offer to pass it round the company. At another, 
stealing silently behind a teamsters’ wagon, he would 
seize hold of the wheel, and suddenly bringing the 
team to a halt, would quietly remark, ‘ A broatliing 
spell to your nags, neighbour!’ 

At one period of his life, when a teamster him¬ 
self, he used frequently to find his immense strength 
of great service; for whenever his team would hap¬ 
pen to get set in a mud hole, he would crawl under 
his wagon, and placing his broad shoulders against 
the bottom, would raise the wagon, load and all, 
gradually up, until his horses were able to drag it 
forth without difficulty. 

A celebrated wrestler from Albany having heard 
of Joe’s reputation, once made him a visit for the 
express purpose, as he declared, ‘ of giving him a 
touch of the fancy! ’ Joe with his usual modesty, 
disclaimed all knowledge of the exercise, but upon 
the stranger’s pressing him, finally consented ‘ to 
take hold.’ Accordingly they grappled ; the stran¬ 
ger throwing himself into the most scientific posi¬ 
tion, whilst Joe, pretending utter ignorance of all 
rule, assumed the most careless and exposed atti¬ 
tudes. They had scarcely got fairly hold, when the 
stranger, placing his foot on Joe’s toe, attempted 
with a sudden yerk to throw him by what is term¬ 
ed the ‘ toe-lock.’ But Joe anticipating his move¬ 
ment, quietly permitted him to assume the necessary 
position, and then as he stood for a moment bal¬ 
ancing on Joe’s toe, gravely raised him into the air, 
and danced him about as a mother would her 
child. 

On one occasion, Joe happening to spend a night 
at St. Johns, as he sat in the bar-room of the Ho¬ 
tel where he stopped, the conversation turned upon 
wrestling. Joe being an entire stranger to the com¬ 
pany collected, sat listening to the con’'ersation, 
without participating but little in it. At length one 
individual, after relating several wonderful feats 
which he had accomplished, finally wound up by 
roundly asserting that he had thrown Joe Call ! Joe 
as might readily be supposed, was not a little sur¬ 
prised at this assertion from an entire stranger, and 
in that spirit of fun which always prompted hint, ex¬ 
claimed, ‘Why! you’d sioallow a common man! I 
should like to take hold of you myself if you would 
promise not to hurt me.’ The braggadocio instantly 
accepted the proposition, and they took hold. Joe 
with scarcely an effort, raised him from the floor, 
and holding him out at arm’s length, said to him, 

‘ there, ivrestle! ’ The astonished wrestler could 
only cry, ‘ Who—who—the devil are you?’ ‘The 
man you threw; Joe Call, at your service, sir!’ 


Fashionable Wigs. It was the custom of the 
early settlers of New England (at least of the fron¬ 
tier men, about the year 1725) to wear wigs made 
of the scalps of Indians, whom they had slain. This 
strikes us as a truly Yankee idea—to keep their 
ears comfortably warm with the trophies of their 
valour—to cover themselves at once with glory and 
with a wig. Perhaps they look the hint of this ex¬ 
cellent fashion from Julius Caesar, who, when the 
Romans had given him a laurel crown as a symbol 
of his fame, used to wear it constantly to hide his 
baldness. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


286 



COMMODORE BARRY. 


In addition to his own exploits, Commodore Barry 
nas a strong claim to the gratitude of America, as 
the officer under whom many of our distinguished 
naval warriours were initiated into their profession. 
He was born in the county of Wexford, in Ireland, 
in the year 1745. At the age of about fourteen, 
with the consent of his father, he shipped on board 
a merchantman bound to America, where he had 
no sooner landed, than he resolved to adopt the 
' country as his own. From 1760 till the Revolution 
he sailed in the employ of the most eminent mer¬ 
chants in Philadelphia, and long commanded a large 
ship in the London trade, called the Black Prince, 
which was afterwards purchased by Congress. In 
February, 1776, he was appointed to command the 
Lexington, of 16 guns,—the first Continental ship 
of war that was fitted out at Philadelphia. Being 
blockaded by the ice in the Delaware river, he serv¬ 
ed with great credit as aide-de-camp to General 
Cadwallader, and w^as distinguished in the military 
operations of that period. 

When Philadelphia was taken by the British, 
Commodore Barry assisted to run the American 
vessels of war up the river to Whitehill. While 
at this station, he conceived a design to intercept 
the enemy’s supplies, by means of small boats, well 
armed, which in case of danger might take refuge 
in the creeks. Accordingly, he manned the boats 
of the frigate, descended the Delaware with muffled 
oars, and arrived opposite Philadelphia, before the 
alarm was given. The city was thrown into the 
utmost confusion;—the bells rang, cannon fired, 
and the whole British forces stood to their arms 
throughout the night, supposing that the American 
troops were about to attack their position, by means 
•of flotillas. Meantime, Barry and his little band of 
boatmen had fully succeeded in their object, not 
only intercepting the supplies, but capturing a ves¬ 
sel laden with precisely the munitions of war that 
were most needed by the American army. For 


this exploit, the Commodore and his party received 
the public thanks of General Washington, who was 
accustomed to recur to the event, as one that had 
given him peculiar satisfaction. 

Shortly afterwards the Lexington, with the other 
vessels of war at Whitehill, having been burnt by 
the British, Barry was appointed to the Raleigh, a 
32 gun frigate. On his first cruise in her, he was 
driven ashore on Fox’s island in Penobscot bay, by 
a large squadron of the enemy, from whose hands 
he could rescue his ship no otherwise than by de¬ 
stroying her. He then made several voyages in 
letter-of-marque vessels to the West Indies, dur¬ 
ing one of which he was commander of a large fleet, 
and had an opportunity to practise naval tactics on 
a more extensive scale. His next duty was to su¬ 
perintend the building of a 74 gun ship, at Ports¬ 
mouth in New Hampshire ; and the command would 
have been entrusted to him, if Congress had not 
seen fit to make a present of their only ship of the 
line to their ally, the king of France. Barry was 
appointed to the Alliance of 36 guns, then in the 
harbour of Boston, whence he sailed for the port of 
L’Orient in February 1781, having on board Colonel 
Laurens and his suite, bound on an important em¬ 
bassy to the French court. 

On the twenty-ninth of May, he fell in with two 
British vessels; the Atalanta, Captain Edwards, a 
ship of between twenty and thirty guns, and the 
Trepasa, Captain Smith, a large brig. Shortly after 
they hove in sight, it became a perfect calm; the 
Alliance lay like a log upon the water; but the ene¬ 
my threw out their sweeps, and were thus enabled 
to choose their own position. In the course of the 
action, the Commodore was struck by a grape-shot 
in the left shoulder; the wound was dangerous and 
excessively painful; but he refused to be carried be¬ 
low, till, by the loss of blood, he had nearly fainted 
on the deck. He had not long been in his cabin, 
when a lieutenant entered, and representing the 
shattered state of the sails and rigging, the loss of 
the crew, and the desperate state of the battle, de¬ 
sired to know if the flag might not be struck. Bar- 
ry roused himself, at once, from the gory couch 
where he had lain almost insensible. ‘ No, never!’ 
cried he; ‘and if the ship can’t be fought with¬ 
out, carry me on deck again.’ He was about be¬ 
ing borne thither, when the British vessels struck,and 
Captain Edwards was ushered into his conqueror’s 
cabin. 

In March, 1783, the Alliance sailed from Havana^ 
with a large quantity of specie, in company with the 
Luzerne, of twenty guns. A squadron of British 
frigates being discovered right ahead, at two leagues 
distant, the Luzerne was compelled to fling her 
guns overboard, in order to escape. During the 
chase which ensued, another sail hove in sight on 
the weather-bow, and proved to be a French fifty- 
gun ship, depending on whose assistance, Barry re¬ 
solved to engage the British squadron. He accord¬ 
ingly attacked the foremost frigate, and disabled 
her, with a loss, as was afterwards ascertained, of 
thirty-seven men killed, and fifty wounded. Had 
not the French captain behaved like a poltroon, the 
whole squadron might have been captured; but as 
he kept aloof, Barry was forced to give over the ac- 






‘286 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


tion with the frigate by the coming up of her con¬ 
sorts. Many years after this event, a distinguished 
officer of our navy, being then on the Mediterranean 
station, was introduced to Vice Admiral James 
Vashan. The admiral alluded to the above-men¬ 
tioned conflict, announced himself as the command¬ 
er of the British frigate, and made many inquiries 
respecting Commodore Barry, of whose gallantry he 
spoke with the utmost admiration. So high, indeed, 
was Barry’s naval renown, that General Howe at¬ 
tempted to seduce him from his fidelity by the offer 
of fifteen or twenty thousand guineas, and the com¬ 
mand of the best frigate in the English service. 
Barry answered indignantly, that he would not de¬ 
sert the suffering cause of America, to be made 
Lord High Admiral of England. 

After the Revolution, the Commodore retained 
his rank, and superintended the building of the frig¬ 
ate United States, which, excepting old Ironsides, 
has been as glorious a ship as any in the navy. He 
commanded her, during the maritime hostilities be¬ 
tween this country and the French Republic. Com¬ 
modore Barry spent the greater part of a long life 
upon the ocean, and saw every variety of service. 
He was a rigid disciplinarian, yet never failed to win 
the affection, as well as obedience of his officers, 
and was enthusiastically beloved by his crews. His 
piety was exemplary, and the Sabbath was kept holy 
in every ship where he commanded. In lieu of all 
other eulogiums, we may add, that he enjoyed the 
friendship of Washington. 

Commodore Barry died in 1803, of an asthmatic 
affection, at Philadelphia. His portrait shows the 
asf)ect of a stout old sailor, and a frank, kind-heart¬ 
ed gentleman,—and such he was. 


PIKE’S LETTERS. 

In the January Number of the American Monthly Magazine, 
Albert Pike, a free and natural writer, gives the following descrip¬ 
tion of a shooting-match in Arkansas. 

Reader, didst ever see a shooting match in the 
West? I dare swear you never have, and therefore 
there may be no tediousness in a description of one. 
I hate your set descriptions ; laid out, formally, in 
squares and parallelograms, like an old-fashioned 
garden, wherein art hath not so far advanced as to 
seem like nature. You can just imagine the scene 
to yourself. Conceive yourself in a forest, where 
the huge trees have been for ages untouched by the 
axe. Imagine some twenty men—tall, stalwart, 
browned hunters; equipped in leather, with their 
broad knives by their sides, rifles in hand, and every 
man with his smoke-blacked board in his hand. 
The rivals in the first contest were eight sturdy fel¬ 
low's, middle aged and young men. The ox for 
which they were to shoot was on the ground, and 
it was to be the best six shots out of eleven. The 
four quarters, and the hide and tallow, were the five 
prizes ; they were to shoot off-hand at forty yards, 
or with a rest at sixty, which is considered the same 
thing. Two judges were chosen, and then a black¬ 
ened board, with a bit of paper on it about an inch 
and a half square, was put up against a tree. ‘ Clare 
the track ? ’ cried the first marksman, who lay on the 
ground at his distance of sixty yards, w'ith his gun 


resting over a log. The rifle cracked, and the bul 
let cut into the paper. ‘ Put up my board ! ’ cried 
another—‘ John, shade my sight for me ! ’ and John 
held his hat over the sight of the gun. It cracked, 
and the bullet went within half an inch of the cen¬ 
tre. ‘ My board ! ’ cried another; ‘ I’ll give that 
shot goos!’ and he did; fairly boring the centre 
with the ball. The sport soon became exciting. It 
requires great steadiness of nerve to shoot well, for 
any irregularity in breathing will throw the bullet 
wide of the mark. The contest was longer than I 
had anticipated ; but was decided without quarrel 
or dispute. The judges decided, and their decision 
was implicitly obeyed. The whole eleven shots of 
one man, who won two quarters, could be covered 
with a half dollar. You have made a show of Davy 
Crockett; but there are thousands of men in the 
West who are better marksmen, better bear hun¬ 
ters, and every w'hit as smart as Davy himself. 

Speaking of him, however, reminds me of an anec¬ 
dote of him, which may perhaps be contained in his 
autobiography ; if not, it is too good to be lost, for it 
does him more honour than the fact that he has been 
in Congress. Before he was a candidate, or had any 
idea of being one, there was a season of scarcity in 
the Western District, where he lived. He went up 
the Mississippi, and bought a flat boat load of corn, 
and took it to what he calls ‘ his old stamping 
ground.’ When a man came to him to buy corn, 
the first question he asked, was , ‘ Have you got the 
money to pay for it?’ If the answer was in the 
affirmative, Davy’s reply was, ‘ Then you can’t have 
a kernel. I brought it here to sell to people that 
have no money.’ It was the foundation of his pop¬ 
ularity. 

The hurricane, described in the next extract, is a scene that was 
probably never witnessed in New England, on any thing like the 
same terrific scale. Among us, the wind sometime rages, but never 
goes mad out-right. 

There is very little worthy of remark on the road 
from Pope county to Little Rock, except about 
fifty-five miles above the latter place, where you 
cross the track of a hurricane. A tremendous tor¬ 
nado passed there some five years ago, with a pow¬ 
er almost inconceivable. It was about a mile and 
a half in width; and no one knows the distance it 
travelled. It left hardly a tree standing where it 
swept by. The largest hickory and oak trees were 
twisted round, and broomed up by the blast; and a 
thick growth of vines and briars has grown up in 
place of the forest. It has never been my fortune 
to behold the passage of such a tornado; neither am 
I anxious for the honour. One of the lawyers in 
this territory, who was caught in such a hurricane 
once, has described it to me frequently. He was 
travelling through the woods in the southern part 
of the territory, on a clear, warm summer day, when 
he heard a roaring, like the bellowing of the ocean, 
rising in the distance, and increasing every moment. 
He sought for some open place, and found one, 
where a small hickory sapling stood alone, with no 
tree within twenty or thirty yards. Here he alight¬ 
ed, and, holding the sapling with one hand, kept 
the bridle in the other. In a few moments he saw, 
1 afar off, in the direction of the tornado, the air dark- 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


287 


ened with branches swept onward before the mighty 
wind. Directly the blast struck him—not like a 
wind, but like a body of condensed air, pouring on 
with the swiftness of lightning. At one moment 
he was dashed on the ground—and then the torna¬ 
do would lift itself, and leave a calm below—then 
it would descend again, and again dash him to the 
earth. He was stunned with the terrible roar 
of the mad hurricane, and the crash of the 
giant trees, over which the chariot of destruction 
was rolling its mighty, though invisible wheels. 
Large branches were whirled faraway over his head, 
or fell close by him ; and it was a full half hour ere 
the hurricane had passed away. It had swept a path 
through the forest, as a cannon ball would cut its 
road through a solid column of Lilliputians. 


BRIDEWELL IN NEW YORK CITY. 

[Report of Prison Discipline Society.] 

This is the place where they blanket a stranger. 
On the last visit of the Secretary of this Society to 
the Bridewell in New York, the keeper explained 
to him this process of blanketing. Here—in one 
large room which is not very well lighted, and which 
is so far removed from the keeper’s office, and so sepa¬ 
rated fromitby heavy, solid doors,and fastenings, and 
winding passages, as not ordinarily to be under the 
least inspection or controul from the government of 
the Prison, other than to keep in safety those who are 
locked up in it—are commonly to be found from 
twenty to fifty persons, of all ages, and of all na¬ 
tions—the old, hoary-headed, State Prison charac¬ 
ter, the young and destitute boy, the highwayman, 
the beastly drunkard, the accomplished foreign thief 
and pickpocket,—in one word, those who have been 
guilty, or have been suspected of being guilty, with¬ 
in a few days, of the countless and nameless crimes 
of such a city as New York. Here is the first re¬ 
ceptacle of nearly all the men. Into this room, a 
man is committed on suspicion of crime. He is 
well dressed, and, when he is locked up, and the 
keeper has retired from the apartment, and left him 
in this den of thieves, he is surveyed from head to 
foot by the prisoners ; and the conclusion is formed, 
that he may have money about him, or other valua¬ 
ble articles, and he must be blanketed. There is 
strength, combination and villany enough in the room 
to do it. A strong blanket is thrown over his head, 
and he is seized by a sufficient number to overpower 
him, and it is made fast around his body, and under 
his arms, in such a manner as to stop his mouth, 
hide his face and eyes, and secure his arms from re¬ 
sistance : if needful, in case of determined resistance, 
his feet and legs are made fast in the hands of strong 
men. The art of doing all these things—blinding 
the eyes, stopping the mouth, fastening the hands 
and feet—is well understood in the New York Bride¬ 
well. When the man is thus blanketed and secur¬ 
ed, his pockets and person are searched and robbed ; 
and, this being done, the blanket is taken off, and 
he is suffered to go at large among his robbers. 
What is the penalty for Bridewell robbery ? None 
at all. Who are the witnesses ? The robbers them¬ 
selves, or others locked up in the same room with 
them, whom they can more than rob, if they wit¬ 


ness against the robbers. This is blanketing; and 
the keeper described it as a matter of course, which 
might be expected in such a place, and which could 
not be prevented. 


FAMILY LYCEUMS. 

[Pennsylvania Lyceum Address.] 

Families, from their nature, partake more of the 
character of Lyceums, than any other institutions, 
hitherto organized in the world ; they have much 
that is voluntary, social and practical, and of course 
exert a constant and powerful influence upon every 
individual, and consequently upon the whole na¬ 
tion. This influence is good or bad, according to 
the arrangements and circumstances under which 
they exist. A family may be a tattling Lyceum, or 
a petty scandal Lyceum ; a gossiping Lyceum, a 
drinking, swearing, or wrangling Lyceum. It may 
be, and often is, a reading, or intellectual, or a mor¬ 
al and Christian Lyceum. Parents, a brother and 
sister, a mother and daughter, a father and son, or 
the whole united, may under some regular system, 
adopt and pursue a course of mutual improvement, 
in biography, history, anatomy and physiology, en¬ 
tomology, botany, mineralogy, Christian kindness 
and benevolence, or any other subject interesting 
and useful to human beings, or ennobling, dignifying 
and redeeming to human nature. 

Few are aware, how much would be accomplish¬ 
ed, by devoting, regularly, one hour, or even half 
an hour a week to some subject of human improve 
ment. If it should be done in each of the two 
millions of American families, it would infallibly pro¬ 
duce an intellectual and moral revolution in the 
character and prospects of our nation, in spite of 
the national Congress, our state legislatures, our 
courts, our churches, colleges, academies, schools, 
and all the formal arrangements which ever have 
been, or ever can be adopted, to compel men to be 
intelligent, honest, kind, benevolent or Christian, in 
their character or deportment towards each other. 

To effect this, a family, or two or more individu¬ 
als of a family, have only to agree upon, and pur¬ 
sue a regular course of reading and collateral exer¬ 
cises upon some subject, and at some hour fixed 
upon, once, or if they prefer it, twice a week. 


THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 

The surpassing beauty and brilliancy of the dahlia 
has raised it, in the estimation of the floral taste, 
whether considered in its single unadorned simplic¬ 
ity, or when brought to the acme of perfection by 
the ingenious labours of the horticulturist. Scarcely 
unrivalled by the unique elegance of the camellia, it 
has become, like that remarkably transmuted plant, 
as universal a favourite among the curious and 
wealthy; and still more a companion of the antique 
and venerable accompaniments of the cottage gar¬ 
den or the village flower-bed, of some humble ad¬ 
mirer of nature’s sportive wonders, such as may be 
found in every community, and not by any means 
few in our own, happy, smiling New England. 
Perhaps the moral and mental improvement of a 
people cannot be better estimated, surely not better 








288 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


promoted, than in the observation and introduction 
of the spirit of the love of the more elegant and re¬ 
fined occupations attendant on agricultural pursuits. 
For iny own part, I want no better proof of a feel¬ 
ing and exquisitely sensible mind, even under a 
rough and rude exteriour, than may be observed in 
a love of nature, particularly that which relates to 
the care of flowers. A rose-bush, a honeysuckle, 
a pseony—famed in village love for pharmaceutic 
worth—a lilac-bush, or even a huge tuft of the sin¬ 
gularly striped ‘ ribbon grass,’ preserved by some 
rustic enclosure from the trespass of those sober, 
useful, though less intelligent, tenants of the farm¬ 
yard, whose tastes are more alimentary than mental 
—all denote a higher order of mind, in some tidy 
housewife, or younger female ; and when I discover 
the highly patronised dahlia, lifting its rich blossoms 
among the associates of its new and strange locality, 
to me it proves the gradual development of a purity 
of taste and feeling, which, though not incongruous, 
is not always to be expected in such scenes.— Prof. 

Pussel. - 

THE OHIO. 

No river in the world rolls for a thousand miles a 
current so smooth and peaceful. Its 80 tributaries 
wind through as many valleys in 10 different States. 
The first in size—the Tennessee—having pursued 
a navigable course through three States, for more 
than 1000 miles, falls into the Ohio, 50 miles above 
Its mouth. The Cumberland, 62 miles, being nav¬ 
igable for steamboats to Nashville, and for keel boats 
300 miles further.—The Wabash, 130 miles. Green 
river, 208 miles from the mouth of the Ohio—navi¬ 
gable 200 miles, and 200 yards wide at its mouth. 
Kentucky, 504 miles—navigable 150 miles, and as 
many yards wide at its mouth. Great Miami, 582 
miles—Scioto, 743—Great Kenawha,850miles; nav¬ 
igable 65 miles to the Salines, where are annually made 
from 500,000 to 700,000 bushels of salt. Great Musk¬ 
ingum, 950 miles. These are the principal auxiliaries 
which give substance and strength to the beautiful 
Ohio. In its course of more than a thousand miles, 
it washes six States, and with its tributaries, has more 
than 5000 miles of navigable waters. Its main width 
is 600 yards; with the exception of its lowest 60 
miles, where its average width is more than 1000 
yards. The average rapidity of its current, is 3 miles 
an hour. Its average descent in a mile is about 6 
inches. It sometimes rises 50 or more feet. At low 
water, its surface at Cincinnati is supposed to be 
130 feet below the level of Lake Erie; and 430 
above that of the tide water of the Atlantic Ocean. 
Such is the Ohio.— Cincinnati Luminary. 


OxV THE USE OF CHILLED CaST IrON, FOR 
Punches and other Tools.— It is well known, that 
in making holes in red hot iron articles, such for in¬ 
stance as wheel tire, horse shoes, etc., the hardened 
and tempered steel punches become softened, from 
the heat—and changing their shape, must be re¬ 
paired from time to time. 

Mr. Peter Kier, Engineer of St Pancreas, several 
years since, having occasion to make many nail holes, 
in the wheels of the artillery carriages, and horses’ 
shoes ; and having experienced the above inconve¬ 
nience in a great degree, luckily thought of sub¬ 


stituting punches, made of chilled cast iron, for 
those of steel, and which he found fully to answer 
the purpose, as they constantly retained their orig¬ 
inal hardness, notwithstanding they very frequently 
became red hot in using. 

As, however, chilled cast iron is not sufficiently 
tough to bear bending, without breaking, he found 
it necessary to strengthen his punches, by surround¬ 
ing and enclosing their stems in cast iron holes, 
made of shapes corresponding with the stems, in 
properly shaped supports, and having their points 
only standing out a sufficient length for use. 


Singular Accident. —A gardener at Nantes, a 
short time since, while clipping the branches of a 
fruit-tree, with a large and keen pair of shears, cut 
off his own arm between the wrist and the elbow. 
The amputation was complete, and the severed por¬ 
tion fell to the ground. This seems hardly credible, 
though the London papers give it as an authenti¬ 
cated fact. In Sir Jonah Barrington’s Memoirs, 
there is an account of an accident not entirely dis¬ 
similar, and far more serious, which befell an Irish 
labourer. He was on his way to the mowing field, 
with a scythe over his shoulder, and in crossing a 
brook, perceived a speckled trout in the calm depth 
of a hollow, under the bank. The trout was of im¬ 
mense size, and the poor man’s mouth watered at 
the thought of such an addition to his usual dinner 
of potatoes ; but he had neither fishing line nor spear, 
wherewith to capture him. It occurred to him, 
that, if he could hit the trout on the head, with the 
butt-end of his scythe-handle, the shock would stun 
him, and render him an easy prize. Accordingly, 
he uplifted his scythe high in air, at the same time 
stretching his neck over the bank, in order to take a 
sure aim at the unsuspecting fish. Down came the 
blow with mighty force—whether it hit the trout, re¬ 
mains a mystery,—but the scythe chanced to be turn¬ 
ed across the Irishman’s out-stretched neck, and while 
he made his thrust with the handle, the blade cut off 
his head. Sir Jonah tells this unhappy occurrence 
as a fact, within his own knowledge; and we may at 
least allow, that if any man could happen to cut off 
his own head, it would certainly be an Irishman 


Oaks.— If the woodpecker is heard to tap upon 
an oak, it is a sure proof that it is time, and more 
than time to fell it; for this bird never thrusts his 
beak into a sound tree, though he has often been 
accused of so doing. In England, an oak is said 
proverbially to be a good banker; yet, on account 
of its slow growth, it is believed that the price of 
a sapling, if put at interest, will amount to a greater 
sum at the end of fifty years, than the price of an 
oak at that age. 


Servants at Paris.— The domestics and other 
hired servants of both sexes, in Paris, amount to one 
hundred and fifteen thousand. A very large pro¬ 
portion of these are probably mere idlers, of no 
earthly use, except to swell the pomp and increase 
the vanity of their masters. 

It has been supposed that the Israelites built the 
Pyramids, during their bondage in Egypt. 











OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


289 


SUGAR. 

Among the numerous varieties of this plant, two 
only are cultivated : the saccharum spicatum, or 
pointed Sugar-cane, originally from the East Indies, 
and the saccharum officinalis, or common Sugar¬ 
cane of the West Indies. It is uncertain whether 
it was known to the ancients. History first speaks 
of it about the time of the Crusades; and it appears 
probable that this was one of the benefits which 
those expeditions conferred upon mankind. The 
canes were planted in the island of Cyprus, and in 
1166, there was a Sugar-mill in Sicily. The cul¬ 
ture was established at Madeira in 1420, and a few 
years after at the Canary islands. It was introduc¬ 
ed at the island of Cuba by Christopher Columbus, 
in his second voyage. 

It has been ascertained that this plant grows 
spontaneously in South America, in the West In¬ 
dies, and in the islands of the Pacific Ocean ; but 
although the natives of these regions used it as food, 
none of the means employed for preparing Sugar 
were known to them. A Venetian, at the end of 
the sixteenth century, discovered the art of refining 
it, and his secret, although a considerable time con- 


The Sugar-cane is propagated by slips taken from 
the upper part of the plant, at some distance from 
the summit; they are about twelve inches long. It 
is necessary to leave them twenty-four hours in the 
water before planting them. If the earth be not 
sufficiently moist, the slips are bound together in 
small bundles, placed side by side, covered with the 
leaves of Sugar-cane, and carefully watered two or 
three times a day. Rain is absolutely necessary to 
the developement of the young cane ; in a season of 
drought, there is no prospect of successful cultiva¬ 
tion. When the season is favourable, the young 
negroes place two or three slips in each pit or square, 
while the more experienced dig little trenches six 
inches deep, where they lay the plant; so that the 
knots, whence the shoots will sprout up, appear on 
both sides. They are then covered with earth. 

The harvest comes on in about eleven or twelve 
months. To ascertain whether the crop is arrived 


I cealed, became at length known in Italy, France, 
England, Spain, and the whole of Europe. France, 
especially, soon acquired a great superiority in this 
process. 

I 

CULTURE OF THE CANE, AND PREPARATION OF 
UNREFINED SUGAR. 

The toil necessary to the setting out of the cane, 
is considered as the severest labour of the slaves; 
so that it is indispensable, during the time, to allow 
them some repose in the greatest heat of the day, 
and to increase their usual allowance of food.— 
Holes of four feet square are dug in the earth; the 
young negroes mark the angles by setting sticks at 
them ; and by means of a chain of considerable 
length, these square holes are dug over the surface 
of the field, with sufficient regularity. When the 
earth is thus prepared, they plant the potatoe and 
other vegetables on the spaces between the hollows, 
and sow Indian corn, and several products of the 
islands, at the bottom of the pits. When the dif¬ 
ferent harvests have been gathered in, the squares 
destined to receive the Sugar-canes, are again made 
regular and equal. 


at full maturity, one of the canes is gathered; a 
portion of the juice is expressed and exposed to 
the sun, in order to evaporate the aqueous part; if 
it crystallizes, the crop is judged in a condition to 
be cut. The slaves, with small hatchets, are placed 
in a rank. They cut off, in the first place, the up¬ 
per part of the cane, and that which is reserved for 
the planting of the next crop; this they lay aside. 
The rest, cut in pieces of three feet long, is bound 
together in bundles, which are tied with the green 
and flexible tops of the plants. The reapers, as 
they advance, pull off the leaves of the cane ; these 
leaves pass from hand to hand, and are thrown into 
heaps at some distance, so as to clear the space, 
where the less robust negroes are employed in 
tying the bundles together. The bundles ot 
cane are deposited as near as possible to the 
mill, in order to lighten the labour of the fe¬ 
male slaves, who carry them on their heads to 

37 



























290 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


the entrance. The tender tops of the Sugar-cane, dies, are then taken off, and become nourish- 
which have been made use of to tie the bun- ment for cattle. 



Harvest of the Sugar-caue. 


Three cylinders, placed one beside the other, form 
the under part of the Sugar-mill; they are put in mo¬ 
tion by wheels with teeth, and the cane is bruised 
between their surfaces. The slave, whose duty it 
is to feed the mill, keeps constantly near these cyl¬ 
inders ; and when the wind is strong, the canes are 
ground so rapidly, that two men can hardly supply 
them fast enough. The juice passes successively 
from a wooden trough, constructed underneath the 
cylinders, into a reservoir at the side of the mill; 


when, passing through two sluices of wood, it is 
freed from all the particles of cane that may chance 
to remain in it, and empties itself into a metal 
tube, by which it is conveyed to the spot where the 
boilers are placed. The cane itself, after having 
passed between the cylinders, glides on an inclined 
plane through an opening in the wall; where the 
women and old men receive it, and spread it in the 
sun. When dry, it serves as fuel. 



The Sugai Mill. 


The juice is received in immense boilers of cop¬ 
per, some of which contain si.\ hundred gallons. 
This enormous mass of liquid is raised to that de¬ 
gree of heat which precedes the boiling point; and 
a certain quantity of lime causes the greater part 
of the impurities to rise to the surface. The juice 
is then drained into another copper vase, and is 
skimmed till it becomes transparent, but is not suf¬ 
fered to boil. It is thence passed into the largest 
cf the boilers, which are usually four in number. In 


the last, it is made to boil, and with large skimmers 
the scum is taken off as fast as it appears. By de 
grees, the juice is purified, and acquires consistency 
It is, at this period, of a colour very similar to that 
of Madeira wine. Being reduced in quantity by boil¬ 
ing, it passes successively into smaller kettles ; and 
if it be not yet clarified to the necessary degree, 
lime is anew thrown into it. In the place where 
the boilers are contained, there are generally six 
wooden vessels, about a foot deep, eight feet long, 
































































291 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 

and SIX or seven broad. In these, the Sugar is co- molasses, and takes the appearance of an irregular 
agulated. As it cools, it separates itself from the mass of half-formed crystals. 



The Building where the Sugar is Boiled. 


Each day, the Sugar that was made the preced¬ 
ing day, is put into hogsheads, where it remains five 
or six weeks. The uncrystallized portion falls drop 
by drop into a sluice, prepared to receive it. It af¬ 
terwards undergoes other preparations, by means of 
which different varieties of Sugar are obtained. 
When it has stopped running, the hogshead is closed 
up, and the Sugar is ready for exportation. 

The heat of the climate renders it necessary to 
boil the juice at the very instant in which it is ex¬ 
tracted from the cane; the interval of even half an 
hour, would suffice to make it ferment. 

MANNER OF REFINING SUGAR. 

The refiners prefer the Sugars, of which the rough 
particles are brilliant and sharp, and the colour 
of which approaches to gray. Those of which the 
grain is not so sharp, and which are of a yellowish 
colour, are less esteemed ; and it is for this reason, 
that the East India Sugars, and those of Barbadoes, 
are not admitted into commerce. It would be im¬ 
possible to bring them to a perfect crystallization, 
a*nd in this respect, it resembles the Sugar of the 
raisin. 

The business of the refiners consists in freeing 
the rough Sugars from the substances which are 
still mingled with them. To accomplish this, the 
Sugar is dissolved wdth lime-water and bull’s 
blood. It is boiled several times in different kettles, 
and the scum is taken off, as each ebullition causes 
it to rise. When the sirup appears to be clarified, 
it is made to pass through a woollen stuff into a 
great kettle. It is then suffered to boil, and is after¬ 
wards transported into another part of the manufac¬ 
tory, where it is reduced to crystals by stirring it 
with wooden spoons. This imperfect Sugar, while 
yet warm, is turned into earthen vessels, made in 
the shape of cones open at the base, and pierced at 
the apex with a small hole, which is at first closed 
with wet linens. These vessels are placed bottom 
upwards. 

When the Sugar begins to cool, the surface is 
covered with a crystalline crust, which it is ne¬ 


cessary to break. The cloths, which prevented 
the uncrystallized portions from escaping, are now 
withdrawn ; the points of the Sugar-loaves are in¬ 
troduced into pots, of a size proportioned to the 
quantity of sirup which is expected to run off. 
Five or six days after, the loaves are taken out of 
the moulds for the purpose of he.\v\g earthed. This 
operation consists in covering the bottoms of the 
loaves with powdered Sugar, and in filling up the 
spaces left by the draining of the sirup, with a pre¬ 
paration of clay and water. When the Sugar- 
loaves have been earthed, the doors and windows 
are closed, to hinder the exteriour air from drying 
the clay. The water, which it contains, filters grad¬ 
ually through the particles of the Sugar, carries 
with it the superfluous sirup that coloured it, and 
falls by its own weight into vessels placed under¬ 
neath. After a few days, the clay is removed from 
the loaves, perfectly dry, and a new layer is applied. 
When it has produced its effect, nothing remains 
but to carry the loaves into a building called the 
stove, where a sufficient heat is kept up to dry them. 


PROGRESS OF EDUCATION IN THE WEST. 

To one who was born and has ever lived in the 
Mississippi valley, it is a matter of interest to com¬ 
pare the present state of society in the West, as it 
regards the knowledge of letters, with what it was 
thirty or thirty-five years ago. The contrast is 
striking. We very distinctly remember the first 
school we ever attended in the days of our child¬ 
hood, about the year 1800, which may serve as a 
specimen of the literary advantages of that day. 
To receive the benefits of that school, we had to 
cross and recross the Great Kanawha river every 
day in a canoe, with two older brothers and a sister. 
The building appropriated for the use of the school, 
was a small hut of round logs, covered with clap¬ 
boards, and having a floor of earth. It was situat¬ 
ed in a beech grove on the bank of the river, a few 
miles above Charlesfon, Va., on the present site of 
the celebrated Kanawha Saline, where, in those 









































































































292 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


days, our slumbers were often disturbed by the 
howling of wolves, or an uproar among the swine, 
occasioned by the attack of a wild bear, which was 
always promptly repelled by the hardy settlers, with 
their dogs and rifles, and generally attended with 
total defeat on the part of the ferocious enemy. 
The teacher, Mr. Clayton, was little more than a 
dwarf in stature, but decidedly a gentleman in his 
manners, and a very popular schoolmaster of that 
day. It is true his scientific attainments were very 
limited, but that was not then objectionable, as the 
standard of education was very moderate. Indeed, 
many of those born and reared in the West, among 
the early settlers, had none at all, nor did they gen¬ 
erally feel much concern on the subject. Those 
who did pretend to afford their children a knowl¬ 
edge of letters, had many difliculties to contend 
with, especially the want of competent teachers. 
The custom in country places then was, for some 
one of the farmers best qualified for the task, to 
spend a few weeks or months of the most leisure 
season of the year, in teaching the children of the 
neighbourhood, whose parents might choose to send 
them, at a small expense, say ^1,25 a quarter, pay¬ 
able in work or provisions. In this way some of 
them succeeded in obtaining such an education as 
was then thought to be necessary among the com¬ 
mon people; for the course was very short and su¬ 
perficial. Girls learned to spell and read imper¬ 
fectly—the art of writing being a rare attainment 
among the native daughters of the West, of that 
day, except in the larger towns, and a few favoured 
spots in the older settlements. The education of a 
boy was then considered sufficient among us, if he 
could spell, read, write, and had ‘ ciphered to the 
rule of three and if by any superiour privilege was 
added to these, a knowledge of grammar and geo¬ 
graphy, he was considered quite learned. The fol¬ 
lowing were the principal items in the bill of ex¬ 
pense for the entire course of studies: one Child’s 
book, one Spelling book, one Reader, one New 
Testament (which should never be excluded,) one 
quire of fools-cap, one Arithmetic, one slate, and the 
tuition fees of a few quarters. The pupil gathered 
his pencils from the brook, and plucked his quills from 
the wing of a raven, or wild goose, killed by the 
father’s rifle. 

Great simplicity of manners then prevailed. The 
teacher and children ate their dinners from their 
school-baskets, and frequently united on a common 
level in the sports of ‘ play time,’ as they called the 
recess at noon. The amusements consisted of ath¬ 
letic exercises, such as foot-racing, leaping, catch- 
ball, corner-pen, &c. Those of the girls, who were 
always required to occupy different ground, were 
milder and more simple. The scholars were gen¬ 
erally disposed to conform to the rules of the pre¬ 
ceptor, except once a year, when they would delib¬ 
erately enter into a plot to ‘ turn out the master,’ 
that they might enjoy a Christmas frolic without re¬ 
straint. The manner of conducting on such occa¬ 
sions was sufficiently ludicrous. When the ap¬ 
pointed time arrived, which they took good care to 
keep concealed from the mast(^, they met early in 
the morning in the school-house, and secured the 
door with bars, logs, (tc., shutting themselves in, 


and him out. They also took care to arm them¬ 
selves with clubs, sharp-pointed sticks, and shovels 
for throwing ashes, should he attempt to descend 
the chimney. When he came and demanded en¬ 
trance, it was refused; but they presented him with 
written terms of compromise, securing to themselves 
as much holiday as they desired. If he complied, 
the door was unbarred ; if not, they put him at de¬ 
fiance. In some instances he obtained a reinforce¬ 
ment, and attempted to storm their fort, when a 
general engagement would ensue; but knowing 
what would be the consequence if overcome, they 
fought like little heroes and heroines, and generally 
maintained their ground too; for their cause was 
popular with the citizens, and but few would join 
to oppose the little rebels. Strange as it may seem, 
this custom prevailed with the knowledge and con¬ 
sent of the parents and patrons of the school, who 
frequently took more delight in feats of strength 
and activity among their children, than in literary 
acquirements.— Western Advocate. 

MIND AND MATTER. 

[Babbage on the Economy of Machinery, Ac.] 

When we reflect on the very small number of 
species of plants, compared with the multitude that 
are known to exist, which have hitherto been culti¬ 
vated, and rendered useful to man ; and when we 
apply the same observation to the animal world, 
and even to the mineral kingdom, the field that 
natural science opens to our view seems to be in¬ 
deed unlimited. These productions of nature, nu¬ 
merous and varied as they are, may each, in some 
future day, become the basis of extensive manufac¬ 
tures, and give life, employment, and wealth, to 
millions of human beings. But the crude treas¬ 
ures perpetually exposed before our eyes, contain 
within them other and more valuable principles. 
All these, in their innumerable combinations, which 
ages of labour and research can never exhaust, may 
be destined to furnish, in perpetual succession, new 
sources of our wealth and of our happiness. Sci¬ 
ence and knowledge are subject, in their extension 
and increase, to laws quite opposite to those which 
regulate the material world. Unlike the forces of 
molecular attraction, which cease at sensible dis¬ 
tances; or that of gravity, which decreases rapidly 
with the increasing distance from the point of ori¬ 
gin ; the farther we advance from tlie origin of our 
knowledge, the larger it becomes, and the greater 
pow'er it bestows upon its cultivators to add new 
fields to its dominions. Yet does this continually 
and rapidly increasing power, instead of giving us 
any reason to anticipate the exhaustion of so fertile 
a field, place us, at each advance, on some higher 
eminence, from which the mind contemplates the 
past, and feels irresistibly convinced, that the whole, 
already gained, bears a constantly diminishing ratio 
to that which it contained within the still more rap¬ 
idly expanding horizon of our knowledge. 

But, if the knowledge of the chemical and physi¬ 
cal properties of the bodies which surround us, as 
well as our acquaintance with the less tangible 
elements, light, electricity, and heat, which myste¬ 
riously modify or change their combinations, all 
concur to convince us of the same fact; we must 





293 


/ 

OF USEFUL INFORMATIOIN. 


remember that another and a higher science, itself 
still more boundless, is also advancing witli a giant’s 
stride, and having grasped the mightier masses of 
the universe, and reduced their wanderings to laws, 
has given to us in its own condensed language, ex¬ 
pressions, which are to the past as history, to the 
future as prophecy. It is the same science which 
is now preparing its fetters for the minutest atoms 
that nature has created ; already it has nearly chain¬ 
ed the ethereal fluid, and bound in one harmonious 
system all the intricate and splendid phenomena of 
light. It is the science of calculation ,—which be¬ 
comes continually more necessary at each step of 
our progress, and which must ultimately govern the 
whole of the applications of science to the arts 
of life. 

Perhaps to the sober eye of inductive philosophy, 
these anticipations of the future may appear too 
faintly connected with the history of the past. 
When time shall have revealed the future progress 
of our race, those laws which are now obscurely in¬ 
dicated, will then become distinctly apparent; and 
it may possibly be found that the dominion of mind 
over the material world advances with an ever-ac¬ 
celerating force. 

Even now, the imprisoned winds which the ear¬ 
liest poet made the Grecian warriour bear for the 
protection of his fragile bark ; or those which, in 
more modern times, the Lapland wizards sold to 
the deluded sailors;—these, the unreal creations of 
fancy or of fraud, called, at the command of science, 
from their shadowy existence, obey a holier spell; 
and the unruly masters of the poet and the seer, 
become the obedient slaves of civilized man. 

Nor has the wild imagination of the satirist 
been quite unrivalled by the realities of after years: 
as if in mockery of the College of Laputa, light al¬ 
most solar has been extracted from the refuse of 
fish ; fire has been sifted by the lamp of Davy ; and 
machinery has been taught arithmetic instead of 
poetry. 

In whatever light we examine the triumphs and 
achievements of our species over the creation sub¬ 
mitted to its power, we explore new sources of 
wonder. But if science has called into real exist¬ 
ence the visions of the poet—if the accumulating 
knowledge of ages has blunted the sharpest and 
distanced the loftiest of the shafts of the satirist, 
the philosopher has conferred on the moralist an 
obligation of surpassing weight. In unveiling 
to him the living miracles which teem in rich 
exuberance around the minutest atom, as well as 
throughout the largest masses of ever-active matter, 
he has placed before him resistless evidence of im¬ 
measurable design. Surrounded by every form of 
animate and inanimate existence, the sun of science 
has yet penetrated but through the outer fold of 
Nature’s majestic robe; but if the philosopher were 
required to separate, from amongst those countless 
evidences of creative power, one being, the master¬ 
piece of its skill; and from that being to select one 
gift, the choicest of all the attributes of life ;—turn¬ 
ing within his own breast and conscious of those 
powers which have subjugated to his race the exter¬ 
nal world, and of those higher powers by which he 
has subjugated to himself that creative faculty which 


aids his faltering conceptions of a Deity,—the hum¬ 
ble worshiper at the altar of truth would pro¬ 
nounce that being,—man ; that endowment,—hu¬ 
man reason. 

But however large the interval that separates the 
lowest from the highest of those sentient beings 
which inhabit our planet, all the results of observa¬ 
tion, enlightened by all the reasonings of the phi¬ 
losopher, combine to render it probable that, in the 
vast extent of creation, the proudest attribute of our 
race is but, perchance, the lowest step in the gra¬ 
dation of intellectual existence. For, since every 
portion of our own material globe, and every ani¬ 
mated being it supports, afford, on more scrutiniz¬ 
ing inquiry, more perfect evidence of design, it 
would indeed be most unphilosophical to believe 
that those sister spheres, glowing with light and 
heat, radiant from the same central source—and 
that the members of those kindred systems, almost 
lost in the remoteness of space, and perceptible 
only from the countless multitude of their congre¬ 
gated globes—should each be no more than a float¬ 
ing chaos of unformed matter;—or, being all the 
work of the same Almighty Architect, that no living 
eye should be gladdened by their forms of beauty, 
that no intellectual being should expand its faculties 
in decyphering their laws. 

AMERICAN RAIL-ROADS. 

A late writer in the Edinburgh Review pays a 
merited compliment to the enterprise which is now 
‘ cementing,’ as it has been well observed, ‘ with 
bonds of iron,’ the most distant portions of our 
Union. He remarks, that ‘ the country, which 
surpasses all others in the spirit and rapidity by 
which its means of inland transport have been im¬ 
proved, is the United States. The number and 
extent of Rail-roads completed, in progress, or pro¬ 
jected throughout the Union must surprise all who 
have not attended to the advances made by this 
country in the arts of life. We extract from a tabu¬ 
lar view, published under the direction of Congress 
in 1833, the following list of Rail-roads then exe¬ 
cuted or projected in the United States. [Here 
follows a list of forty-six Rail-roads completed, and 
one hundred and thirty-seven projected.] 

After a short account of the most considerable 
Rail-roads in the United States, the writer proceeds 
to say: ‘ In our inquiries regarding the American 
Rail-roads Companies, we have been struck by the 
public spirit and candour which characterize the 
proceedings of our trans-atlantic countrymen. This 
is especially conspicuous, when we compare the 
meagre statements put forth by the Liverpool and 
Manchester Rail-road Directors, with the copious 
and satisfactory reports published by the Baltimore 
and Ohio Rail-road Company. The reports now 
before us, published between the years 1828 and 
1833, occupy upwards of a thousand octavo pages, 
illustrated with numerous plans and tables. In 
these we find not merely the formal reports of the 
directors, but also the detailed reports of the engi¬ 
neers, and of the subordinate engineers to the engi¬ 
neers in chief. We find also the most minute de¬ 
tails of the various contracts, with the names of the 
contractors. These details are not merely submitted 











294 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


to the stockholders themselves, but are laid before 
the public. The volumes in which they are record¬ 
ed form a rich storehouse of knowledge for guid¬ 
ance in other similar enterprises ; whilst the pub¬ 
licity thus given to every particular, operates as a 
check upon the spirit of jobbing. It is only by this 
carefully recorded experience, that we can hope to 
see this new and powerful means of transport 
brought to perfection. In the absence of such in¬ 
formation, every new undertaking will have to work 
its way, in a great measure, in the dark; reproduc¬ 
ing, at infinite labour and expense, the precious 
fruits of that experience which are withheld by those 
who have already obtained them.’ 

BENT OF THE MIND. 

[From Curiosities of Literature.] 

Parents are interested in the metaphysical dis¬ 
cussion, whether there really exists an inherent 
quality in the human intellect, which imparts to the 
individual an aptitude for one pursuit more than for 
another. Our children pass through the same pub¬ 
lic education, while they are receiving little or none 
for their individual dispositions, should they have 
sufficient strength of character to indicate any. 
The great secret of education is to develope the 
faculties of the individual; for it may happen that 
his real talent may be hidden and buried under his 
education. A profession is usually adventitious, 
made by chance-views, or by family arrangements. 
Should a choice be submitted to the youth himself, 
he will often mistake slight and transient tastes for 
permanent dispositions. A decided character, how¬ 
ever, we may often observe, is repugnant to a par¬ 
ticular pursuit, delighting in another ; talents, lan¬ 
guid and vacillating in one profession, we might 
find vigorous and settled in another; an indifferent 
lawyer might be an admirable architect! At present 
all our human bullion is sent to be melted down in 
an university, to come out, as if thrown into a burn¬ 
ing mould, a bright physician, a bright lawyer, a 
bright divine—in other words, to adapt themselves 
for a profession, preconcerted by their parents. By 
this means we may secure a titular profession for 
our sons, but the true genius of the avocation in 
the bent of the mind, as a man of great original 
powers called it, is too often absent! Instead of 
finding fit offices for fit men, we are perpetually 
discovering, on the stage of society, actors out of 
character! A laughing philosopher, the Demo¬ 
critus of our day, once compared human life to a 
table, pierced with a number of holes, each of 
which has a pin made exactly to fit it, but which 
pins being stuck in hastily, and without selection, 
chance leads inevitably to the most awkward mis¬ 
takes. ‘ For how often do we see,’ the orator pa¬ 
thetically concluded,—‘ how often, I say, do we 
see the round man stuck into the three cornered 
hole!’ 

The difficulty of discerning the aptitude of a 
youth for any particular destination in life will, per¬ 
haps, even for the most skilful parent, be always 
hazardous. Many will be inclined, in despair of 
any thing better, to throw dice with fortune; or 
adopt the determinatian of the father who settled 
his sons by a whimsical analogy which he appears 


to have formed of their dispositions or aptness for 
different pursuits. The boys were standing under 
a hedge in the rain, and a neighbour reported to 
the father the conversation he had overheard. John 
wished it would rain books, for he wished to be a 
preacher; Bezaleel, wool, to be a clothier, like his 
father; Samuel, money, to be a merchant, and Ed¬ 
mund, plums, to be grocer. The father took these 
wishes as a liint, and we are told, in the life of 
John Angier, the elder son, a Puritan minister, that 
he chose for them these different callings, in which 
it appears that they settled successfully. ‘ What¬ 
ever a young man at first applies himself to, is com¬ 
monly his delight afterwards,’ This is an impor¬ 
tant principle discovered by Hartley, but it will not 
supply the parent with any determinate regulation 
how to distinguish a transient from a permanent 
disposition; or how to get at what we may call the 
connatural qualities of the mind. A particular op¬ 
portunity afforded me some close observation on 
the characters and habits of two youths, brothers in 
blood and afl'ections, and partners in all things, 
who, even to their very dress shared alike; who 
were never separated from each other; wlio were 
taught by the same masters, lived under the same 
roof, and accustomed to the same uninterrupted 
habits; yet had nature created them totally distinct 
in the qualities of their minds; and similar as their 
lives had been, their abilities were adapted for very 
different pursuits; either of them could not have 
been the other. And I observed how the ‘predis¬ 
position’ of the parties was distinctly marked from 
childhood: the one slow, penetrating, and correct; 
the other quick, irritable, and fanciful; the one per¬ 
severing in examination, the other rapid in results; 
the one unexhausted by labour; the other impatient 
of whatever did not relate to his own pursuits: the 
one logical, historical, and critical; the other having 
acquired nothing, decided on all things by his own 
sensations. We would confidently consult in the 
one a great legal character, and in the other an ar¬ 
tist of genius. If nature had not secretly placed a 
bias in their distinct minds, how could two similar 
beings have been so dissimilar ? 


COLOURED BONES. 

[Fiom Dr. Roget’s Physiology.] 

It has been found that by mixing certain colour¬ 
ing substances with the food of animals, the bones 
will soon become deeply tinged with them. This 
fact was discovered accidentally by Mr. Belchier, 
who gives the following account of the circum¬ 
stances that led him to notice it. Happening to be 
dining with a calico printer on a leg of fresh pork, 
he was surprised to observe that the bones, instead 
of being white as usual, were of a deep red colour ; 
and on inquiring into the circumstances, he learned 
that the pig had been fed upon the refuse of the 
dyeing vats, which contained a large quantity of 
the colouring substance of madder. So curious a 
fact naturally attracted a good deal of attention 
among physiologists, and many experiments were 
undertaken to ascertain the time required to pro¬ 
duce this change, and to determine whether the 
effect was permanent, or only temporary. The red 
tinge was found to be communicated much mor® 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


295 


quickly to the bones of growing animals than to 
those which had already attained their full size. 
Thus the bones of a young pigeon were tinged of 
a rose colour in twenty-four hours, and of a deep 
scarlet in three days ; wliile in the adult bird, fif¬ 
teen days were required merely to produce the rose 
colour. The dye was more intense in the solid 
parts of those bones which were nearest to the cen¬ 
tre of circulation, while in bones of equal solidity, 
but more reniote from the heart, the tinge was 
fainter. The bone was of a deeper dye in propor¬ 
tion to the length of time the animal had been fed 
upon the madder. When this diet was discontin¬ 
ued, the colour became gradually more faint, till it 
entirely disappeared. 

LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 

[From Babbage, on the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures.] 

This is a mode of [producing copies in almost un¬ 
limited number. The original which supplies the 
copies, is a drawing made on a stone of a slightly 
porous nature ; the ink employed for tracing it is 
made of such greasy materials that when water is 
poured over the stone it shall not wet the lines of 
the drawing. When a roller covered with printing 
ink, which is of an oily nature, is passed over the 
stone, previously wetted, the water prevents this 
ink from adhering to the uncovered portions; whilst 
the ink used in the drawing is of such a nature that 
the printing ink adheres to it. In this state, if a 
sheet of paper, be placed upon the stone, and then 
passed under a press, the printing ink will be trans¬ 
ferred to the paper, leaving the ink used in the 
drawing still adhering to the stone. 

There is one application of Lithographic Printing 
which does not appear to have received sufficient 
attention,and perhaps farther experiments are neces¬ 
sary to bring it to perfection. It is the reprinting 
of works which have just arrived from other coun¬ 
tries. A few years ago one of the Paris newspapers 
was reprinted at Brussels as soon as it arrived, by 
means of Lithography. Whilst the ink is yet fresh 
this may easily be accomplished: it is only neces¬ 
sary to place one copy of a newspaper on a Litho¬ 
graphic stone ; and by means of great pressure ap¬ 
plied to it in a rolling press, a sufficient quantity of 
the printing ink will be transferred to the stone. 
By similar means, the other side of the newspaper 
may be copied on another stone, and these stones 
will then furnish impressions in the usual way. If 
printing from stone could be reduced to the same 
price per thousand as that from moveable types, 
this process might be adopted with great advantage 
for the supply of works for the use of distant coun¬ 
tries possessing the same language. For a single 
copy of the work might be printed ofT with tranter 
ink, which is better adapted to this purpose; and 
thus an English work, for example, might be pub¬ 
lished in America from stone, while the original, 
printed from moveable types, made its appearance 
on the same day in England. 


MEXICAN CUSTOM. 

Forty days before the feast of one of their gods, 
the ancient Mexicans used to purchase a slave of 
very fine shape, who, during that time, represented 


the deity to whom he was to be sacrificed on the 
day of festival. They arrayed and ornamented him 
like a god, and he spent all the forty days of his 
deification, in dancing and rejoicing, and all sorts 
of pleasures. The Mexicans were attendant on his 
festivities. They paid him divine worship; but 
lest he should forget his inevitable fate, two ancient 
ministers of the idol refreshed his memory, by say¬ 
ing, whenever he appeared to enjoy himself best,— 
‘ Lord, thy pleasures will end a few days hence.’ 
The deified slave was obliged to answer, with a 
cheerful air—‘ Be it so’—and continued his mirth. 
When the forty days were past, they sacrificed their 
mock deity, at midnight, offered his heart to the 
moon, threw it afterwards before the idol, cast his 
body from the top of the temple, and concluded the 
whole with a dance. 

What the Mexicans meant by this singular cus¬ 
tom, or whether it had any meaning, we cannot 
say. Yet all, who are surrounded with pomp and 
festivities, might not be the worse for such monitors 
as the Mexican priests, to remind them how soon 
their pleasures are to end. Another sort of moral, 
however, might be extracted, and applied very patly 
to what has been the usual fate of men idolized by 
the people, in countries where the people are a mob. 
While they appear most great and powerful, they are 
but slaves to their own idolaters, who, in a little 
time, are likely enough to sacrifice them to a new 
idol, or cast them down from their high places, and 
dance and make merry at their ruin. But, though 
the public favour, in all countries, is subject to ebb 
and flow, yet such tremendous vicissitudes of popu¬ 
lar adoration and hatred can never occur among a 
truly enlightened people. The more a people 
thinks, and the more it learns, the less will it be 
acted upon by frenzied impulses; as knowledge is 
diffused, popularity will become more a matter of 
judgment than of feeling; and the great men of 
futurity will seldom rise so high, or fall so low, as 
the great men of the past. On this principle we 
trust and believe that American history will tell of 
fewer great men—great by their actions, their for¬ 
tunes, and their influence, and signalized by their 
fate—than have appeared in any other country. 
Perhaps it is a sign of the healthy condition of a 
people and a government, when the latter is admin¬ 
istered by men of not extraordinary character, with 
abilities sufficient for the perfect discharge of their 
duties, and nothing more. 

COMPLAINT.— [By Coleridge.] 

How seldom, friend, a good great man inherits 
Honour or wealth with all his worth or pains 
It sounds like stories from the land of spirits. 

If any man obtain that which he merits. 

Or any merit that which he obtains. 

Reproof. 

For shame, dear friend ! renounce this canting strain ! 

What wouldst thou have a good great man obtain ? 

Place—titles—salary—a gilded chain ? 

Or throne of corses which his sword hath slain ? 

Greatness and goodness are not means, but ends! 

Hath he not always treasures, always friends. 

The good great man ? Three treasures. Love and Light, 

And Calm Thoughts, regular as infant’s breath ;— 

And three firm friends, more sure than day and nighq 
Himself, his Maker, and the angel Death, 








V 

296 PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT. 

[Capra Americana.] 

This animal, found in the lofty peaks of the range 
of the Rocky Mountains, has sometimes been con¬ 
founded with the ovis moiUana, or Rocky Moun¬ 
tain sheep. This probably, was owing to a slight 
observation of the animal, and to its long woolly- 
hair covering; and also to its frequenting places 
near where the sheep are found. The goats are 
seldom seen on the lower parts of the mountains. 
They are therefore not taken without much diffi¬ 
culty. These animals have been known to the 
Hudson-bay and the North West Companies from 
their early establishments; and are met with from 
40 to 65 degrees north latitude. Their covering is 
part hair and part wool; or, in other words, a part 
of their hair is so fine as to be used for similar pur¬ 
poses as wool. The coarse hair is very long, and 
reaches nearly to the ground. In its habits it re¬ 
sembles the domestic goat. The form of the body 
and neck is robust, and its horns are shaped like an 
awl, with an inclination backwards. The legs are 
thick and short; and the hoofs perpendicular. The 
colour of this animal is wholly white, except the 
horns, hoofs, lips and margin of the nostrils. B. 

SOLDIERS. 

De Boufflers, an old French Marshal, was of opin¬ 
ion, that ‘ No man was fit for a dragoon, who, in 
time of war, outlived two campaigns, or in peace, 
did not, once at least in fifteen days, get his head 
broken in a private quarrel.’ This gives us a strong 
idea of the wild, reckless, ruffian-like fellows, who 
then composed the mercenary armies of Europe; 
and probably there has been little improvement 
since. On the evidence of our military annals, we 
are entitled to claim for the American soldiery a far 
different character. They have individually a higher 
rank as moral beings;—they cannot be drilled into 
machines, nor maddened into wild beasts. The 
citizen, with his recollections of domestic life and 
civil government, is never entirely lost in the soldier, 
with no home but his tent, and no law but his 
leader’s word. American troops would never, we 
think, be guilty of such enormities as disgraced the 
British army, after the storm of Badajoz ; for each 
man would be restrained by a law within himself, 
though, as far as external circumstances were con¬ 
cerned, he might be left lawless. Nor would the 
disorganization of the army, drive the individual 
soldiers to despair ; as was the case with the French, 
on their retreat from Moscow. Perhaps it is not 
too much to say, that no American ever was a thor¬ 
ough soldier, and nothing but a soldier. Long and 
frequent warfare, and the necessity of standing ar¬ 
mies, might create thousands of such military mon¬ 
sters ; but they would be too severe a curse upon 
our native land, except as a punishment to the guilt 
and madness, which would have given them exist¬ 
ence. 


CLIMATE. 

The climate of North America, east of the Rocky 
Mountains, differs from that of Europe in two par¬ 
ticulars—the mean temperature is much lower, and 
[he vicissitudes of temperature are much greater. 


The immense forests, the great lakes, and the moun¬ 
tains of America, have been assigned as the causes 
of this difference; but not satisfactorily. Dr. Hal¬ 
ley could account for it no otherwise, than by sup¬ 
posing that the poles of the earth were, at some re- i 
mote period of time, placed in the vicinity of i 
Hudson’s Bay; in which case, the portion of 
America, now inhabited by us, would once have 
been within the limits of the Arctic circle ; and the 
Doctor supposed that the temperature of this re¬ 
gion has not yet had time to reach its proper height, 
since the poles have been shifted to their present 
position. If this theory be correct, we have the 
comfortable prospect of an amelioration of climate, 
although so gradual, that our remote posterity will 
derive the chief benefit from it. Another theory is, 
that the winds from the Pacific Ocean, being chilled 
in their passage over the snow-covered summits of 
the Rocky Mountains, cool the atmosphere of the 
whole region east of them. At first sight, the cause 
would appear hardly adequate to the effect, and we 
might suppose that the coldest wind w'ould have 
time to grow tolerably warm, in its passage across 
the western side of the Mississippi valley, the space 
between that river and the Alleghanies, and the 
wide tract that divides the latter mountains from 
the sea-coast. It is certain, however, that the cli¬ 
mate west of the Rocky, or Oregon range is far 
milder than our own ; the difference is perceptible, 
immediately on crossing the mountains, in the in¬ 
creased growth and more numerous varieties of the 
forest-trees; and it is natural to suppose, that the 
cause of this difference is somehow connected with 
the mountains themselves. Our prevalent winds 
come from the west, and instead of bringing heat 
with them, abstract it from the soil. Hence, also, 
the vicissitudes of the climate are accounted for ; 
inasmuch as these are said to be greater in every 
country, the prevailing winds of which blow from 
landward, than where they come from the sea. • 


THE FIELD OF THE WORLD. 

[By Montgomery.] 

Sow in the morn thy seed, 

A. eve hold not thine hand; 

To doubt and fear give thou no heed. 
Broad-cast it o’er the land. 

Beside all waters sow, 

The highway furrows stock. 

Drop it vvhere thorns and thistles grow, 
Scatter it on the rock. 

The good, the fruitful ground. 

Expect not here nor there; 

O’er hill and dale, by plots, ’tis found; 
Go forth, then, every-where. 

Thou know’st not which may thrive. 
The late or early sown; 

Grace keeps the precious germs alive. 
When and wherever strown. 

And duly shall appear. 

In verdure, beauty, strength. 

The tender blade, the stalk, the ear. 
And the full corn at length. 

Thou canst not toil in vain; 

Cold, heat, and moist, and dry. 

Shall foster and mature the grain. 

For garners in the sky. 

Thence, when the glorious end. 

The day of God is come. 

The angel-reapers shall descend. 

And heaven cry—‘ Harvest home. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


297 



DEATH OF HINDOOS ON THE GANGES. 

The Ganges, which flows through Ilindostan, is 
considered a sacred river, by the natives of that re¬ 
gion, and is supposed to possess properties even 
more miracufms than those of tlie river Jordan, in 
which Naam.in. l!ie Syrian, wasiied away his lep¬ 
rosy. What r.'i r diseases afflict the Hindoos, their 
universal rc:nedy is soiiuht in its waters; wiiich, 
therefore, to tliese poor heathen, supply the place 
of our panac.cas and patent medicines—and, cer¬ 
tainly, at a much more reasonable rate. It might 
be termed, imlced, an imoKmse stream of doctor’s 
stuff*, flowing tlirouiih the whole country, and ofTer- 
ing its virtues to ail who need tliem, without money 
and without price. Such is their faitli in its eflica- 
cy, that, if the sick can but drag themselves to the 
banks of the Ganges, or be borne thither by their 
friends, they often neglect all remedies, except to 
bathe in its waters, and drink them. In many ca¬ 
ses, perhaps, this simple treatment is the best that 
could be adopted for their diseases; and it is prob¬ 
able that numerous cures are wrought by the imag¬ 
ination of the patient, wliich it is well known, can 
convert water into a really powerful medicine. But, 
undoubtedly, thousands die upon the banks of the 
river for want of proper care. This, however, can 
hardly be considered a misfortune by the Hindoos, 
many of whom, while in perfect health, drown them¬ 
selves in the Ganges, and expect thus to be cleansed 
from all their earthly pollutions, and be received in¬ 
to the regions of bliss, because they died in the holy 
river. 

The principal figure in the plate represents a dy¬ 
ing man, to whom the Brahmin, or Hindoo priest, 
is administering a draught of the sacred water. 
Should this fail of performing the cure, as seems most 
likely from the desperate condition of the patient, 
the Brahmin will proceed to fill his mouth and eyes 


with mud from the banks, and thus hasten the ter¬ 
mination of the poor man’s misery. The women, 
shrouded in their robes, one of whom is kneeling 
at the feet of the expiring Hindoo, while the other 
stands somewhat apart with her son, are his two 
wives. The kneeling wife clasps his hand, and ap¬ 
pears in great affliction ; the otlier, having a son to 
comfort her, is less overcome by the expected loss 
of his father. But Hindoo wives, it must be recol¬ 
lected, have often cause to lament their husbands 
with much sincerer grief than widows in more civ¬ 
ilized countries, from a dread of beintr immolated 
on their funeral piles. 

Several persons are seen bathing in the Ganges, 
and others are bearing away its waters, to serve for 
medicinal purposes, or to purify their souls by wash¬ 
ing their face and hands. On the right is the tem¬ 
ple of a Hindoo god, at the threshold of which we 
observe a dying man, with his head turned towards 
the door, so that his last breath will be oflered at 
the shrine of a senseless idol. Happy are they, to 
whom has been revealed a surer trust for their dying 
moments. 


ON THE FORCING OF THE STRAWBERRY. 

We are indebted for the following article to the American 
Gardener’s Magazine—a work, the general circulation of which 
would be like scattering the seeds of fruits and flowers. 

The high estimation in which the Fragaria, or 
strawberry (as its name imports, from the very ap¬ 
parent qualities it possesses as a superiour table 
fruit), has been held for many years, renders it need¬ 
less, in this place, to bestow any encomiums on its 
recommendation ; as a table fruit, it may be consid¬ 
ered of the first order, and in the confectionary de¬ 
partment it is used in various ways, as creams, jams 
and jellies. To these may be said that it is of a very 
wholesome quality, and recommended bv the facul- 
38 

























298 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ty, in many cases of sickness, in their catalogue of 
pleasant remedies, in which it is said to dissolve the 
tartareous incrustations on the teeth, promote per¬ 
spiration, and sweeten the breath. 

PROPAGATING THE STRAWBERRY FOR FORCING. 

Rooting the Plants. The method mostly adopt¬ 
ed, and which, I think, most recommendable, is, to 
plant out some stools purposely, either in the Spring 
or Fall, on a rich plot of ground, in a western aspect. 
They may be planted three feet apart, and the ground 
well worked between them by digging in the Spring 
and Summer. When the flower trusses or stems 
begin to show, they should be nipped off, between 
the finger and thumb, which will strengthen the 
plants, and cause them to send out runners early ; 
when the runners begin to grow, they are to be laid 
out in a regular manner, that the young plants may 
have a free circulation of air, and receive the sun. 
As the principal object is to obtain early plants, they 
may be greatly facilitated, by laying the joints, as 
they protrude from the plant; and if a quantity of 
well-rotted manure is occasionally thrown over 
them, the better: water may also be applied, to aid 
their early rooting, which is one grand object, in 
order to forward the plants in a vigorous, healthy, 
manner. 

Potting the Plants. When a portion of the 
plants are thus rooted, they are to be potted in the 
following manner: A quantity of pots may be pro¬ 
cured of the following dimensions: six inches deep, 
and about the same in diameter on the top [No. 4.], 
which may be filled with compost before or after 
plunging. 

Compost. The compost that I can best recom¬ 
mend, is two thirds of good sandy loam, and one 
third of leaf mould and horse manure, of equal quan¬ 
tity ; this should be procured three months before 
planting, and well mixed, and incorporated together, 
with which the pots are to be filled, previous to 
planting. 

Plunging the Pots. A situation for plunging 
the pots should be chosen in a western aspect, where 
the sun does not have its full influence, but where 
a free circulation of air can be obtained in every di¬ 
rection. The spot of ground being selected, pre¬ 
pare it for plunging the pots, by laying out beds 
three or four feet wide, or in such a manner as to 
admit of four, six or eight rows of pots in the bed 
across : the length may be in proportion to the quan¬ 
tity required. The bed may be laid out by marking 
with a spade, by a line each side, when the earth is 
to be taken out to the depth of the pots, that their 
rims may be even with the surface of the ground. 
The pots are then to be placed in a regular manner 
in the bed, and filled (if not done before plunging) 
with the prepared compost; and, in such case, the 
vacancies between them wall require to be filled with 
the earth taken from the bed, which is the most 
economical method, if the compost is not plentiful: 
on the other hand, the filling of the whole, when 
the pots are plunged, is the most ready method; 
therefore the choice of the best method must depend 
on circumstances. The pots being filled, the whole 
of the bed is to be well watered, to settle the earth 
in the pots; and in the evening (which is the best 
time), the plants are to be dibbled into the pots. 


Planting the Strawberry. The young plants 
are to be taken from the vines, and dressed in the 
usual way, by shortening the roots, and taking off 
the dead leaves. 

The plants are to be inserted in the pots with a 
dibble, in the usual method of planting, one, two 
or three in a pot. The number to be inserted de¬ 
pends on the time and strength of the plants, the 
object being to fill the pot with roots and a good 
crown, before wintering the plants; therefore in 
early planting, one in the centre of the pot, is best 
for the strong growing varieties, as Keen’s seedling, 
Wilmot’s superb, and the like ; and two plants in 
a pot of the smaller varieties, as the Early scarlet, 
Roseberry, and so on. In late setting out, they 
may be put accordingly thick, as two plants of the 
larger varieties, and three of the smaller in a trian¬ 
gular manner. When they are thus planted, they 
will require a good watering every evening, unti 
their roots begin to be well established, when they 
may have every attention, to render them vigorous 
plants ; and in the month of October, if one or two 
waterings of manure water are applied, they will be 
greatly benefited, in the process of forcing, by 
the soil in which they grow being of a richer qual¬ 
ity. 

Shading the plants is, by many, recommended, 
and in many cases, perhaps, very judiciously, al¬ 
though 1 must precaution the young forcer that it 
weakens the plants, and therefore should be much 
as possible evaded. 

Protecting the plants in the Whiter. When the 
winter commences, the pots are to be taken from 
the beds, and protected in cold frames, pits, sheds, 
or the like, in such a manner that they will not be 
too severely frozen, which will not only break the 
pots, but also injure the plants. 

OPERATION OF FORCING THE STRAWBERRY. 

Before I proceed to detail the manner of forcing 
the strawberry, it will be proper to make a few cur¬ 
sory remarks on the subject. The strawberry, in 
all cases of forcing, requires to be placed near the 
glass, in its first stage particularly. The process, 
at the first commencement, requires a very mode¬ 
rate temperature. The plants, when in bloom, 
need much water ; but care must be taken not to 
wet the flowers. Shading is also requisite to the 
plants, when in flower, from eleven to one o’clock 
of every sunny day. At the time of swelling and 
ripening the fruit, air and heat are also requisite, in 
order to forward and give it colour and flavour. In 
contradiction to the above remarks, if the strawberry 
is placed far from the glass, it will grow slender, and 
throw up but few trusses of flowers, and those weak 
and puny. Rapid forcing at the first commence¬ 
ment, will produce the same effect; keeping the 
pots dry when the plants are in flower, retards and 
destroys the blossoms, from setting their fruit; and 
wetting the blossoms, in the act of watering the 
plants, destroys the pollen, and blinds the flower. 
Lastly, if the sun is admitted to the flowers at mid¬ 
day, with its full power, they will be blinded by its 
influence in a confined state, and hence the neces¬ 
sity of shading. 

Operation of Forcing. The strawberry is forc¬ 
ed either in frames, pits or houses. Frames are 



OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


299 


perhaps too troublesome to become generally in use 
lor the purpose, and houses too expensive for their 
culture, with the exception of large establishments, 
where they are moved from one house to another, 
as from the cherry house to the pinery, &,c. But the 
most economical, as well as the best adapted method 
that I am acquainted with, in the forcing of the straw¬ 
berry, is forcing them in pits, and which can be easily 
converted into frame or house culture, by any intelli¬ 
gent person. The pits may be of any dimensions, from 
three to ten feet wide in theclear,and, for thispurpose, 
it may be worked with Hues, in the usual method of 
forcing-houses, or partly by bottom heat, from ma¬ 
nure and tan, and partly by Hues. The first method 
requires a flue to run round the front and ends of the 
pit. The staging must be erected under the glass, 
at the distance of about a foot or eighteen inches 
from it, on which the pots of strawberries are to be 
placed and forced. 

But the system that I can best recommend, is to 
force the strawberry in a pit, with a flue in the front, 
and a quantity of leaves and manure worked in a 
moderate temperature of heat; on the top of this, 
about two feet thick of old tan may be added, into 
which the pots are to be plunged to the rims. Hav¬ 
ing the pit prepared, by putting in the manure, the 
tan is then to be laid on to within eighteen inches 
or two feet of the glass ; the pots are to be plunged 
therein to the rim, when the heat becomes moderate, 
which requires great precaution, or the plants will run 
up in a slender manner. At the first commencement 
of forcing, the pit should have plenty of air during 
the day, and the temperature through the night may 
be kept from 35® to 40®, fire heat, and through the 
day to 45*^ or 50°. This heat may be gradually in¬ 
creased from 40° to 45® during the night, and 50° to 
60°during the day, with plenty of air. The plants may 
be gradually watered, and every means used to bring 
them on in a strong healthy manner; when they 
begin to throw up their trusses of flower stems, 
plenty of water must be applied, and air, as much 
as possible, be admitted to the flowers as they open. 
The temyjerature may be at this time kept as near 
as possible to 50° through the night, and 60° through 
the day, with plenty of air. The plants will be ben¬ 
efited, if, at this time, they are divested of some of 
their leaves, which will give strength to the blos¬ 
soms. 

In the middle of the day the pit will require to 
be shaded, w'hen the sun shines, from eleven to one 
o’clock : this is more essentially necessary to the 
strawberry than any fruit I am acquainted with: 
the sun shining powerfully, as before observed, on 
the blossoms, when in a confined heat, often blinds 
or destroys the female part of the flower, which is 
the cause of blindness or barrenness. 

Swelling the Fruit. When the fruit is perfect¬ 
ed, and beginning to swell, the shading may then 
be omitted ; and the plants will require to be well 
watered whenever the earth becomes the least dry. 

The temperature of the pit may at this time be 
kept as near as possible from 50°’ to 55°, fire heat, 
during the night, and from 60° to 75°, with sun 
heat, and plenty of air, during the day. 

Ripening the Fruit. When the fruit is nearly 
swollen to its proper size, the watering may then be 


in a measure suspended; and the pots may be re¬ 
moved into the stove, pinery, or any warm situation, 
to forward its ripening, as the strawberry will bear 
almost any heat, when the fruit is properly set; but 
in all cases, the pots should be so placed as to ob¬ 
tain the full influence of the sun, in order to give 
flavour to the fruit; when it is fully ripe, some pots 
may be taken to table with it on, which has a very 
pretty effect, besides a very nice dessert. When it 
is all gathered, the pots of plants may be set out to 
obtain a Fall crop, or for a new intended plantation, 
which see, under the head of Propagation of the 
Straivherry. 

The strawberry requires to be potted every year 
from young plants, as the old stools do not force 
well. 


COMPARATIVE LONGEVITY. 

In the French Revue Encyclopedique, we find 
some interesting statements on longevity and the 
proportion of deaths to the population, in the differ¬ 
ent countries of Europe. It thence appears that 
the duration and value of human life varies as much 
between one European nation and another, as it 
does between people of different races, and inhabit¬ 
ing different quarters of the globe. The number 
of deaths varies more than the number of births ; in 
respect to the latter, there is never a difference of 
more than one half between any two countries ; 
while the mortality of one is sometimes nearly triple 
that of another. 

If we were asked what land, of all others on the 
face of the globe, we should fix upon as the most 
favourable to human life, our thoughts would proba¬ 
bly turn to the sunny clime of Italy, whither con¬ 
sumptive patients go from all parts of the world, to 
inhale the balm of its atmosphere as their only chance 
of prolonged existence. Yet this would be a vast 
mistake; the air may be beneficial as a medicine; 
but it is apparently too delicious and exhilirating 
for constant use. It is not in the bleak and almost 
arctic region of Norway, nor in dreary Iceland, 
which is literally a land of ice, that human life has 
its briefest span—but in sunny Italy itself. Per¬ 
haps there is a feverish excitement in the blood, 
which causes the frame to wear out quickly in a 
southern clime ; while, in colder countries, it is pre¬ 
served from decay by its torpidity. The British 
islands, and especially Scotland, are very favourable 
to the life of man ; in a million of inhabitants, the 
annual deaths are somewhat more than eighteen 
thousand. Sweden and Norway are also salubrious 
climates ; there are only two deaths in that part 
of Europe for three in the southern countries. In 
Denmark and the greater part of Germany, the pro¬ 
portion is about the same. Russia and Poland, 
where the mass of the inhabitants have scarcely the 
necessaries of life, and can barely claim the rank 
of civilized people, are astonishingly favourable to 
the continuation of existence. The population, con¬ 
sisting of sixty-six millions lives, on an average, half 
as long again as the Italians, and exactly twice 
as long as the inhabitants of Vienna, the capital city 
of Austria. The mean rate of mortality is in Swit- 





300 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


zerland, in the provinces of the Austrian empire, 
and in Spain, in which countries the annual deaths 
are about one in every forty. France, Holland, Bel¬ 
gium and Prussia, do not vary much from the same 
proportion. In other parts of Europe, the deaths 
»re one in thirty, and often more, in the countries 
that border on the Mediterranean sea. 

In all Europe, which contains two hundred and 
ten millions of inhabitants, about five millions and 
a half die annually, being one fortieth part of the 
whole ; but these deaths are distributed very une¬ 
qually between the northern and southern countries. 
In the former, death takes but one man in every 
forty-four; in the latter, he lays claim to one in 
t.irty -six. In the north of France there are 22,700 
deaths a year, and in the south 27,800 for each mil¬ 
lion of inhabitants ; this is a striking difference, 
within the limits of one country. 

Two great causes are assigned, which influence 
the duration of life and the number of deaths ; these 
are Climate and Civilisation. A cold and rigor¬ 
ous climate is eminently favourable to existence; and 
likewise a low or moderate temperature, in the 
neighbourhood of the sea. In Russia, it is the cli¬ 
mate alone that prolongs life, without any aid from 
civilisation; but, in more temperate regions, civiliz¬ 
ed habits, are absolutely necessary to produce a sim¬ 
ilar good effect. Between the tropics, the duration 
of life varies according to the different breeds of 
men. Thus in Batavia, the annual amount of 
deaths, taking all tlie inhabitants together, is one in 
twenty-six ; but of this amount, the Europeans lose 
one in eleven, the slaves one in thirteen, the Chi¬ 
nese one in twenty-nine ; and the Javanese, who 
are the natural inhabitants of the country, lose only 
one in forty-six. In the West Indies, the whites 
lose one third more, according to their numbers, 
than the blacks. 

The effects of civilisation may be perceived, by 
contrasting the diminished mortality of the present 
day with that of for(ner times. In Sweden, it has 
lessened one third in sixty-one years ; in Switzer¬ 
land one third in sixty-four; in the Pope’s domin¬ 
ions, one third in sixty-two ; in Prussia, one third in 
one hundred and six ; and in Austria, one third in 
the short space of seven years. This latter fact, if 
it be correctly stated, is marvellous, and must have 
some extraordinary cause. In France, the mortali¬ 
ty has diminished one half in the course of a cen¬ 
tury and a half. In Russia and Norway, during the 
last thirty years, it has remained at a stand ; and in 
Naples it has increased. In the manufacturing city 
of Manchester, in England, it has diminished more 
than one half in sixty-four years, and in Birming¬ 
ham, nearly one half in ten years. Taking the 
whole of Europe together, it is supposed that the 
mortality is less by one third than it formerly was. 

The principal causes of a heavy average of deaths 
may be enumerated as follows ;—the dampness 
of marshy tracts, especially in warm countries; 
—the want of sufficient food among the lower 
Classes, and of comfortable clothing;—pestilential 
diseases ;—great and sudden changes of the weath¬ 
er ;—the insalubrity of private dwellings, prisons, 
and hospitals, owing to a too confined space, and 
neglect of cleanliness;—drunkenness, or the hab¬ 
itual use of alchohol;— unhealthy occupations. 


or too constant labour, especially in the case of 
children and youth ;—war, not merely as produc¬ 
ing death in battle, but by fatigue, forced inarch 
es, exposure, and an unhealthy mode of life in 
camp and field. On the other hand, the causes 
of a diminution of mortality are the drying up of 
marshes, and the embankment of rivers and streams; 
—the increased facilities of earning a livelihood; 
the greater abundance and better quality of food ; 
attention to the wants and comforts of children ; 
vaccination, which has almost eradicated one of the 
most fearful diseases of past times ;—health-regula¬ 
tions at sea-ports, and the general enforcement of 
cleanliness ;—the decreased prices of merchandise 
and manufactures, which place within the reach of 
every class those conveniences of life which were 
formerly confined to the wealthy ;—the useful in¬ 
ventions, which have created new comforts. Thus 
we see that the life of man is not only embellished, 
but prolonged by civilisation ; nor can it be doubt¬ 
ed that the process will go on, and that our poster¬ 
ity will live longer, and with less torment of disease, 
and in a world of greater physical enjoyment, than 
ourselves. It is not, we hope, irreverent to say, that 
the Creator gave us our world, in a certain sense, 
unfinished, and left it to the ingenuity of man to 
bring it to the highest perfection of which final and 
physical things are susceptible. 

We have not at hand any statements similar to 
the above, in regard to our own country. It is rea¬ 
sonable to suppose, however, that, within the vast 
limits of the United States, there is as great a dif¬ 
ference in the length of life and number of deaths, 
as among the nations of Europe. The average of 
mortality in our cities has generally been stated at 
one in forty, which is the same as in Europe at large; 
and as the number of deaths is always greater in cities 
than elsewhere, this would indicate that the new 
world is more favourable to human life than the old. 
The situation of America, in a transition-state from 
a wild land to a cultivated one, affords opportunity 
for the solution of many problems, as to the causes 
which effect the health and longevity of man. It is 
desirable to know—and we should be glad to state 
it in this Magazine—what are the different averages 
of existence, when spent in a clearing of the prime¬ 
val forest, in a long cultivated part of the country, 
and in a crowded city ;—whether the felling of the 
western woods and the miraculous growth of towns, 
operates forgood or evil on the old settlers;—what has 
been the influence, in this respect, of canals, and es¬ 
pecially of the Erie Canal, in the long tract through 
which it drags its torpid current;—what is the ef¬ 
fect of the increasing use of coal instead of wood, 
as fuel. Many other questions might be proposed; 
but the answers, we fear, would scarcely come to 
hand while we sit in the chair editorial; since, to be 
accurate, they must be formed by the comparison 
of distant communities, and of the present genera¬ 
tion with its ancestors and posterity. And what¬ 
ever may be the duration of this earthly existence, 
let it ever be in our minds, that another comes has¬ 
tening on—which is eternal. 


Of the sixty-eight years of the reign of Louis the 
Fourteenth, fifty-six were spent in war. 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


301 


FRAGMENTS OF THINGS. 

[From a Correspondent of the Cincinnati Journal, at Malta.] 

In passing a street tlie other day, a church was 
pointed out to me, which I had not noticed ; and 
I was told that it was the church to which at a cer¬ 
tain time in each year, the Maltese took their mules 
and asses and such sort of animals, and had them 
sprinkled with holy water and blessed. They at¬ 
tach much importance to it, as keeping off disease 
and accidents, and putting the poor animals in a 
more safe condition. 

Baptizing a dead Child. The other evening I 
took tea with an English family, the lady of which 
appeared to be a truly pious person. She informed 
me that a good many years ago, she and family were 
at Cadiz in Spain ; one of her children took sick 
and died, quite an infant—there was no Protestant 
burying ground, or if there was she did not know of it. 
She applied to have it buried in the common bury¬ 
ing ground, but this was objected to, on the ground 
that it was a Protestant’s child. The Priest howev¬ 
er, told her, that if she would allow him to open the 
coffin and baptize the dead child, he would have it 
buried in the church-yard ; but on no other condi¬ 
tion, could she have it buried. She, as perhaps 
most persons would in such a situation, let the Priest 
baptize it, knowing that it was wholly a superstitious 
notion of the Priest. 

Maltese Spinning. The state of the arts, even 
those in most common use in life, is most imperfect 
at Malta. Take for instance that of spinning. 
The Maltese raise a good deal of cotton,—manufac¬ 
ture some of it. The wheel they chiefly make use 
of, is of the most imperfect kind ; it is on the plan 
of the big-wheel, formerly much in use in western 
Virginia, and perhaps generally in the United States. 
H Although on the plan of the big wheel, it is not 
so large as the small wheel in the United States. 
Two rude uprights are fixed in a piece of wood, 
which lies on the ground ; they never think of get¬ 
ting a wheel on legs—the wheel part is fixed between 
these uprights, a spindle is attached to it, and they 
I sit down by it, perhaps on the floor,—hold the cot¬ 
ton in their hand, turn the wheel from time to time 
with the hand. 

Their Ploughs. Most of the field labour is done 
by hand—but you may sometimes see what passes 
for a Plough. But a few days past I was walking 
out some miles from town, to take tea with an En¬ 
glish family, and passed a plough. I had the cu¬ 
riosity to examine it; there was no iron about it. 
It was made of two pieces, the long main beam had a 
I bend, which made a considerable angle—at this angle 

I another piece was let in, and made fast,—this sec- 

I ond piece was of very hard wood, was crooked, and 

I so set as to place the lower end, or point, very much 

i forward ; this point was carefully trimmed, so as to 

make the edge about as thick as the end of the fin- 
i ger, enlarging from the point—the fore part of the 
long beam, is tied with a rope to the yoke of the 
oxen or mules, that may be used—the hind part is 
j held to guide the plough. If the bend does not 

‘ raise the end of it high enough, to serve as a handle, 

a single piece of wood may be fastened to it, to serve 
j for a handle. It is very manifest that ground can¬ 


not be worked with much effect with such imple¬ 
ments. 

The Maltese often sleep in the streets. It is 
very common at Malta, in the warm weather, for 
persons to take a loll in the middle of the day. In 
walking the streets about that time, you may see 
hundreds of the poorer people—the porters, the 
idlers, the market and fruit men and women, lying 
in the piazzas, and on the shady sides of the streets 
—at some private places, you may see little congre¬ 
gations of them. But this is not all: I have seen 
many of them as late at night as I have been out, 
lying on the cold hard pavement asleep ; sometimes 
they have a mat to lie on, but very often have noth¬ 
ing but the scanty clothes which they wear by day. 
Possibly this is the case only, or chiefly during the 
summer, while the heat is so great. Many of their 
rooms, are cellars or small rooms badly ventilated, 
and must be most uncomfortable in midsummer, 
and this may induce them thus to prefer the street. 


RELIGION IN THE WEST, BY REV. DR. 

BLACKBURN. 

[From the New York Evangelist.] 

I have watched the progress of religion in the 
West from the time when they were only 6000 white 
inhabitants, to the day when they number more than 
five millions. About the year 1788, 1 went, then a 
youth, to what is now Tennessee, then a part of North 
Carolina. There were at that time only three Pres¬ 
byterian ministers in it. About the year 1792,1 was 
licensed to preach, when the number was increased 
to six. Now the population of the State is upwards 
of 500,000, with 80 Presbyterian ministers, and up¬ 
wards of 9000 professors in their churches. I have 
worshipped there when I had to carry my gun with 
the rest of the men, when we placed the women in 
the centre, with armed men all around, and I set 
my gun by the root of a tree, and stood by it and 
preached. Such was the ferocity of the manners of 
the inhabitants. I preached in one place where 
there was not a single professor in the place ; and 
in one year, though they had only occasional preach¬ 
ing, there was a church of 115 members. 

In Nashville, I preached the first sermon ever 
preached by a Presbyterian, when the place had 200 
inhabitants, and no professors of religion in it, but 
two old ladies.—Now there are seven churches, well 
filled. 

In what is now the State of Alabama, the first 
settlement was on Cox’s claim, at the Muscle Shoals, 
on the Tennessee river. When there were but 50 
families, I preached at Capt. Hunt’s log cabin under 
a poplar tree, on the top of the hill, and organized 
a church of five members. Some years afterwards, 
when the tree had been cut down, I administered 
the communion on the stump to 130 members. The 
town of Huntsville, on the same spot, now has three 
or four churches, with respectable congregations. 
And the State has forty Presbyterian ministers, 3000 
Presbyterian professors, and 400,000 souls. 

In the State of Mississippi, the town of Natchez 
was settled early, but there was very little gospel 
there. I preached there before there had ever been 
a settled minister in the State. Now in Mississippi, 
Louisiana and Arkansas, there are twenty-five Pres- 






302 


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I 


byterian ministers, and at least one thousand pro¬ 
fessors. I know the worth of your missionary in 
Arkansas, as I taught him myself, and can testify to 
his fidelity. You may repose full confidence in 
him. 

In the State of Missouri, I preached in 1813, 
when there was no settled Presbyterian minister in 
it, and not many Americans. Now there are 360,000 
people, 21 Presbyterian ministers, with 2000 pro¬ 
fessors, and the country is brought under the influ¬ 
ence of moral instructions, and the young Missouri 
College is rising to great usefulness. 

In the same year, 1813, I likewise visited the 
State of Illinois, where I now reside, and where 
there are from 250,000 to 300,000 souls. When 
I preached there in 1813, there was no minister of 
our order, now there are 56, and upwards of 
2000 professors, and 40 or 50 young men in a 
course of education, who are looking forward to the 
gospel ministry. In the year 1821, [ was invited 
there, and met upwards of 100 professors of religion, 
gathered from a great distance round, in the woods, 
on a Sabbath, and it was a day of the right hand 
of the Most High. The Spirit of the Lord was 
with us indeed under those shady trees. That day 
opened the way for a number of churches, and was 
the beginning of much good. I can certify to all 
that is said in the report about your agent there ; 
for I have travelled with him. I went with him 
eight weeks, last season, when we travelled e.xten- 
sively over a region containing 100,000 inhabitants, 
preaching every day and night that we could, and 
administering the sacrament eve^y Sabbath, and we 
never met in a house capable of holding fifty people 
but once, and that was in Q,uincy, on Mississippi 
river, where there is a good brick church. 

In Indiana, when I first visited the State, there 
was no settled Presbyterian minister that I knew 
of.—Now there are 350,000 souls, and 4000 profes¬ 
sors in Presbyterian churches. 

In these seven States, I have seen society rise 
from the beginning under the influence of the gos¬ 
pel. These five millions of souls have about one 
Presbyterian minister to 25,000 souls. But this is 
a beginning, and if we look with the eye of faith, 
we may be sure that, by the Word of God and 
prayer, the field will richly repay all your cost. 


ORIGINALITY. 

We shall find, if we examine, that a smooth ex¬ 
panse of water always represents the scenery ac¬ 
tually around it, so that it is a lively instance of 
reflection, borrowing her beauties from local nature. 
A loch in Scotland can never represent the banks 
of a pond in America, any more than it can roll the 
waves of our Lake Superiour. The waters of all 
countries are at least original; whether they return 
from their bosoms the peaks of some barren mount, 
the arid wastes of Palestine, the steppes of central 
Asia, or, frozen by a northern winter, the stars of a 
Polar night. Such are the Lakes; and such should 
be the poets and moral writers of every tongue and 
people. Such must be the character of all those 
pages, which are destined to last, because they are 
felt to profit and to please. It is the writer, who 


takes his scenes and characters, his incidents and f 
images, fresh from life ; and life as modified in his ; 
own land, that will attract readers by mixing the 
useful with the sweet. I should have no doubt that 
my book would float to a literary immortality, if I 
could only make it as original as the waters of our 
Lakes .—The Puritan. 


THE MARINER TO THE FIRST-SEEN MOUNTAIN, ON 
APPROACHING HIS NATIVE COAST. 

[Original.] 

Hail misty Mountain!—raising dim 
O’er yon lov’d coast, thy lofty head; 

How welcome is thy sight to him, 

So long by star and compass led'— 

Speck tho’ thou art, and wrapt in haze 
Right pleasant’t is on thee to gaze. 

I’ve seen the lordly TenerifTe 

Lift its rough forehead from the sea, 

Gay songsters warbling on its cliff 
Their strains of dulcet melody,— 

But none I heard, with note so bland, 

As thy wild birds, dear native land. 

I’ve sail’d where Chimborazo towers 
High o’er the Andes’ giant chain. 

And where the bright Brazilian flowers 
Pour breathing fragrance o’er the plain,— 

Yet nought was e’er so fair as thee. 

My own blest land of liberty. 

I’ve roam’d where Himmaleh aspires 
With snowy breast o’er Indian vales. 

And where, perfumed from spicy groves. 

The freighted vessel spreads its sails,— 

But most my heart doth joy to climb. 

Thy breeze-swept hills, dear native clime! 

Hartford, Feb. 12. L. H. S. 

EXERCISE OF THE BRAIN. 

[Combe, on the Constitution of Man.] 

Many persons are able, from experience, to attest 
the severity of the punishment that follows from 
neglecting to exercise the nervous and muscular 
systems, in the lassitude, indigestion, irritability, de¬ 
bility, and general uneasiness that attend a sedentary 
and inactive life. But the penalties that attach to 
neglect of exercising the brain are much less known, 
and, therefore, I shall notice them more at length. 
How often have we heard the question asked, what 
is the use of education? The answer might be il¬ 
lustrated by explaining to the inquirer the nature 
and objects of the various organs of the body, such 
as the limbs, lungs, eyes, and then asking him if he 
could perceive any advantage to a being so consti¬ 
tuted, in obtaining access to earth, air, and light. 
He would, at once, declare that they were obvious¬ 
ly, of the very highest utility to him, for they were 
the only conceivable objects, by means of which these 
organs could obtain scope for action, which action 
we suppose him to know to be pleasure. To those, 
then, who know the constitution of the intellectual 
and moral powers of man, I need only say, that 
the objects introduced to the mind by education, 
bear the same relation to them that the physical ele¬ 
ments of nature bear to the nerves and muscles; 
they afford them scope for action, and yield them 
delight. The meaning which is commonly attached 
to the word use in such cases, is, how much money, 











OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


303 


influence, or consideration, will education bring; 
these being the only objects of strong desire with 
which uncultivated minds are acquainted ; and they 
do not perceive in what way education can greatly 
gratify such propensities. But the moment the 
mind is opened to the perception of its own consti¬ 
tution and to the natural laws, the great advantage 
of moral and intellectual cultivation, as a means of 
exercising the faculties, and of directing the conduct 
in obedience to these laws, becomes apparent. 

But there is an additional benefit arisinar from 

O 

healthy activity of brain, which is little known. The 
brain is the fountain of nervous energy to the whole 
body, and ditferent modifications of that energy ap¬ 
pear to lake place, according to the mode in which the 
faculties and organs are affected. Forexample, when 
misfortune and disgrace impend over us, the organs 
of Cautiousness, Self-esteem, Love of Approbation, 
&c. are painfully excited ; and then they transmit 
an impaired or a positively noxious nervous influence 
to the heart, stomach, intestines, and thence to the 
rest of the body ; the pulse becomes feeble and ir¬ 
regular, digestion is deranged, and the whole corpo¬ 
real frame wastes. When, on the other hand, the 
cerebral organs are agreeably afl’ected, a benign and 
vivifying nervous influence pervades the frame, and 
all the functions of the body are performed with 
more pleasure and completeness. Now it is a law, 
that the quantity of nervous energy increases with 
the number of cerebral organs roused to activity. 
In the retreat of the French from Moscow, for ex¬ 
ample, when no enemy was near, the soldiers be¬ 
came depressed in courage, and enfeebled in body; 
they nearly sank to the earth through exhaustion 
and cold ; but no sooner did the fire of the Russian 
guns sound in their ears, or the gleam of their bay¬ 
onets flash in their eyes, then new life seemed to 
pervade them. They wielded powerfully the arms, 
which a few moments before, they could scarcely 
carry or trail on the ground. No sooner, however, 
was the enemy repulsed, than their feebleness re¬ 
turned. The theory of this is, that the approach 
of the combat called into activity a variety of addi¬ 
tional faculties ; these sent new energy through every 
nerve, and while their activity was maintained by 
the external stimulus, they rendered the soldiers 
strong beyond their merely physical condition. Ma¬ 
ny persons have probably experienced the operation 
of the same principle. When sitting feeble and 
listless by the fire, we have heard of an accident 
having occurred to some beloved friend, who requir¬ 
ed our instantaneous aid, or an unexpected visitor 
has arrived, in whom our affections were bound up, 
in an instant our lassitude was gone, and, we mov¬ 
ed with an alertness and animation, that seemed 
surprising to ourselves. The cause was the same ; 
these events roused Adhesiveness, Benevolence, 
Love of Approbation, Intellect, and a variety of fac¬ 
ulties, which were previously dormant, and their in¬ 
fluence invigorated the limbs. Dr. Sparmann, in 
his voyage to the Cape, mentions ‘ that there was now 
again a°great scarcity of meat in the wagon ; for 
which reason my Hottentots began to grumble, and 
reminded me that we ought not to waste so much 
of our time in looking after insects and plants, but 
give a better look-out after the game. At the same 


time, they pointed to a neighbouring dale overrun 
with wood, at the upper edge of which, at the dis¬ 
tance of about a mile and a quarter from the spot 
where we then were, they had seen several buffaloes. 
Accordingly, we went thither ; but though our fa¬ 
tigue was lessened by our Hottentots carrying our 
guns for us up a hill, yet we were quite out of breath, 
and overcome by the sun, before we got up to it. 
Yet, what even now appears to me a matter of won¬ 
der is, that as soon as we got a glimpse of the 
game, all our languor instantly vanished. In fact, 
we each of us strove to fire before the other, so that 
we seemed entirely to have lost sight of prudence 
and caution.’ 

It is part of the same law, that the more agreea¬ 
ble the mental stimulus, the more benign is the ner¬ 
vous influence transmitted to the body. 

If we imagine a man or woman, who has received 
from nature a large and tolerably active brain, but 
who has not enjoyed the advantages of a scientific or 
extensive education, so as to feel an interest in mor¬ 
al and intellectual pursuits for their own sake, and 
who, from possessing wealth sufficient to remove the 
necessity for labour, is engaged in no profession, we 
shall find a perfect victim to infringement of the 
natural laws. The individual ignorant of these laws, 
will, in all probability, neglect nervous and muscu¬ 
lar exercise, and suffer the miseries arising from im¬ 
peded circulation and impaired digestion ; in entire 
want of every object on which the energy of his 
brain might be expended, its stimulating influence 
on the body will be withheld, and the effects of mus¬ 
cular inactivity ten-fold aggravated ; all the func¬ 
tions will, in consequence, become enfeebled ; lassi¬ 
tude, uneasiness, anxiety, and a thousand evils, will 
arise, and life, in short, will become a mere endur¬ 
ance of punishment for infringement of institutions, 
calculated, in themselves, to promote happiness and 
afford delight, when known and obeyed. This fate 
frequently overtakes uneducated females, whose 
early days have been occupied with business, or the 
cares of a family, but which occupations have ceas¬ 
ed before old age had diminished corporeal vigour; 
it overtakes men also, who uneducated, retire from 
active business in the prime of life. In some in¬ 
stances, these evils accumulate to such a degree that 
the brain itself gives way, its functions become de¬ 
ranged, and insanity is the result. 

It is worthy of remark, that the more elevated the 
objects of our study, the higher in the scale are the 
mental organs which are exercised, and the higher 
the organs the more pure and intense is the pleasure; 
and hence, a vivacious and regularly supported ex¬ 
citement of the moral sentiments and intellect is 
highly favourable to health and corporeal vigour. 
In the fact of a living animal being able to retain 
life in an oven that will bake dead flesh, we see an 
illustration of the organic law rising above the pure¬ 
ly physical; and in the circumstance of the moral 
and intellectual organs transmitting the most favorr 
able nervous influence to the whole bodily system, 
we have an example of the moral and intellectual 
law rising higher than the mere organic. 

No person after having his intellect and senti¬ 
ments imbued with a perception of and belief ip, 
the natural laws, as now explained, can possibly d^- 








304 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


sire idleness, as a source of pleasure; nor can he 
possibly regard muscular exertion and mental activ¬ 
ity, when not carried to excess, as any thing else 
than enjoyments kindly vouchsafed to him by the 
benevolence of the Creator. The notion that mod¬ 
erate labour and mental exertion are evils, can origi¬ 
nate only from ignorance, or from viewing the effects 
of over-exhaustion as the result of the natural law, 
and not as the punishment for the infringement of 
it. 


USES OF HORN. 

[Babbage ‘ On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures.’] 

Amongst the causes which tend to the cheap pro¬ 
duction of any article, may be mentioned the care 
which is taken to allow no part of the raw produce, 
out of which it is formed, to be wasted. An atten¬ 
tion to this circumstance sometimes causes the union 
of two trades in one factory, which otherwise would 
naturally have been separated. An enumeration 
of the arts to which the horns of cattle are applica¬ 
ble, furnishes a striking example of this kind of 
economy. The tanner who has purchased the hides, 
separates the horns, and sells them to the makers 
of combs and lanterns. The horn consists of two 
parts, an outward horny case, and an inward coni¬ 
cal-shaped substance, somewhat intermediate be¬ 
tween indurated hair and bone. The first process 
consists in separating these two parts, by means of 
a blow against a block of wood. The horny ex¬ 
terior is then cut into three portions by means of a 
frame-saw. 

1. The lowest of these, next the root of the horn, 
after undergoing several processes, by which it is 
rendered flat, is made into combs. 

2. The middle of the horn, after being flattened 
by heat, and its transparency improved by oil, is 
split into thin layers, and forms a substitute for glass 
in lanterns of the commonest kind. 

3. The tip of the horn is used by the makers of 
knife-handles, and of the tops of whips, and for 
other similar purposes. 

4. The interiour, or core of the horn, is boiled 
down in water. A large quantity of fat rises to the 
surface; this is put aside, and sold to the makers 
of yellow soap. 

5. The liquid itself is used as a kind of glue, and 
is purchased by the cloth-dressers for stiffening. 

6. The bony substance, which remains behind, is 
then sent to the mill, and being ground down, is 
sold to the farmer for manure. 

Besides these various purposes, to which the dif¬ 
ferent parts of the horn are applied, the clippings, 
which arise in comb-making, are sold to the far¬ 
mer for manure at about one shilling a bushel. In 
the first year after they are spread over the soil they 
have comparatively little effect, but during the next 
four or five their efficiency is considerable. The 
shavings which form the refuse of the lantern-maker, 
are of a much thinner texture: a few of them are 
cut into various figures and painted, and used as 
toys; for being hygrometic, they curl up when 
placed in the palm of a warm hand. But the great¬ 
er part of these shavings are sold also for manure, 
which from their extremely thin and divided 
form, produces its full effect upoq the first crop. 


Casting in Wax. This mode of copying, aided 
by proper colouring, offers the most successful imi¬ 
tations of many objects of natural history, and gives 
an air of reality to them which might deceive even 
the most instructed. Numerous figures of remark¬ 
able persons, having the face and hands formed in 
wax, have been exhibited at various times ; and the 
resemblances have in some instances been most 
striking. But whoever would see the art of copy¬ 
ing in wax carried to the highest perfection, should 
examine the beautiful collection of fruit at the house 
of the London Horticultural Society ; the model of 
the magnificent flower of the new genus Rafflesia— 
the waxen models of the internal parts of the hu¬ 
man body which adorn the anatomical gallery of the 
Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and the Museum at 
Florence or the collection of morbid anatomy at the 
University of Bologna. The art of imitation by 
wax does not usually afford the multitude of copies 
which flow from many similar operations. This 
number is checked by the subsequent stages of the 
process, which, ceasing to have the character of 
copying by a tool or pattern, becomes consequently 
more expensive. In each individual production, 
form alone is giving by casting ; the colouring must 
be the work of the pencil, guided by the skill of the 
artist. 


THE MATHEMATIC FUNERAL. 

The following lines were written in 1703, by John Dunton, a 
crack-brained bookseller, on the death of Dr. John Wallis, who 
was Professor of Mathematics in one of the English Universities. 
We cannot say much for the poetry; but the measure, at least, 
ought to be good, as they are certainly written with all the art of 
numbers. 

I’ll have tbe solemn pomp and stately show 
In Geometrical Progression go. 

Sage Algebra with eyes cast down. 

By Cubes and Roots encompassed round. 

Shall lead the Van; and by her widowed side, 

A gentle band of Fluxions glide; 

Equations, with affected pace. 

Shall gravely next take place. 

Tall Axioms then shall march, upon whose state 
Long Corollaries shall await. 

This learned and lamenting tribe 
A huge Ellipsis shall describe. 

Whose two Focuses shall be 
Algebra and Geometry. 

Geometry, which mighty Queen 
Shall in robes the next be seen; 

Her Matbematic Guard among. 

Slow Cylinders shall roll along, 

And all her Curves, and Squares, and Circles join’d. 

In figures properly combin’d. 

Shall make her up a flowing train behind. 


Thunder Storms are attracted by forests. If 
the storm approaches the forest very obliquely, it 
glides along its borders. If it comes directly upon 
it, or if the forest be very narrow, it is turned aside 
from its previous direction. If the forest be broad, 
the tempest may be wholly arrested in its onward 
progress ; in which case, remaining stationary, it 
exhausts its fury on one particular spot. If it pass 
over the forest, it is greatly weakened. Storms 
follow the direction of a river or valley ; but an ab¬ 
rupt turn, or the intervention of a wood, causes 
them to take another course. 











OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


305 


THE FRENCH SOLDIERY. 

France, under Napoleon, seems to have been set 
up by Providence for the instruction of the world, 
as an example of the misery that must inevitably be 
dirfused through the whole body of a nation, which 
maftes war and conquest a part of its settled policy. 
The interruption of peaceful pursuits—the ruin of 
commerce—the waste of so large a portion of her 
products to be burnt as gun-powder, or otherwise 
thrown away in munitions of war—the conversion 
of the chief strength of her population into unpro¬ 
ductive soldiers, whom her worn-out labourers were 
; to feed, and who, for her own good, had far better 
Iiave been kept in one great alms-house, than sent 
I forth to ravage the world—the dreadful slaughter of 
i her sons, so that, in the burning deserts of Africa, 
on the frozen plains of Russia, all over Europe, and 
in three quarters of the earth, a ghastly army of the 
slain would have arisen, had any trumpet-call been 
loud enough to rally them—the demoralization of 
those who escaped the bullet and the sword, and 
brought their ruffian habits back to their native soil 
—the broken constitutions and lingering deaths of 
hundreds of thousands, in succeeding years—the 
tears of parents, the blasted prospects of affection, 
the domestic grief in every shape—the deep taint of 
the national character, which has been left by her 
drunkenness of blood, and which is visible in every 
rank of society and department of morals—such 
were some of the consequences, to France herself, 
of twenty years of war and glory. While ravaging 
the other nations of the earth, she avenged them in 
the very act. Her bonfires of victory cost her as 
dear, as if her own dwellings had been torn down 
to kindle them. The annals of her brilliant achieve¬ 
ments were written in the best blood of her veins. 
And this incalculable amount of misery would have 
been the same, even had her conquests been fol¬ 
lowed by none of the reverses that snatched them 
all away; nor would she have derived any more 
solid benefit, than a gallery of pictures and statues, 
plundered from vanquished nations, in her capital; 
and a few triumphal arches, and proud monuments, 
inscribed with the great N of Napoleon le Grand. 
But even these poor rewards were torn from her 
grasp ; and Europe trampled on her, and left her in 
the dust—a signal instance of what must be the in¬ 
evitable doom, sooner or later, of every people that 
pursues military glory for its own sake, and without 
a superlative regard to the cause in which they 
fight. 

The process by which Napoleon brought into 
the line of his army almost every young Frenchman, 
who had strength to march, was called the Conscrip¬ 
tion. In each municipality throughout France, the 
! male inhabitants, between the ages of twenty and 
! twenty-five, were summoned, at stated intervals, to 
register their names at the town-house. If any 
person, liable to the Conscription, failed to give in 
his name, not only he, but his whole family, were 
subject to a criminal prosecution. Whenever the 
carnage of one of the Emperour’s great victories 
had made a fresh supply of soldiers necessary, the 
Minister at War gave notice of the number of 
thousands that would be required, and a portion of 
the names of the persons, who were registered in 


the several municipalities, were immediately drawn, 
as in a lottery. As many of the first drawn num 
bers, as made up the amount which the War Min¬ 
ister had demanded, were marched off at a mo¬ 
ment’s warning: while the others were to follow, 
at the next summons. The most ignominious pun¬ 
ishments were inflicted on those conscripts who did 
not immediately obey the call. Incurable asthma, 
confirmed spitting of blood, and the early stages of 
consumption, did not absolutely free the patient 
from his liability to the Conscription ; if the sum¬ 
mons were urgent, he might still be made to march, 
though it were only to die in the bivouac. On ar¬ 
riving at the depots, the recruits were distributed 
among the various corps of artillery, cuirassiers, dra¬ 
goons and infantry, or sappers and miners, accord¬ 
ing to their strength and stature. In this way, the 
whole youth of France, as they reached the age of 
manhood, were enrolled as soldiers, and remained 
such, during the pleasure of government. It is said 
that the average height of the present generation of 
Frenchmen, who were born under the rule of Na¬ 
poleon, is considerably less than in former times ; 
owing to the strongest and tallest young men having 
been slain, or otherwise restrained from marriage; 
while the business of keeping up the population 
was left to an inferiour class. And yet, so deeply 
seated was her warlike frenzy, that, when the Great 
Captain fell, poor battered France deemed it her 
chief misfortune, that she must now cease to fight 
for glory! 

These remarks have been suggested by the ex¬ 
amination of some cuts of the different corps of the 
French army, part of which were given in the last 
Magazine, and a few more are added in the present 
number. It will perhaps be interesting to the 
American people, just at the present crisis, to re¬ 
ceive what little information we can bestow as to 
the men, who may possibly, before another year, 
attempt to find room for a bivouac on our own sea¬ 
board. The first figure shows the ancient garb and 
weapons of a grenadier, in the reign of Louis XIV, 
another glorious Despot; of whom, however, France 
had grown so intolerably weary, that, when his 
funeral pomp was passing from the palace of his 
ancestors to their tomb, the people hooted and revil¬ 
ed their dead monarch, till his attendants were glad 
to hide him in the dust and darkness. The first 
grenadiers carried an axe, a sabre, and a leathern 
bag, containing twelve or fifteen hand-grenades— 
a murderous little globe of iron, stuffed with gun¬ 
powder, which, being thrown among a group of sol¬ 
diers, was likely enough to kill or mangle half a 
dozen of them. The grenadier in the cut holds his 
burning match in one hand, and in the other his 
lighted grenade, wherewith he appears to be medi¬ 
tating slaughter. [See cut on next page.] 

The next figure is a grenadier of Napoleon’s fa¬ 
mous Old Guard, a body of the most gallant and 
perfect soldiers that ev^i followed, like slaves, at 
any conquerour’s heels. Their life, like that of 
the soldiers of Wallenstein, 

Was but a Batt'e and a March ; 

And like the wind’s course, n 'ver-ceasing, restless. 

They stormed across the war. convulsed earth. 

Men, armed and accoutred Kke this figure,, stfodei 

39 






306 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



victorious in their day, through the streets of 
every capital on the continent of Europe. Wher¬ 
ever their Emperour fought a battle, there they lay 
in heaps; they would have rushed to certain death, 
at the motion of his finger. They did so rush, at 
Waterloo, and made such an Aceldama of that 
dreadful field, that the English farmers imported 
their bones by ship-loads, to manure their crops. 
Such was the final destiny of the Old Guard—to 
nourish, with the marrow of their bones, the wheat 
that was to feed Napoleon’s bitterest enemies ! 



Grenadier of 1812. 


The third figure is the Grenadier of the present 
day, the very man whose bayonet may shortly be 
levelled at our own breasts. He is evidently the 
true son of his father, fonder of the drum than of 
the fiddle—these two ridiculous instruments being 
able, at any time, to set a Frenchman mad with 
fun or fury. His moustaches and bent brows give 
the fellow a most grim aspect, and to do him jus¬ 
tice, he has already proved, at Antwerp and Algiers, 
that he possesses the whole stock of military virtues 
proper to his nation. [See cut, next column.] 

The French Cuirassiers are a body of cavalry, 
who have retained, in part, the ancient custom of 
defensive armour, which has been generally laid 
aside, from the time that gunpowder created a very 
important change in the science of W 4 r. A few 



Grenadier of 1833. 


hundred years ago, the knights and men-at-arms 
were iron from head to foot; their caps were of 
cast-iron, somewhat like a porridge-pot; their coats 
and breeches of iron plates, which had to be riveted 
together by a blacksmith, before the warriour was 
ready for the field ; their boots were also of iron, 
and their gloves, or gauntlets, were covered with 
iron scales. In the iron plate that covered the face, 
there was a cross-slit over the mouth and nose, and 
two holes for the eyes, through which the knight 
peeped, like a prisoner out of his dungeon. In 
fact, he was one of the most miserable of prisoners ; 
for, after he was once hammered into his iron pano¬ 
ply, he could not possibly get out, without assist¬ 
ance ; and unlike all other captives, except a snail, 
he was compelled to carry his dungeon on his back. 
These men of iron—they may well be .called so, 
since their hearts were iron, as well as their gar¬ 
ments—mounted on horses that wore iron breast¬ 
plates, rode boldly into the battle and laid about 
them on all sides, conscious that neither sword, 
spear, arrow, nor club, would inflict the least dam¬ 
age on such a mass of rusty metal as they presented. 
Sometimes they tumbled from their horses, and lay 
like land-tortoises in their shells, unhurt by the 
trampling of contending armies over them. The 
only death in battle, to which they were liable, was 
by smothering. 

After the invention of fire-arms, this heavy defen¬ 
sive armour became, in many cases, worse than 
useless. A cannon-ball would, of course, smash it 
all to pieces, and even a musket-bullet, fired point- 
blank, would generally pierce the breast plate, and 
sometimes carry fragments of the iron into the 
wound. The whole system of defensive armour 
had been calculated for wars in which the only ar¬ 
tillery was the bow-and-arrow, and where the for¬ 
tune of a battle was to be decided by hand-to-hand 
conflicts, with sword and spear. This state of 
things being done away, the heavy-armed gentry 
found it convenient to come out of their shells. 
But a regiment, or more, of cuirassiers, have always 
been retained in France ; rather, perhaps, under the 
old Bourbon monarchy, as contributing to the splen¬ 
dour of the royal household, than as an important 
portion of the army. They did, however, distin- 
























307 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


gulsh themselves, during the wars of Louis XIV, 
and his successor. Under the consulate of Bona¬ 
parte, three new regiments of cuirassiers were added 
to the one that had previously existed, and soon 
after his coronation as Emperour, these were in¬ 
creased to twelve. At the present day, there are 
ten regiments. Their defensive armour is a polish¬ 
ed steel breast-plate and helmet, the latter on the 
ancient Roman pattern; their principal offensive 
weapon, a sabre; for though they carry pistols at 
their saddle-bow, it is not with these that they ever 
do any important execution. Their mode of fight¬ 
ing is to charge in line, with the point of the sabre 
advanced, as is seen in the first cut, representing a 
cuirassier under Napoleon. 



Cuirassier of 1812. 


These regiments are composed of the largest and 
strongest men in the service, and when mounted on 
horses of corresponding size and vigour, (which, 
however, are seldom found in France,) their onset 
must be tremendous. One would suppose, that, 
by the mere weight and momentum of steeds and 
men, even without the use of the sabre, the steel¬ 
breasted line would trample down and annihilate a 
body of ordinary cavalry. Napoleon specially in¬ 
tended them to break the squares or masses, into 
which infantry throw themselves to repel a charge 
of horse. They failed to do this at ^Vaterloo; and 
great credit has been claimed for the British infan¬ 
try, on account of their gallant defence with the 
bavonet; but a writer in the United Service Journal 
states, that no real contact took place, on that occa¬ 
sion, between the French horse and the masses of 
infantry. The French would come on at the gallop, 
as if they intended to plunge headlong into the 
midst of the foe, but, when within a few yards, 
would discharge their pistols, and ride round the 
masses, seeking, it seems, for some point that was 
not bristling with bayonets. The English writer, a 
military man, gives it as his opinion, that a square 
of infantry could not, with merely the musket and 
bayonet, defend itself against a resolute charge of 
heavy horse. These cuirassiers, it is said, were 
more than a match for the light cavalry of the Brit¬ 
ish, but were mastered, in their turn, by the heavy 
dragoons, who rode over the French, like a troop 


of monkeys mounted on goats. The cuirassier of 
1834, of whom we subjoin a cut, differs little from 
his predecessor. 



Cuirassier of 1834. 


The next corps, whom we shall pass in review, 
are the Lancers. These were created by Napoleon, 
as opponents to the Hulans and Cossacks, a sort of 
light cavalry in the service of the Emperour of Rus¬ 
sia. Napoleon’s first regiment was formed at War¬ 
saw, in 1807, and composed of Poles, who were 
afterwards incorporated into the Imperial Gu»id« 
still retaining the lance. 



Polish Lancer of 1807. 

A second and third regiment were afterwards 
added. Their lances were poles, ten or twelve 
feet long, made of black ash, and terminating in a 
steel blade with three sides. A small flag was also 
attached to the lance, not as an ornament, but to 
affright the enemy’s horses. Besides this weapon, 
they had a fusil and bayonet, an hussar-sabre, and 

































308 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


pistols. They were doubtless well calculated to 
oppose the wild Cossacks, who likewise carried 
lances, and never charged in line, but came on tu¬ 
multuously, each warriour trusting to his own skill 
in the management of his horse and weapon. We 
have seen different opinions expressed, as to the 
efficiency of the lancers, when opposed to cavalry 
armed merely with the sabre.—Some of the English 
officers affirm, that, as the steel points of the French 
lances stuck out two or three yards beyond the 
horses’ heads, their own dragoons lost a third more 
men than the enemy, in every charge; the steel 
was in their breasts, before they could come within 
sword’s length. Others ridicule the accoutrements 
of the lancer, and say, that, by bending forward on 
liis horse’s neck, at the same time warding the 
lance upward with his sabre, the dragoon had the 
gentleman of the long pole at his mercy. We have 
read, that the French lancers did little service at 
Waterloo, except to ride over those parts of the 
field whence the fury of the conflict had eddied 
away, and thrust their lances down the throats of 
the wounded British soldiers. ‘ What!’—they 
would cry, as the prostrate foe turned himself in his 
blood, at the sound of their horses’ tramp—‘ You 
are not dead yeti’ And before the word was out 
of the ruffian’s mouth, the steel head of his lance 
had saved the surgeon a labour. We may reason¬ 
ably conclude, that, if Napoleon had judged this 
corps fit for any better service against regular troops, 
than to kill dead or disabled men, he would have 
armed a more considerable portion of his cavalry 
with the lance. Since 1831, there have been six 
lancer regiments in the French army. 



Lancer of 1834. 


The discipline of the French soldiers is perfect in 
its way, but differs from that of the troops of any 
other nation. In this particular, they form a sin¬ 
gular contrast to the Prussians, whose army is an 
immense machine, composed of a hundred thousand, 
or more, of individual machines, none of which are 
good for any thing in their separate capacities. 


The same remark may be applied to the British, 
though not in an equal degree. The drill of the 
Prussians has always been unmercifully severe ; and 
Dr. Moore, father of Sir John Moore, relates, that, 
whenever a dragoon chanced to fall from his horse, 
though every bone in his body might be broken, 
yet, if he escaped with his neck, he was sure to be 
flogged, the moment that he came out of the hos¬ 
pital. Such a system was suited to the heavy and 
sluggish character of the German soldiery, who 
needed a settled rule for every movement; they 
could not march, but at a measured step, nor dis¬ 
charge their muskets, except in the regular routine ; 
and if any thing deranged their clock-work, the 
battle was irretrievably lost. But a Frenchman is 
as different from a German, as quicksilver from 
lead. It is impossible to make a machine of him. 
To a certain extent, he must be allowed the liberty 
of individual action, and be free to fume, and fret, 
and dance, and work off his superfluous vivacity, 
while other troops stand as motionless as the leaden 
soldiers of a toy-shop. Gentlemen, who have seen 
their infantry regiments, say, that they form hardly 
so straight a line as our militia at a brigade-muster, 
even when the latter have neither a stone-wall nor 
a plough-furrow to dress by. But it must not hence 
be concluded, that our militia could stand a mo¬ 
ment, in the open field, before the charge of these 
most gallant troops; or that the soldiership of the 
French has not been pushed to the highest perfec¬ 
tion of which it is susceptible. The French disci¬ 
pline seems to hang loose about the soldier, but, to 
all desirable purposes, it is as strong as iron; it re¬ 
sembles an ancient shirt of chain-mail, flexible to 
all the motions of the body, yet woven with links of 
steel. Their system cherishes a martial enthusiasm, 
and makes victory depend upon it; the soldier’s 
spirit is not broken by rigid forms, nor are his vio¬ 
lations of duty punished by aught of ignominy; if 
he have committed a military crime, a platoon of 
his comrades are drawn out, and he dies a military 
death. Owing to these causes, and also to their 
natural character, the French soldiery must be ac¬ 
knowledged a gallant and chivalrous set of men. 
In good spirits, and under a leader whom they 
idolize, (for if they do not idolize, they despise him,) 
they are a terrible foe. They pour their irregular 
masses down upon the hostile ranks with the shock 
of a tornado; and firm must be the ejibattled line 
that can resist it. Yet, if resisted, the conflict is 
half won. The first shock is the fiercest, and every 
succeeding wave breaks more feebly against the 
rocky barrier which it cannot overthrow. 

It is now twenty years, since France’s broken 
sword w^as wrested from her by the strength of Eu¬ 
rope. During all that period, she may be said to 
have been at peace ; for, though, here and there, 
her trumpet has sounded, yet no event has occurred 
that could fully rouse up the martial spirit of the 
people. In this long interval, there is reason to be¬ 
lieve, that she has learnt a wiser interpretation of 
that pernicious phrase, ‘ La Gloire,’ and has dis¬ 
covered that her true glory consists in the w'elfare 
of her children ; and that even the laurel is a plant 
of peaceful growth, and withers when the soil is 
kept continually wet with blood. We would fain 













OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


309 


hope so. And if France has ceased to be a war¬ 
like power, and to dream of victory on foreign fields, 
and of captive kings paying court to their con- 
querour in her capital, then, indeed, the milleniutn 
is at hand, and the nations may beat their swords 
into ploughshares and their spears intopruning-hooks, 
and cast their cannon into church-bells, and ring 
an exulting peal throughout the earth. This, per¬ 
haps, is too great a miracle for prudent men to count 
upon. Her martial fire still lives, under the ashes 
that have been heaped upon it. Even now there 
needs but a strong breath, to blow it into a flame, 
which should leap across the Atlantic, and set all 
the world a-blaze. Her young men were nurslings 
of War. From earliest childhood, they have stood 
at the knees of Napoleon’s grim veterans, and heard 
them tell of those hundred victories, the least of 
which would have immortalized the Man of Destiny, 
who won them all. And as they listened, their 
hearts have burned. It irks them, that they walk 
so peacefully through life, and have never felt the 
battle-frenzy, nor seen the cannon-smoke sweep 
heavily away, and disclose the spectacle of a hard- 
fought field. 

A few weeks since, it was far within the limits of 
allowable speculation, that such a field might be 
fought, where we should hear the booming of the 
artillery. Heaven has averted the calamity from 
our Land of Peace. But had it come—doubt it not, 
my countrymen!—posterity would have seen no 
tokens of the French Invasion, save when the 
plough should pass over some ancient battle-ground, 
and turn up the rusted steel of a lance, a battered 
helmet, or a ball-pierced cuirass. 


THE PURITAN : a series of essays, critical, moral, 

AND miscellaneous. 

We know of no recent work, which we can so conscientiously 
recommend to that portion of the public, with which we are con¬ 
cerned, as this excellent series of Essays. They contain much 
wisdom—and wisdom of such a nature, and so expressed, that we 
hardly see how it can fail to arrest the reader’s attention, and pro¬ 
duce a practical result. The author has a vein of humour, which, 
being largely mingled with strong sense and shrewdness, is never 
like the ‘ crackling of thorns under a pot.’ It makes us smile, but 
thoughtfully. It appears to us, that this writer, more appropriately 
than any other, may be taken as the representative of the intellec¬ 
tual character of New England. 

The first of the following extracts is one of the truest passages 
that ever was written, in reference to republican institutions ; yet 
nobody, that we know of, has ever thought of saying it before. 
The }Oung lawyers, and long-winded elderly gentlemen, who 
lengthen out the sessions of our legislatures, should thank the Pu¬ 
ritan for setting their labours in so favourable a light. 

‘ Republicanism is a car, which can only accom¬ 
plish its journey, by going slow enough. The peo¬ 
ple will generally be right, if you can only keep 
them in pause long enough to think. For this rea¬ 
son, in all our proceedings, we should avoid hasty 
decisions. A great deal has been said about long 
speeches, irrelevant repetition, and a needless con¬ 
sumption of time, in our State legislature. This is 
a preservative evil in republicanism. I had rather 
be vexed with long speeches, than ruined by rash 
legislation. I have sometimes thought it would be 
wise, to hire ten long-winded tribunes, to consume 


the day for the preservation of our laws, and to 
save us from the evils of perpetual innovation.’ 

We extract the next paragraph for the sake of its cautious shrewd 
ness. Whether it be possible that practical politics should ever be 
a cool concern, unless banefully cooled by indifference, is nothing 
to the purpose. 

‘ I am sure that politics, in themselves, are very 
cool concerns. Separate them from their unfortu¬ 
nate attendants,—interest and ambition—and the 
problems of mathematics are hardly more remote 
from touching the passions. The great question in 
politics is, how much alleviation of human infelicity 
can come from government. This is the great pro¬ 
blem of statesmen ; and it is from losing sight of it, 
or not solving it, that all political errors originate. 
It is a complex question which must be worked out 
like the equations of Algebra. There is a certain 
line drawn by the great Founder of society, to 
which the evil waves of social life must come ; and 
all attempts to beat them back, is like stopping the 
tide. If you seem to expel them in one point, they 
will break in upon you in another. The very ques¬ 
tion now before the public mind, of imprisonment 
for debt, may be taken as an example. To im¬ 
prison an honest man because he is poor, is doubt¬ 
less a great evil, and the government ought to re¬ 
lieve him, if it can. But here comes the question, 
— Will it be any relief to deny the creditor this 
security for his loan ? and will not the poor man 
suffer as much from being never trusted, as from 
thirty days confinement in the yard of a prison ? 
And as to making a distinction between the honest 
debtor and the fraudulent; will it not impose an 
entangling question on your courts of law, which 
no human sagacity can ever decide? I merely pro¬ 
pose these questions. I do not answer them. 
They are merely specimens of the great problem, 
How much can government do for us ? So no 
government can supersede the necessity of individ¬ 
ual industry and self-exertion ; no government can 
feed all its population ; no government can give 
prosperity to the profligate and idle; no govern¬ 
ment can raise all the ambitious to office and re¬ 
nown. There is a certain degree of rigour neces¬ 
sary in imposing taxes and punishing crimes; be¬ 
cause a lenity, which forgets justice, is sure to end 
in greater pain. In removing human ills, you can 
level down to a certain base; beyond which, if you 
think to go, your efforts become forever impoleul 
and vain. They are worse than vain; for under 
the mockery of relief, the evil breaks in upon you 
in another form and in a greater degree. The old 
evil is measured and known; but the new has all 
the indefinite horrours of an untried experiment. 
Now I ask, what have passion and pride to do in 
settling these complex problems: It is one of the 
coolest subjects which can possibly meet the human 
mind. There should be nothing to stir the passions, 
for it is a point in which all men have one interest. 
Nothing is wanted but a few cool heads to sit down 
and compare the items until they can come to a 
result.—Such are politics in the abstract.’ 

The third extract presents the Puritan as a fireside philosopher, 
employing deep thought on domestic concerns, and uttering his 
wisdom in the homely phrase appropriate to the subject. Wo 
may picture him as a clergyman, in the autumn of his age, paying 






310 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


own ruin; she may accuse herself, when she see# 
character gone, health undermined, poverty ap¬ 
proaching, and destruction near. 

‘ The state of female education has been very un¬ 
happy in our land ; and many an artless girl has 
been sent into life, totally ignorant of the part she 
was to act. I have, in my own conception, a pe¬ 
culiar idea of a republican lady ; she is a plant 
which can grow only on our own soil. She must 
be more comprehensive in her aims than the fickle 
beings who dance in the court of St. James; she 
must know how to preside in her parlour, and re¬ 
gulate her kitchen; to unite the plain utilities of 
life, with all that is graceful and lovely ; and to re¬ 
semble the conserve rose, which retains its best 
qualities, when its beauty is lost. As fortunes are 
uncertain in our country, she must be prepared for 
exertion, even should she become poor. She must 
be prepared to meet and adorn all stations in life, 
and thus become the noblest specimen of human 
nature.’ 


a pastoral visit to a young couple whom he has recently joined in 
matrimony. He takes the wife apart, and gives her these golden 
lessons as to her married duties. 

‘ I hope I am not fanciful in what I am about to 
say; but I will say it, because there are some little 
truths which will only be told by little men. Good 
Bread, then, is an important article in keeping men 
temperate. Half the dyspeptical cases which exist 
in our cities, arise from bad bread. Some physi¬ 
cians have recently said, that drunkenness is wholly 
a physical vice, originating from a disordered sto¬ 
mach or bad digestion. This is overstated ; for 
physical causes never can be more than powerful 
temptations. But powerful temptations they are; 
and let every wife see to it, that her husband eats 
the manna, made by her own clean hands, or, at 
least, under her careful supervision. Transfer your 
attention from pound-cake and mince-pies, to the 
original gift of nature. No woman, rich or poor, 
has done her utmost to make or keep her husband 
temperate, until she knows how to make or cause 
to be made, without failure or intermission, Good 
Bread. 

‘ If your husband is temperate, it should be your 
study to keep him so; and if not, to reclaim him. 
You know the seductive power of bad company. 
It should be your object to induce him to spend as 
many evenings at home, as is consistent with his 
necessary engagements. Not that you slmuld be 
jealous or chiding every time that business calls him 
away ; but you must make home agreeable. I have 
no hesitation in saying that it is your duty to be 
handsome. But what? can we controul a quality 
which is the gift of nature? Yes—you can; for 
the ugliest face that ever deformed the workman¬ 
ship of God, comes from some bad passion corrod¬ 
ing in the heart. I say again, it is your duty to be 
handsome. Not by paint or artifice ; but by benev¬ 
olence ; good nature; a face arrayed in smiles, and 
an eye that sparkles with love; the beauty of ex¬ 
pression, which is the best of all beauties. Let 
your person be arrayed in the neatest apparel; let 
there be a cheerful fire; a well-ordered parlour; a 
swept hearth and welcoming hand, whenever your 
husband returns home ; and let him learn, that how¬ 
ever the world may oppose or business perplex him, 
there is one faithful heart whose felicity is identified 
with his own. 

‘ Be very punctual in all your engagements. If 
you are going out, be always ready at the hour; let 
your family move in the strictest order; let dinner 
and breakfast be ready at the appointed time; have 
a place for every thing, and let every thing be in 
its place. 

‘ There are moments when every man puts his 
vigilance asleep, and resigns himself to the careless 
relaxation of a mind, dropping its purposes, and 
floating at random like a chip on the sea. The 
greatest men are most prone to this; for the ten¬ 
sion of business in important cases, leads to the 
most perfect remission. Then they are under the 
influence of a wife. In all common matters, they 
take her suggestions, and follow her rules. Now, 
in such cases, if, through ignorance or mistaken 
tenderness, she presents the dangerous liquor in the 
sparkling glass, she may become accessary to her 


THE SOUTH-WEST; by a Yankee. 

This is an amusing, as well as instructive book. The author 
has the talent—not a very common one—of bringing before the 
mind’s eye the actual life of the scenes which he describes. 

‘ A Fire in New Orleans .—We had finished 
our late supper, and, toasting our bootless feet upon 
the burnished fender, were quietly enjoying the 
agreeable warmth of the glowing coals, and relish¬ 
ing, with that peculiar zest which none but a smoker 
knows, a real Havana,—when we were suddenly * 
startled from our enjoyment by the thrilling, fearful 
cry, of ‘ Fire ! Fire ! ’ which, heard in the silence of 
midnight, makes a man’s heart leap into his throat, 
while he springs from his couch, as if the cry ‘ To 
arms—to arms! ’ had broken suddenly upon his 
slumbers. ‘ Fire ! fire ! fire ! ’ rang in loud notes 
through the long halls and corridors of the spacious 
hotel, startling the affrighted sleepers from their 
beds, and at the same instant a fierce, red glare 
flashed through our curtained windows. The alarm 
was borne loudly and wildly along the streets—the 
rapid clattering of footsteps, as some individual 
hastened by to the scene of the disaster, followed 
by another, and another, was in a few seconds suc¬ 
ceeded by the loud, confused, and hurried tramping 
of many men, as they rushed along shouting with 
hoarse voices ihe quick note of alarm. We had 
already sprung to the balcony upon which the win¬ 
dow of our room opened. For a moment our eyes 
were dazzled by the fearful splendour of the scene 
which burst upon us. The whole street,—lofty 
buildings, towers, and cupolas,—reflected a wild, 
red glare, flashed upon them from a stupendous 
body of flame, as it rushed and roared, and flung 
itself toward the skies, which, black, lowering, and 
gloomy, hung threateningly above. Two of those 
mammoth steamers which float upon the mighty 
Mississippi, were, with nearly two thousand bales 
of cotton on board, wrapped in sheets of fire. They 
lay directly at the foot of Canal Street; and as the 
flames shot now and then high in the air, leaping 
from their decks as though instinct with life, this 
broad street to its remotest extremity in the distant 
forests, became lurid with a fitful reddish glare, 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


311 


which disclosed every object with the clearness of 
day. The balconies, galleries, and windows, were 
filled with interested spectators; and every street 
and avenue poured forth its hundreds, who thun¬ 
dered by towards the scene of conflagration. I 
have a mania for going to fires, I love their blood¬ 
stirring excitement; and, as in an engagement, the 
greater the tumult and danger, the greater is the 
enjoyment. I do not, however, carry my ‘ incen¬ 
diary passion ’ so far as to be vexed, because an 
alarm that turns me out of a warm bed proves to 
be only a ‘ false alarm,’—but when a fire does come 
in my way, I heartily enjoy the excitement necessarily 
attendant upon the exertions made to extinguish it. 
You will not be surprised, then, that alth^ough I 
had not had ‘ sleep to my eyes, nor slumber to my 
eyelids,’ I should be unwilling to remain a passive 
and distant spectator of a scene so full of interest. 
Our hotel was a quarter of a mile from the fire, and 
yet the heat was sensibly felt at that distance. 
Leaving my companion to take his rest, I descended 
to the street, and falling into the tumultuous cur¬ 
rent setting towards the burning vessels, a few mo¬ 
ments brought me to the spacious platform, or 
wharf, in front of the Levee, which was crowded 
with human beings, gazing passively upon the fire ; 
while the ruddy glare reflected from their faces, 
gave them the appearance, so far as complexion was 
concerned, of so many red men of the forest. As 
I elbowed my way through this dense mass of 
people, who were shivering, notwithstanding their 
proximity to the fire, in the chilly morning air, with 
one side half roasted, and the other half chilled— 
the ejaculations— 

‘ Sacre diable ! ’ ‘Carramba!’ ‘ Marie, mon Dieu!’ 
‘Mine Got, vat a fire!’ ‘By dad, an its mighty 
waarm.’—‘ Well, now the way that ar’ cotton goes, 
is a sin to Crockett! ’—fell upon the ear, with a 
hundred more, in almost every patois and dialect, 
whereof the chronicles of grammar have made light 
or honourable tnention. 

‘ As I gained tlie front of this mass of human be¬ 
ings, that activity which most men possess, who are 
not modelled after ‘ fat Jack,’ enabled me to gain an 
elevation whence I had an unobstructed view of the 
whole scene of conflagration. The steamers were 
lying side by side at the Levee, and one of them 
was enveloped in wreaths of flame, bursting from 
a thousand cotton bales, which were piled, tier 
above tier, upon her decks. The inside boat, 
though having no cotton on board, was rapidly con¬ 
suming, as the huge streams of fire lapped and 
twined around her. The night was perfectly calm, 
but a strong whirlwind had been created by the ac¬ 
tion of the heat upon the atmosphere, and now and 
then it swept down in its invisible power, with the 
‘ noise of a rushing mighty mind,’ and as the huge 
serpentine flames darted upward, the solid cotton 
bales would be borne round the tremendous vortex 
like feathers, and then hurled away into the air, 
blazing like giant meteors—would descend heavily 
and rapidly into the dark bosom of the river. The 
next moment they would rise and float upon the 
surface, black unshapely masses of tinder. As tier 
after tier, bursting with fire, fell in upon the burning 
decks, the sweltering flames, for a moment smoth¬ 


ered, preceded by a volcanic discharge of ashes, 
which fell in showers upon the gaping spectators, 
would break from their confinement, and darting 
upward with multitudinous large wads of cotton, 
shoot them away through the air, filling the sky for 
a moment with a host of flaming balls. Some of 
them were borne a great distance through the air, 
and falling lightly upon the surface of the water, 
floated, from their buoyancy, a long time unextin¬ 
guished. The river became studded with fire, and 
as far as the eye could reach below the city, it pre¬ 
sented one of the most magnificent, yet awful spec¬ 
tacles, I had ever beheld or imagined. Literally 
spangled with flame, those burning fragments in the 
distance being diminished to specks of light, it had 
the appearance, though far more dazzling and bril¬ 
liant, of the starry firmament. There were but two 
miserable engines, to play with this gambolling mon¬ 
ster, which, one moment lifting itself to a great 
height in the air, in huge spiral wreaths, like some 
immense snake, at the next would contract itself 
within its glowing furnace, or coil and dart along the 
decks like troops of fiery serpents, and with the 
roaring noise of a volcano. 

‘ There are but few ‘ fires ’ in New Orleans, com¬ 
pared with the great number that annually occur in 
northern cities. This is owing, not wholly to the 
universal prevalent style of building with brick, but 
in a great measure to the very few fires requisite 
for a dwelling-house in a climate so warm as this. 
Consequently there is much less interest taken by 
the citizens in providing against accidents of this 
kind, than would be felt were conflagrations more 
frequent. The miserably manned engines now 
acting at intervals upon the fire, presented a very 
true exemplification of the general apathy. To a 
New Yorker or Bostonian, accustomed to the ac¬ 
tivity, energy, and military precision of their deserv¬ 
edly-celebrated fire companies, the mob-like disor¬ 
der of those who pretended to work the engines at 
this fire, would create a smile, and suggest some- 
thing like the idea of a caricature. 

‘ After an hour’s toil by the undisciplined firemen, 
assisted by those who felt disposed to aid in extin¬ 
guishing the flame, the fire was got under, but not 
before one of the boats was wholly consumed, with 
its valuable cargo. The inner boat was saved from 
total destruction by the great exertions of a few in¬ 
dividuals, ‘who fought on their own hook.’ 

‘ The next morning I visited the scene of the dis¬ 
aster. Thousands were gathered around, looking 
as steadily and curiously upon the smouldering ruins 
as if they had possessed some very peculiar and in¬ 
teresting attraction. The river presented a most 
lively scene. A hundred skiffs, wherries, punts, 
dug-outs, and other non-descript craft, with equally 
euphonic denominations, were darting about in all 
directions, each propelled by one or two individuals, 
who were gathering up the half-saturated masses of 
cotton, that whitened the surface of the river as far 
as the eye could reach. Several unlucky wights, 
in their ambitious eagerness to obtain the largest 
piles of this ‘ snow drift,’ would lose their equili¬ 
brium, and tumble headlong with their wealth of 
cotton into the water. None of them, however, 
were drowned, their mishaps rather exciting the 



312 


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merriment of their companions and of the crowds 
of amused spectators on shore, than creating any 
apprehensions for their safety. 

‘ The misfortune of one shrivelled-up old Portu¬ 
guese, who had been very active in securing a due 
proportion of the cotton, occasioned no little laugh¬ 
ter among the crowd on the Levee. After much 
fighting, quarrelling, and snarling, he had filled his 
little boat so completely, that his thin, black, hatchet- 
face could only be seen protruding above the snowy 
mass in which he was imbedded. Seizing his oars 
in his long, bony hands, he began to pull for the 
shore with his prize, when a light wreath of blue 
smoke rose from the cotton and curled very om¬ 
inously over his head. All unconscious, he rowed 
on, and before he gained the shore, the fire burst in 
a dozen places at once from his combustible cargo, 
and instantly enveloped the little man and his boat 
in a bright sheet of flame; with a terrific yell he 
threw himself into the water, and in a few moments 
emerged close by the Levee, where he was picked 
up, with no other personal detriment than the loss of 
the little forelock of gray hair which time had chari¬ 
tably spared him. 

‘ In one instance, two skiffs, with a single indi¬ 
vidual in each, attracted attention by racing for a 
large tempting float of cotton, which drifted along 
at some distance in the stream. Shouts of encour¬ 
agement rose from the multitude as they watched 
the competitors, with the interest similar to that 
felt upon a race course. The light boats flew over 
the water like arrows on the wing. They arrived 
at the same instant at the object of contest, one on 
either side, and the occupants, seizing it simul¬ 
taneously, and without checking the speed of their 
boats, bore the mass of cotton through the water 
between them, ploughing and tossing the spray in 
showers over their heads. Gradually the boats 
stopped, and a contest of another kind began. 
Neither would resign his prize. After they had re¬ 
mained leaning over the sides of their boats for a 
moment, grasping it and fiercely eyeing each other, 
some words were apparently exchanged between 
them, for they mutually released their hold upon 
the cotton, brought their boats together and secured 
them ; then, stripping off their roundabouts, placed 
themselves upon the thwarts of their boats in a pu¬ 
gilistic attitude, and prepared to decide the owner¬ 
ship of the prize, by an appeal to the ‘law of arms’ 
The other cotton-hunters desisted from their em¬ 
ployment, and seizing their oars, pulled with shouts 
to the scene of contest. Before they reached it, 
the case had been decided, and the foremost of the 
approaching boatmen had the merit of picking from 
the water the conquered hero, who, after gallantly 
giving and taking a dozen fine rounds, received an 
unlucky ‘settler’ under the left ear, whereupon he 
tumbled over the side, and was fast sinking, when 
he was taken out, amid the shouts of the gratified 
spectators, with his hot blood effectually cooled, 
though not otherwise injured. The more fortu¬ 
nate victor deliberately lifted the prize into the boat, 
and, fixing a portion on the extremity of an oar, set 
it upright, and rowed to shore amid the cheers and 
congratulations of his fellows, who now assembling in 
a fleet around him, escorted him in triumph.’ 


Creoles. —‘ There is at the North a general mis¬ 
conception of the term ‘ Creole.’ A friend of mine 
who had visited Louisiana for his health, after a resi¬ 
dence of a few months gained the affections of a very 
lovely girl, and married her. He wrote to his uncle 
in Massachusetts, to whose large estate he was heir- 
expectant, communicating the event, saying that 
‘ he had just been united to an amiable Creole, 
whom he anticipated the pleasure of introducing to 
him in the Spring.’ The old gentleman, on receiv¬ 
ing the letter, stamped, raved, and swore; and on 
the same evening replied to his nephew, saying, 

‘ that as he had disgraced his family by marrying a 
Mulatto, he might remain where he was, as he 
wished to have nothing to do with him, or any of 
his woolly-headed, yellow-skinned brats, that might 
be, henceforward.’ My friend, however, ventured 
home, and when the old gentleman beheld his lovely 
bride, he exclaimed, ‘ The d—1, nephew, if you 
call this little angel a Creole, what likely chaps the 
real ebony Congos must be in that country.’ The 
old gentleman is not alone in his conception of a 
Creole. Where there is one individual in New 
England correctly informed, there are one hundred 
who, like him, know no distinction between the 
terms Creole and Mulatto. ‘ Creole’ is simply a 
synonyme for native. It has, however, only a local, 
whereas native has a general application. To say 
‘ He is a Creole of Louisiana,’ is to say ‘ he is a 
nativeoi Louisiana.’ Contrary to the general opinion 
at the North, it is seldom applied to coloured per¬ 
sons. Creole is sometimes, though not frequently, 
applied to Mississippians ; but with the exception 
of the West India islands, it is usually confined to 
Louisiana.’ 


HUMANITY, 

“ Oh where is ruthe ? Or where is pittie now ? 
Whither is gentle hart and mercy fled ? 

Are they exilde out of our stony brestes, 

Never to make returne ? Is all the worlde 
Drowned in blood and sunke in crueltie? 

If not, in women mercy may be found.” 

Gorboduc, a Tragedy. 

Segur, in giving the History of Women, men¬ 
tions the wife of a negro general, who, at the time 
he was writing, was serving under Toussaint 
L’Ouverture. He says, “She is of so tender and 
humane a disposition, that she exposes herself to 
every risk to save the unfortunate prisoners in the 
terrible warfare of St. Domingo. Her husband, 
enraged at this display of commiseration, has 
threatened a thousand times to put her to death; 
but nothing can shake her steady resolution. She 
is less apprehensive of the execrable ferocity of 
her husband, than of ceasing to be sufficiently 
useful to the victims of the war. Thus, therefore, 
among a race of uneducated beings, a woman can 
feel a profound sentiment of pity for those whom 
she is taught to consider as her enemies! Hu¬ 
manity, the first of virtues, and the most useful to 
social order, has established its dominion over her 
breast! Her life is marked by memorable traits 
of heroism, which might shed a lustre on that of- 
the most enlightened and courageous men.” 













HOBOKEN. 

For the following description, we are indebted to the same hand 
that drew the admirable sketch which it illustrates. 

The village of Hoboken which is situated on the 
Jersey shore, immediately opposite the city of New 
Vork, is a favourite promenade of the New Yorkers; 


And deservedly so ; for a more lovely spot they cei 
tainly could not have chosen. For luxuriance ana 
variety of foliage it would be difficult to find its su-* 
periour perhaps, in the world ; and in the Summer 
season the worthy descendants of the Knicker¬ 
bockers find in its shady groves, and sequestered 

40 

















































































































































































314 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


walks, a convenient and delightful retreat from the 
hot and crowded city. In this age of utilitarianism 
the woodman’s axe frequently makes sad havoc with 
scenes of natural beauty—but it is the good fortune 
of this charming spot to have fallen into the hands 
of a man* of taste and refinement, one who appre¬ 
ciates, with the feelings and judgment of an artist, 
the beauties of nature, and who spares neither trou¬ 
ble or expense to heighten those beauties by the 
graces of art. 

We present our readers with a Cut, engraved 
from a sketch taken on the spot, of one of the most 
interesting features of the place. The Sybyl’sCave 
as it is designated, is hewn from, and excavated 
through the solid rock to the depth of thirty feet, 
and as our readers will perceive it is fashioned in tlie 
Gothic style, after a design of its accomplished pro¬ 
prietor. About five feet within the interiour of the 
Cave, there is a spring of water slightly impreg¬ 
nated with magnesia, which is a pleasant and heal¬ 
thy beverage ; and many thousand glasses of it were 
sold at a trifling price, during the lust Summer. 

* W. L. Stevens, Esq. 


PRESERVATION OF THE DEAD. 

The last American Journal of Science gives an 
account of the invention (by Segato, an Italian) of 
a new method of preserving the bodies of the dead. 
The facts are drawn from a pamphlet, published at 
Florence. Segato has visited Africa, for the pur¬ 
pose of constructing a map of its northern regions. 
Among the sands of the desert, he discovered a 
carbonized substance, which, on close examination, 
proved to be animal matter. He afterwards found 
the entire body of a man, about a third smaller than 
the size of life ; it had been carbonized by the heat 
of the sand, and was partly black, and partly of the 
colour of soot. It occurred to Segato, that it might 
be possible to imitate this natural process, by means 
of art; and on his return to Italy, he began the 
necessary experiments, and appears to have been 
completely successful in converting animal sub¬ 
stances to stone. His method of operation is not 
given ; but the following are some of the results. 

Entire animal bodies may be as readily subjected 
to the process as small portions. They become 
hard, and acquire properties precisely similar to 
those of stone. The skin, muscles, nerves, veins, 
and blood, all undergo the same change; nor need 
the viscera be removed. The colour, form, and 
general appearance, remain unchanged. Offensive 
substances lose their smell. Putrefaction is check¬ 
ed at once. If the process be carried only to a 
given degree, the joints are perfectly flexible. The 
bones of skeletons, which have undergone this 
operation, remain united by their natural ligaments, 
which, though pliable, are solid and stony. Mois¬ 
ture and insects can do no injury to animals thus 
preserved. The hair does not fall off, but retains a 
natural appearance. The size of the body, after 
the process, is a little less than in its natural state; 
but no alteration takes place in the weight. The 
eves, in most of the animals that have been thus 
embalmed, sparkle, and lack only the power of mo¬ 
tion, to appear just like life. 


As proofs of the efficacy of his invention, Segato 
shows a canary-bird, wffiich was preserved ten years 
ago, and has not undergone the slightest change; 
also, the eggs of the land-turtle, water-snakes, toads, 
fishes, snails, and insects. It has likewise been 
successfully tried on various portions of the human 
body. The inventor po.ssesses the emaciated hand 
of a lady who died of consumption ; a foot, retain 
ing the nails ; the liver of an intemperate man, as 
hard and lustrous as ebony ; an entire human brain, 
with all its convolutions ; a girl’s scalp, with the hair 
hanging in ringlets ; and the head of an infant, 
partly destroyed and discoloured by putrefaction, 
which had begun its work before the experiment 
was made. But Segato’s greatest curiosity is a ta¬ 
ble, inlaid with two hundred and fourteen pieces 
of stone, (or what appears such,) of splendid and 
variegated hues, admirably polished, and so in- 
ten.sely hard, that a file can scarcely make the 
slightest scratch upon them. These stones, which 
w'ould be mistaken for specimens of the most pre¬ 
cious marbles, are difl'erent portions of the human 
body—the heart, liver, pancreas, spleen, tongue, 
brain, and arteries. Thus a multitude of men and 
women, once alive, have contributed fragments of 
their vital organs to form Segato’s inlaid table; a 
poet, perhaps, has given his brain, an orator his 
tongue, a hypochondriac his spleen, and a love-sick 
girl her heart—for even so tender a thing as a 
young girl’s heart can now be changed to stone. 
In her lifetime, it may be all softness; but after 
death, if it pass through Segato’s hands, a file can 
make no impression on it. 

The limited means of the inventor have not hith¬ 
erto permitted him to try the process on an entire 
human body ; although the expense would be only 
one-tenth as great as that of embalming in the ordi¬ 
nary way. It is confidently believed, that dead 
persons may thus be preserved for ages, with pre¬ 
cisely the aspect that they wore, when Death laid 
his hand u])on them. We can perceive no reason 
why these stony figures, which once were mortal, 
should not last as long as a marble statue. Instead 
of seeking the sculptor’s aid to perpetuate the form 
and features of distinguished men, the public may 
henceforth possess their very shapes and substance, 
when the aspiring souls have left them. The states¬ 
man may stand in the legislative hall, where he once 
led the debate, as indestructible as the marble pjl- 
lars which support the roof. He might be literally 
a pillar of the state. Daniel Webster’s form might 
help to uphold the Capitol, assisted by the great of 
all parties, each lending a stony arm to the good 
cause. The warriour—our own old General—• 
might stand forever on the summit of a battle-mon¬ 
ument, overlooking his field of victory at New' Or¬ 
leans. Nay, every mortal, when the heart has ceas¬ 
ed to beat, may be straightway transformed into a 
tombstone, and our cemeteries be thronged with the 
people of past generations, fixing their frozen stare 
upon the living world. 

But never may we—the writer—stand amid that 
marble crowd ! In God’s own time, w'e would fain 
be buried as our father’s were. We desire to give 
mortality its ow'n. Our clay must not be baulked 
of its repose. We are willing to let it moulder 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


315 


beneath the little hillock, and that the sods should 
gradually settle down, and leave no traces of our 
grave. We have no yearnings for the grossness of 
this earthly immortality. If somewhat of our soul 
and intellect might live in the memory of men, we 
should be glad. It would be an image of the ethe¬ 
real and indestructible. But w hat belongs to earth, 
let the earth take it. 


THE EGYPTIAN PAPYRUS. 

The tree from the bark of which the ancient 
Egyptians manufactured a substitute for writing- 
paper, was the same as the papyrus-tree of In¬ 
dia ; it nearly resembled that of Sicily, which pro¬ 
bably had its origin in Egypt. Its use as a ma¬ 
terial for writing was known in the most remote 
antiquity ; a fact of which there is sufficient 
evidence in Scripture, in Hesiod, the Old Greek 
historian, and in the epics of Homer. The Egyp¬ 
tians not only converted it into paper, but also made 
stockings and other garments of it, bandages, mat- 
trasses, mats, and the sails of vessels. It w'as also, 
according to Pliny, ap[)lied to medicinal purposes ; 
a portion of it was used as food ; and the roots made 
excellent fuel. This admirable tree is now' very 
rarely found in Egypt, where it first originated. It 
was formerly so abundant there, that, at the com¬ 
mencement of the Roman Empire, the Egyptians 
drove a great trade in papyrus, both with Europe 
and Asia. In the time of Augustus, there was a 
manufactory at Rome, in w hich this substance was 
smoothed and polished in a superiour style. 

Among the Egyptians, each leaf of papyrus was 
composed of two very thin layers of the bark of the 
tree; these w'ere placed together in such a manner 
that their filaments crossed each other at right an¬ 
gles : they were then made to cohere by a strong 
pressure. The papyrus, when prepared for writing, 
was not very smooth, nor of an equal softness over 
the whole surface. For writing upon it, instead of 
quills, which w'ould not have been sufficiently strong 
and stiff, a sort of reed was used. Our metal pens 
would have found a good market among the Egyp¬ 
tian scribes. The manuscripts, in order to form a 
volume, were not bound together in the modern 
fashion, but w'ere done up in large rolls, many feet 
in length. These were much less convenient to 
the reader, than books in the shape now used ; it 
being often necessary to unroll the whole bundle of 
papyrus, in search of a single passage. The origi¬ 
nal manuscript of the Bible was a roll of papyrus. 

In the catacombs of Egypt, at this day, manu¬ 
scripts of papyrus are found under the coverings of 
the mummies, most generally between the legs, but 
sometimes under the arms. In this situation they 
have been preserved several thousand years. When 
first brought to light, they are dry and brittle; and 
if hastily unrolled, the filaments of the papyrus 
break, with a crackling noise. To render them 
pliable, they are thoroughly moistened by the appli¬ 
cation of wet linen cloths, and are then unrolled 
with the utmost caution. They are found to be 
written in columns and paragraphs, the letters at 
the beginning of which are red, and the others 
black. The characters are of two sorts—hiero¬ 
glyphics, in which the meaning is expressed by pic¬ 


tures and symbols—and alphabetic characters, 
analogous to those now in use. The latter are the 
most common. These manuscripts, when deci¬ 
phered and interpreted, are often found to contain 
a life of the dead person, whose mummy had so 
long kept possession of them. M^here the story is 
told by means of hieroglyphics, the figure of this 
person is represented in difl’erent situations; and 
thus he manages to tell the tale of his mortal pil¬ 
grimage, to remote posterity. 

Chinese Magnets. —The Chinese were very 
early acquainted with the properties of the magnet. 
Their compass was in the form of a small human 
figure, turning on a pivot, with one of its arms 
stretched out and pointing southward ; for the Chi¬ 
nese believed that the centre of magnetic attraction 
was at the south pole. Such magnetic figures 
might be cheaply manufactured in this country, 
and would make an excellent toy for children. It 
is singular that the resources of science are not 
oftener applied to the construction of toys. If chil¬ 
dren can ever be beguiled into useful knowledge, it 
must be in this manner. 


A Man-Mountain. —Father Martini, one of the 
French Jesuits vvho were formerly sent as Missiona¬ 
ries to China, speaks of a mountain in that country, 
which has been hewn into the shape of a man. This 
immense statue is w-ell proportioned, and so large 
that the features of the face may be distinguished at 
the distance of some leagues. Father Kircher, 
another Jesuit, speaks of two mountains, likewise 
in China, one of which has the figure of a dragon, 
the other of a tiger. As later travellers have seen 
nothing of these marvellous statues, their existence 
is now discredited. 


Armed Chariots. —These were invented by the 
Persians. At the battle of Arbela, in which Darius 
was defeated by Alexander, the former prince had 
two hundred of these chariots, each draw n by four 
horses. At the extremity of the pole of the chariot, 
there were pikes armed with iron ; three sword- 
blades were fastened on each side of the yoke; and 
pikes and sw'ord-blades were attached to the wheels, 
so as to revolve with their motion. Drawn by fiery 
horses, these chariots must have been well adapted 
to throw an enemy into confusion, especially where 
the field of battle was a level plain, presenting no 
obstruction to their movements. Alexander order¬ 
ed his soldiers to open their ranks and give them 
free passage. 


Montezuma’s Battle-Axe. —After the defeat of 
the Mexican Emperour, his battle-axe was preserv¬ 
ed by the Spanish conquerours, and is now in a 
royal museum at Vienna. The axe is of basaltic 
stone, of a greenish colour with w hite spots, and re¬ 
sembles some that have been found in Ohio. The 
handle is of hard wood, about three feel long. 


The skins of sheep and goats were very early 
used instead of paper. The finest material of this 
sort is called vellum. 









816 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



fDeitruction of Tea, in Boston Harbor, in ITTSJ 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































317 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


THE BOSTON TEA PARTY.* 

In the year 1773, the British government, after a 
.ong series of eflbrts to establish the principle of 
taxation in the American Provinces, attempted to 
secure its object through the medium of the East 
India Company. There were then in the ware¬ 
houses of that body upwards of seventeen millions 
pounds of tea, in addition to which quantity, the 
importations of the current year were expected to be 
larger than usual. By an act of Parliament, which 
had been framed with a view to the circumstances 
of the period, the East India Company, on expor¬ 
tation of their superfluous teas to America, were to 
be allowed a drawback to the full amount of the 
English duties. The Company bound itself to pay 
the duty of three-pence per pound, which Parlia¬ 
ment had laid on teas imported into the Colonies. 
In accordance with the act of Parliament, the Lords 
Commissioners of the Treasury gave license for the 
exportation of six hundred thousand pounds of tea; 
which quantity was to be distributed to various 
ports along the American coast. So soon as the 
project became known, applications were made to 
the directors of the East India Company, by a num¬ 
ber of merchants in the colonial trade, soliciting a 
share of what they conceived would be a very pro¬ 
fitable business. Some recommended the estab¬ 
lishment of a branch of the East India House in a 
central port of America, whence minor ramifications 
might be extended all over the continent. The 
plan finally adopted was, to bestow the agency on 
merchants of good re|)ute in the Colonies, who 
could give satisfactory security, or obtain the 
guaranty of London houses. Among these, Rich¬ 
ard Clarke and sons, Benjamin Faneuil,and Joshua 
Winslow, were appointed agents for the disposal 
of the tea in Boston.f 

The East India Company, and those who solicit¬ 
ed or accepted an agency in this aflair, considered 
it merely in a commercial light. They appear not 
to have understood or felt, that the Americans 
would object to the proposed measure, on the 
ground of abstract principle. Whatever doubt was 
entertained, respecting the profitable nature of the 
concern, arose from the fact, that large quantities 
of tea were smuggled from Holland, and might 
possibly be bought lower than the Company could 
afford to put their own, when burdened with the 
colonial duty. It was hoped, however, that the 
English exporters might be able to undersell the 
Dutch, even with the duties annexed, or at least to 
come so near their prices, that the difference would 
not compensate the risk of smuggling. But no 
sooner did the news reach the Colonies, than an 
opposition sprung up, on grounds which had noth¬ 
ing to do with the high or low price of the commo¬ 
dity. The people at once penetrated the design of 

* The writer of this sketch has not had the pleasure of hearing 
Mr. Thacher’s lecture on the same subject; nor would he have 
felt himself at liberty to take an easy advantage of that gentleman’s 
original research, until its results were given to the public, through 
the press. 

t The quantity of tea consumed in Massachusetts was estimat¬ 
ed at 2400 chests per annum; and in all America at 19,400 chests; 
or upwards of si.\ millions of pounds. It was supposed, that, of 
three millions of inhabitants, one third were in the habit of drinking 
tea twice a day.—Bohea was the kind principally used. 


the British ministry, and saw that, if successful, it 
would leave them without a plea against any extent 
of taxation that Parliament might choose to inflict. 
In anticipation of the arrival o< the tea-ships, public 
meetings were called at several sea-ports, resolutions 
were passed to prevent the landing of the cargoes, 
and the Consignees were enjoined to refuse their 
agency in the disposal of them. 

Boston, especially, which had always led their 
colonial defence against the ministerial aggressions, 
here again took a prominent part. Soon after the 
names of the agents were made known, Mr. Richard 
Clarke and his son were roused from sleep, in the 
dead of night, by a knocking at their door. Look¬ 
ing forth from the window, they saw in the court¬ 
yard, where the moon shone very bright, the figures 
of two men, one of whom told the Consignees that 
he had brought them a letter from the country. A 
servant received it from these midnight messengers. 
It proved to be a formal summons, in the name of 
the Freemen of Massachusetts, commanding Rich¬ 
ard Clarke and son to appear at Liberty Tree, at 
high noon on the ensuing Wednesday, then and 
.there to make a public surrender of their tiust, as 
agents for the disposal of the tea. A letter in the 
same terms was likewise delivered to each of the 
other Consignees. The next morning, printed no¬ 
tifications were seen at all the corners and public 
places, calling on the Freemen of the Province to 
assemble at Liberty Tree, and witness the public 
resignation of the agents. At eleven o’clock in the 
forenoon of the appointed day, the bells of all the 
churches began to ring, and continued their peal 
for a full hour; while the town-crier went from 
street to street, summoning the people to the place 
of nieeiing. A multitude accordingly assembled, 
among whom were the selectmen of the town. 
The Consignees, however, shut themselves into one 
of their warehouses, and would neither obey the 
summons, nor give any satisfactory reply to a com¬ 
mittee, who were sent to them from the Freemen 
at Liberty Tree. Various other meetings were 
held, and such a spirit manifested, as convinced the 
agents, that the patronage of the powerful East In¬ 
dia Company ought by no means to have been so¬ 
licited as a favour, but rather deprecated as a ca¬ 
lamity. They now wrote to London, expressing 
their doubts whether the commission could be 
executed.* 

All these proceedings were anteriour to the arri¬ 
val of the tea. The first of the vessels entered the 
harbour of Boston on Sunday, the twenty-eighth of 
November, and was followed, in the course of the 
same week, by two others. On the twenty-ninth, 
a meeting was convoked at Faneuil Hall, and ad¬ 
journed, on account of the overflowing multitude, 
to the Old South Church, where the Consignees 
were required to appear, and pledge themselves to 
send back the ships, without payment of the duties 


* The Con8if>nees appear subsequently to have crept out of the 
business, by refusing to receive the teas of the owner and mas¬ 
ters of the vessels. The latter made them a formal ofler of the 
cargoes, and drew up a protest, on their declining to meddle with 
them. The people then considered Mr. Rotch, the ship-owner, 
as responsible for the disposal of the teas. 

Griffin’s Wharf, mentioned in the next paragraph, is now called 
Liverpool Wharf. 








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which had accrued by their entry at the port. 
These demands were not complied with. A com¬ 
mittee, appointed by the meeting, took possession 
of the sliips and moored them at Griffin’s w harf, in 
charge of a volunteer watch, consisting of a captain 
and twenty-five men. If molested in the daytime, 
they were to give notice by ringing the bells; if at 
night, by tolling them. Six persons were appointed 
to raise the surrounding country, in case the gov¬ 
ernment should seek assistance from the troops at 
Castle William, or the vessels of war which lay in 
the harbour. The meeting of Monday was contin- j 
ued by adjournment to Tuesday, the thirtieth, when 
Mr. Sheriff Greenleaf read a proclamation from the 
Governour, requiring the people to disperse, at their 
utmost peril. This produced no other effect than 
a general hiss. A pledge was exacted from Mr. 
Roich, the owner of one or more of the vessels, 
that the tea should be returned to England in the 
same bottom in which it came. Mr. Rotch, after 
protesting against the people’s proceedings, yielded 
to what lie considered the necessity of the case, and 
gave the required promise. After the adjournment 
of this meeting, nothing of a decisive nature took 
place, till about the middle of the ensuing month. 
Mr. Rotch, who had been observed to be dilatory 
in his preparations for sending back the vessels, 
was then again summoned before a great assembly 
at the Old South Church, and enjoined forthwith 
to demand a clearance from the Collector of the 
Customs. The result w'as to be communicated to 
the people the next day at ten o’clock, till which 
hour the meeting was adjourned. It was now 
necessary that prompt measures should be adopted, 
because, were the duties to remain unpaid beyond 
twenty days from the arrival of the ships, the Col¬ 
lector would be authorized to seize their cargoes. 

At the appointed hour, on Thursday, the six¬ 
teenth of December, Mr. Rotch made bis appear¬ 
ance at the Old South, and declared himself unable 
to obtain a clearance, until all the merchandise lia¬ 
ble to duty should be landed. He was directed to 
enter a formal protest against the Collector of the 
Customs, and then to demand a passport from the 
Governour. To await the success of this latter ap¬ 
plication, the people adjourned till three o’clock of 
the same day. 

At this crisis of our narrative, we may take a mo¬ 
mentary glance at the various parties, w'hose feelings 
or interests were affected by the circumstances 
which we have related. The affair had now arriv¬ 
ed at that point, where the w'hole weight of official 
responsibility was made to press upon Governour 
Hutchinson. His situation must have been a most 
irksome one. He was of course a loyalist, a parti¬ 
san of the ministry in its most offensive measures, 
and had already suffered, as well as acted, in its 
behalf. But he was also a New England man, and 
possessed the sentiments proper to his birth. The 
tone of his writings proves him to have been deeply 
imbued with native patriotism, which, had he come 
to office in earlier times, when there was yet no 
conflict betw'een the power of Britain and the rights 
of the Colonies, would have made him as good and 
just a ruler as New England ever had. A writer of 
his country’s annals, he must have shrunk from the 1 


idea, that future historians would pourtray him as 
one of those few colonial Britons, who had shown 
themselves more Eiiglisli than American. It was 
undoubtedly with inward trouble, that Governour 
Hutchinson made his choice between the will of 
his king and the interests of his country, and with 
painful reluctance, that he hardened his heart to in¬ 
cur the whole odium of ministerial tyranny. His 
adherents were scarcely more at ease. The favourite 
Councillors, the officers under the Crown, the 
Judges, the tory gentlemen ; all, in short, who seem- 
i ed to have the pow'er of the realm on their side, 
were now cowering beneath the acknowledged su¬ 
premacy of the people. No advocate of despotism 
dared speak above his breath ; none but the aristo¬ 
cratic dames, who, sipping a decoction of the for¬ 
bidden herb from diminutive china cups, and snuf¬ 
fing up its exquisite fragrance, declaimed more bit¬ 
terly against the disloyal mob, with every snufl'and 
every sip. 

In estimating the situation of the provincial me¬ 
tropolis, we must not forget the military and naval 
force, which was as completely at the Governour’s 
command, as if the armed ships had been moored 
within pistol-shot of Griffin’s wharf, and the troops 
quartered in the churches, or their tents pitched 
upon the Common. The officers and men, feeling 
no interest in the country which they were sent to 
overawe, would smile at the rising tumult of affairs, 
and nourish, perhaps, an idle hope, that the audacity 
of the people might not be quelled w'ithout the glit¬ 
ter of bayonets in the streets, and at least a volley 
over their heads. Looking townward from their 
vessels and the ramparts of Castle William, they 
ridiculed alike the menaces of the mob, and the im¬ 
becility of the Governour for not crushing the sedi¬ 
tion with a w’ord and a blow. 

We cannot better describe the circumstances of 
the people, than by resuming our narrative from the 
point at which we left it. The Freemen of Massa¬ 
chusetts, in public assembly, at the Old South, were 
awaiting the arrival of Mr. Rotch, with the Gov¬ 
ernour’s ultimate decision on their demands. Would 
that we might picture them, as if we leaned from 
the gallery of the sacred edifice, looking down upon 
a dense mass of visages, old and young, all ex¬ 
pressive of the stern determination which made but 
one heart throughout that great multitude ! Per¬ 
haps, standing so much nearer to our Puritan fore¬ 
fathers than we do, they had a more imposing mien 
than their descendants w'ill ever w'ear. The old 
original spirit was potent w'ilhin them. Had it been 
otherwise, they could not, for a series of years, have 
braved the threats, and been neither depressed nor 
maddened by the injustice of Britain, and at length 
have been forced into an attitude of defiance by the 
efforts of her strong arm to bend them upon their 
knees. In that attitude—not upon their knees, but 
offering a bold front to the oppressor—we find 
them now. 

Mr. Rotch had been directed to re-appear before 
the assembly, at three o’clock. At that hour, the 
people had again met, expecting the Governour’s 
reply. If favourable, it w'ould have given a truce 
to the Colonial troubles. On the other hand, there 
1 was probably, a general understanding, that, should 




319 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


their demands be negatived, the Freemen were to 
enforce their will by some immediate act. Wild 
spirits were among them, doubtless, whom one in¬ 
flammatory word of their leaders might have excited 
to burn the vessels at the wharf. But it was the 
noble characteristic of all the movements of our 
fathers, by which they wrought out our freedom, 
that, possessing the energy of popular action, they yet 
secured the result of sage and deliberate councils. 
The will of the wisest among the people was uni¬ 
versally diffused, and became the people’s will. 
There was an example of this truth, even on the 
verge of the meditated act of violence. As the af¬ 
ternoon declined, and the early December evening 
began to shed its gloom within the meeting-house, 
there were murmurs at the delay of Mr. Rotch, who 
had already long exceeded the time allotted for his 
absence. The leading men restrained the impa¬ 
tience of the people, by representing the propriety 
of doing all in their power to send back the tea to 
England, nor proceeding to a more violent meas¬ 
ure, till it should be undeniably the sole alterna¬ 
tive. Light being brought, an address from Josiah 
Quincy filled up the interval of a third hour. At 
last, after a course of patient determination, which, 
had it been rightly interpreted, might alone have 
taught the ministry to despair of subduing such a 
people, there went a whisper that Mr. Rotch was 
crossing the threshold. It was a moment of breath¬ 
less interest. Would the Governour yield ? Then 
might the British king have had one other loyal 
shout from his New England subjects, such as 
greeted his ancestors of the Hanover line, when it 
was proclaimed in Boston, that they had elbowed 
the Stuarts from their throne ! 

But that huzza was never to be heard again— 
‘Long live King George’ was a cry of departed 
years—no echo there would answer it. Mr. Rotch 
announced, as Governour Hutchinson’s ultimate re¬ 
ply, that, for the honour of the king, the vessels 
would not be permitted to leave the port, without 
a regular settlement of the custom-house dues. 

It was a singular proof of the just estimation in 
which Mr. Rotch held this assembly, that he dared 
to appear in the midst of it, with so utter and deci¬ 
sive a negative to its demands. Nothing of injury 
or insult was offered him. But the dead hush, that 
pervaded the multitude after hearing the Govern- 
our’s resolve, was suddenly broken by what seemed 
an Indian war-cry from the gallery. Thitherward 
all raised their eyes, and perceived a figure in the 
garb of the old forest-chiefs, who had not then been 
so long banished from their ancient haunts, but that 
a solitary survivor might have found his way into 
the church. The signal shout was immediately re¬ 
sponded by twenty voices in the street. That loud, 
wild cry of a departed race must have pealed omin¬ 
ously in the ears of the ministerial party, as if the 
unnatural calmness of the mob were at length flung 
away, and savage violence were now to rush madly 
through the town. By the people, such a signal 
appears to have been expected. No sooner was it 
given, than they sallied forth, and made their way 
towards the tea-ships with continually increasing 
numbers, so that the wharves were blackened with 
the multitude. 


Already, when the crowd reached the spot, a 
score of Indian figures were at work aboard the 
vessels, heaving up the tea-chests from the holds, 
tearing off the lids, and scattering their precious 
contents on the tide. But it was the people’s deed, 
they had all a part in it; for they kept watch while 
their champions wrought, and presented an impene¬ 
trable bulwark against disturbance on the landward 
side. Three hours were thus employed, under the 
batteries of the armed vessels, and within cannon- 
shot of Castle William, without so much as a finger 
lifted in opposition. In this passive acquiescence, 
the government chose the wisest part. Had the 
troops been landed, the green at Lexington would 
not have been hallowed with the first blood of the 
Revolution ; and perhaps another royal Governour 
might have been sent to prison, by the same law of 
the people’s will that imposed such a sentence on 
Sir Edmund Andros. 

Thus were the tea-ships emptied. Their rich 
cargoes floated to and fro upon the tide, or lay 
mingled with the sea-weed at the bottom of the 
harbour. Having done their work, the Indian 
figures vanished, and the crowd, with a thrill, as if 
ghosts had walked among them, asked whither they 
had gone, and who those bold men were. The 
generations that have followed since this famous 
deed was done, have still asked who they were, 
and had no answer. Perhaps it is better that it 
should be so—that the actors in the scene should 
sleep without their fame—or glide dimly through a 
tale of wild, romantic mystery. We will not strive 
to wipe away the war-paint, nor remove the Indian 
robe and feathery crest, and show what features of 
the Renowned were hid beneath—what shapes 
were in that garb, of men who afterwards rode 
leaders in the battle-field—or became the people’s 
chosen rulers, when Britain had sullenly left our 
land to its freedom. But, of those whom the world 
calls illustrious, there are few whose marble monu¬ 
ments bear such a proud inscription, as would the 
humblest grave-stone, with only this simple legend 
under the dead man’s name— He was of the Bos¬ 
ton Tea-Party! 


ST. JOHN’S GRAVE. 

St. Augustin relates, that some Ephesians assur¬ 
ed him that St. John, though buried at Ephesus, 
was not dead, but that, as the bed-clothes move up 
and down by the breathing of a man asleep, so does 
the earth of the grave where Saint John lies buried. 
Doubtless, this fable was imagined in honour of the 
‘beloved apostle;’ but we honour him more by the 
belief, that he spends no such dreary night in the 
grave—that he left only his dust in Ephesus, and 
went straight to Heaven. We do wrong to our 
departed friends, and clog our own heavenward as¬ 
pirations, by connecting the idea of the grave with 
that of death. Our thoughts should follow the ce¬ 
lestial soul, and not the earthly corpse. Sepulchral 
monuments, from the costliest marble of Mount 
Auburn to the humblest slate in a country grave¬ 
yard, are but memorials of human infirmity—pf aft 
faction grovelling among dust apd ashes, ipstpad of 
soaring to the sky. 





320 


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COMMODORE DALE. 


Richard Dale, a distinguished naval officer of the 
Revolution, was a native of Virginia, and born in 
Norfolk county, in the year 1756. He early show¬ 
ed that strong predilection for the sea, which ap¬ 
pears to be an innate propensity in most of those 
who are destined to signalize themselves by mari¬ 
time exploits, whether of battle or discovery. At 
the age of twelve, he niade a voyage to Liverpool, 
and from that period, till the war opened a more 
congenial field for his activity, he continued in the 
merchant service. In 1776, he was appointed lieu¬ 
tenant of an armed ship which had been fitted out 
by the state of Virginia. While cruising in James 
river, in one of the boats of this vessel, he was cap¬ 
tured by a tender of the Liverpool frigate, and put 
on board a British prison-ship, at Norfolk. 

Dale was at this time but twenty years old, and 
having spent his youth and part of his boyhood on 
the ocean, can scarcely be supposed to have studied 
the great principles of the Revolution with that re¬ 
flective spirit, which influenced the conduct of elder 
patriots. He had drawn his sword for liberty in 
the heat of an ardent and adventurous temperament, 
that made him rush into the conflict, without much 
caring on which side he fought. It is not therefore 
a matter of surprise, that, under great temptations, 
he should, for a brief period, have wavered in his 
fidelity to the righteous cause. While imprisoned 
at Norfolk, he was visited by Bridges Gutteridge, 
an old schoolmate, who, like himself, had followed 
the sea, and now commanded a tender in the British 
service. Gutteridge found little difficulty in per¬ 
suading his friend to make a cruise with him up the 
Tlappahannock. But Dale was soon punished for 
his inconstancy. Tn an engagement with a fleet of 
pilot-boats, several of Gutteridge’s men were killed, 
and our hero was severely wounded by a musket- 
ball, which hit him in a part where wounds and 


death are generally synonymous—the head. Dale 
seems to have taken this rap on the cranium as a 
strong hint to reflect seriously on his past conduct; 
which he accordingly did, and resolved never again, 
as he expressed it, to ‘put himself in the way of the 
balls of his country.’ 

After his recovery, being doubtful of his recep¬ 
tion among the friends of liberty, he sailed for Ber¬ 
muda, but was captured on his passage by Commo¬ 
dore John Barry, of whom we gave a notice in the 
last number of the Magazine. After an explanation 
with the Commodore, Dale reentered the Ameri¬ 
can service as a midshipman. Not long afterwards, 
he was taken by the British frigate Liverpool, and 
having been exchanged, was appointed to the Unit¬ 
ed States ship Lexington. Tl’lie latter vessel, on 
her passage from Morlaix in France to America, fell 
in with an English ten-gun cutter, which, though 
inferiour in size, proved an over-match for the 
Yankee ship. Such was the criminal and almost 
incredible lack of preparation on board the Lexing¬ 
ton, that, while traversing a sea that was thronged 
with the enemy, her cannon were not in a state to 
be fired ; nor, in the beginning of the engagement, 
could they be discharged, except by the flash of a 
musket. These difficulties were so far remedied 
during the battle, as to enable the crew to fire away 
all their shot, besides a large quantity of old iron ; 
when, the slaughter having been great, especially of 
officers, the Americans were compelled to strike 
their flag. They were carried to England and con¬ 
fined in the Mill Prison at Plymouth, where all, 
officers and crew together, were implicated in a 
charge of high treason. So severe was the treat¬ 
ment to which they were subjected, in common 
with the other American prisoners, that a general 
sympathy was excited ; and sixteen or seventeen 
thousand pounds were subscribed, to supply them 
with some of the comforts of life. 

After a confinement of considerable length. Dale, 
in company with Captain Johnson, his former com¬ 
mander, contrived to escape, and travelled from 
Plymouth to London. They there took passage on 
board a trading vessel, bound to Dunkirk, and were 
proceeding down the Thames, when their progress 
was stopped by a press-gang, who had been sent 
expressly in pursuit of the fugitives. Dale and 
Johnson were now carried back to the Mill Prison 
and thrown into the Black Hole; a noisome dun¬ 
geon, well worthy of its name. After a durance of 
forty days, they were restored to the same footing 
with the rest of the prisoners; but Dale, whose 
spirit nothing could break or depress, was sentenced 
to another term in the Black Hole, for the crime of 
singing ‘ rebellious songs.’ Finally, in 1779, the 
bold mariner again made his escape, and, by dex¬ 
terous management, procured a passport for his 
passage to France. On arriving at the port of 
L’Orient, he became acquainted with the famous 
John Paul Jones, who, recognising Dale as a kin¬ 
dred spirit, immediately received him as master’s 
mate, and soon after appointed him his first lieu¬ 
tenant in the Bon Homme Richard. This was an 
old East Indiaman, unfit for a fighting vessel in her 
best days, and now almost unseaworthy ; but any 
ship would have been a ship of war, while John 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


321 


Paul Jones walked her quarter-deck. If she pos¬ 
sessed no fighting properties, that valiant adven¬ 
turer could create tliem. 

The Bon Ilomrne Richard sailed from L’Orient, 
in the Summer of 1779, and cruised in the North 
Sea, spreading alarm along the western coast of 
Scotland, where Paul Jones had been born and 
spent his youth. In company with Jones were the 
Alliance, the Pallas, and the Revenge ; but the 
squadron appears not to have acted in concert, or, 
at least, to have acknowledged neither of the cap¬ 
tains as its commodore. On the nineteenth of Sep¬ 
tember, off Flamborough Head, on the northeast 
coast of England, they discovered a fleet of several 
hundred sail, homeward bound from the Baltic, un¬ 
der convoy of the frigate Serapis, and the Countess 
of Scarborough, a sloop ol war. On perceiving the 
enemy, the frigate made signals to the merchant 
vessels, which immediately scudded for the neigh¬ 
bouring coast, leaving the Serapis and her consort 
to fight it out with Paul Jones and his companions. 
Captain Collineau, of the Pallas, engaged the Coun¬ 
tess of Scarborough ; but the Alliance kept aloof 
during the greater part of the conflict which ensued ; 
and when she did interfere, it was so clumsily, that 
her shot struck the Bon Homme Richard quite as often 
as the Serapis. Paul Jones was therefore matched 
single-handed with the Serapis, a superiour ship in 
weight of metal, and manned with a first-rate crew ; 
while the Bon Homme Richard’s having been re¬ 
cruited in a French port, were a rabble of all na¬ 
tions, many of whom could not understand each 
other’s language. 

The battle began at dark, and was more full of 
strange and impressive incidents, of sudden changes 
of fortune, and acts of desperate valour, than any 
other engagement between two single ships, that is 
recorded in naval annals. The vessels were lashed 
so close together, that, in loading the cannon, the 
rammers of each protruded through the port-holes 
of the other; and thus they discharged their shot 
against an enemy who stood almost within arm’s 
lenffth. Several limes, the vessels were set on fire 
by the wads of the guns, and threw up sheets of 
flame, which, ascending above the smoke that en¬ 
veloped their hulls, seemed about to involve both 
parlies in one destruction. The gun-deck of the 
Bon Homme Richard was blown up by the burst¬ 
ing of some of her cannon ; an accident which cost 
many of her crew their lives. The Serapis was 
equally unfortunate, in the explosion of a large 
quantity of powder on her deck. At one period, 
the Bon Homme Richard being reported as sinking, 
the master-at-arms let loose all the prisoners from 
the hold, who accordingly broke forth among the 
crew, some half-dead with fear, others ready to bear 
a hand in the battle, and all contributing their share 
to the terrours of the scene. On both sides, the 
boarders made desperate assaults, and were as des¬ 
perately repelled. This terrible business went on 
till midnight, when the Serapis struck the flag 
which she had so gallantly defended ; and the 
American crew being removed on board the con¬ 
quered ship, the Bon Homme Richard soon after 
sunk, going down victorious to the depths of ocean, 
which alone could cleanse her blood-stained deck. 


Each ship had lost forty-seven men killed and sixty- 
four wounded. Whatever glory may be won in 
naval war, should crown the victors in this battle; 
and even the vanquished should wear a greener 
laurel than the conquerors in most other figlils. 

Lieutenant Dale distinguished himself and re¬ 
ceived a wound, which he scarcely felt till the ex¬ 
citement of the contest was over. He next served 
under Captain Nicholson, on board the Trumbull 
of thirty-two guns, which vessel was soon captured 
by a British frigate and sloop of war. Dale was 
again wounded, and found himself for the fifth time 
a prisoner. Being exchanged, he sailed as chief 
officer, and afterwards as captain of the Queen of 
France, an armed merchantman ; and continued in 
the command of her till the close of the Revolution. 
In 1794, he was one of the six captains who were 
appointed from the merchant service to the navy of 
the United States. In 1801, he had command of 
the Mediterranean squadron, in which capacity 
he protected the American commerce from the 
meditated depredations of the Barbary corsairs. 
Having returned to the United States in 1802, he 
was again appointed to the Mediterranean station, 
but under circumstances which, he conceived, would 
have rendered it injurious to his honour to accept 
the command. He therefore retired from the navy. 

The active, bold, and enterprising character of 
Commodore Dale may be estimated from the nu¬ 
merous incidents, which we have been compelled 
to crowd into the foregoing hasty narrative. The 
decline of his life was as peaceful as his youth 
had been stirring and adventurous, and he died in 
1826, at the age of seventy years. 

AN OURANG OUTANG. 

Mr. Jesse, in his gleanings in Natural History, 
gives the following account of an Ourang Outang, 
which was in the possession of a particular friend 
of his,— 

‘ On its return from India, the vessel which con¬ 
veyed the poor little Ourang to a climate always 
fatal to its race, stopped sometime at the Isle of 
France, to take in fresh provisions. The Ourang 
accompanied the sailors in their daily visits to the 
shore, and their calls upon the keepers of taverns, 
and places of the like description. In one of these, 
kept by an old woman who sold coffee, &c. for 
breakfast, the Ourang was accustomed to go, unat¬ 
tended, every morning; and by signs, easily inter¬ 
preted, demand his usual breakfast, which was duly 
delivered. The charge was scored up to the cap¬ 
tain’s account, which he paid before his departure. 

‘ There was but one person on board the ship of 
whom the poor Ourang seemed at all afraid. This 
man was the butcher. The Ourang had seen him 
kill sheep and oxen in the exercise of his duty, and 
most probably anticipated from his hands a fate 
similar to that of his equally dumb, but not so in¬ 
telligent companions. However, in order to con¬ 
ciliate the friendship of this dreaded dispenser of 
death, he made every advance, although it must be 
owned in a very singular manner. He would, for 
instance, approach him with great caution, examine 
his hands minutely, finger by finger, and, finding no 
weapon, proceed by every little artifice to attract 

41 





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his notice. With the rest of the sailors he was on 
terms of intimate friendship, and no doubt felt him¬ 
self entitled to all the attendant privileges, not un- 
frequently to the annoyance of his companions, from 
whose hammocks he took such portions of bedding 
as he deemed necessary for his own comfort, and 
which he would by no means give up without a 
hard contest. 

‘ His conduct at table, to which he was familiarly 
admitted, was decorous and polite. He soon com¬ 
prehended the use of knives and forks, but preferred 
a spoon, which he handled w'ith as much ease 
as any child of seven or eight years old. 

‘ On his arrival in England, he soon began to 
sicken. During his illness he was removed to Bru¬ 
ton Street, where one of his favourites, I believe 
the cook, attended as his nurse. He would raise 
his head from his pillow, and turn his eyes on his 
attendant, with an expression as if entreating him to 
do something for his relief. He would at the same 
time utter a plaintive cry, but he evinced nothing 
like impatience or ill-temper, and was compassion¬ 
ated by all who saw him. 

‘ He lingered on a few days, and gradually grew 
worse and worse till he died, not without the regret 
of his nurse, and the sympathy of us all.’ 

DISTANT SOUNDS. 

Dr. Arnott relates, that, when a ship was sailing 
parallel to the coast of Brazil, but far out of sight of 
land, the persons on board distinctly heard sounds 
as of church-bells, ringing as if for some day of re¬ 
joicing and festival. These, certainly, were strange 
noises upon the wide and solitary ocean. It was 
further observed, that the bells could only be heard 
at a particular part of the vessel. All the crew and 
passengers assembled at that point to listen, and 
still they heard the peal of the bells—ding-dong, 
ding-dong—as plainly as if the steeples of the 
churches had been visible on the landless horizon. 
But no sooner did they remove from that precise 
part of the ship, than all was silent again. No one 
could imagine a plausible solution of the mystery. 
But, many months after, it was ascertained, that, on 
the day of this phenomenon, the bells of the Brazilian 
city of St. Salvador had been ringing in honour of 
some Saint’s day, or other festivity. The sound, 
blown from the land by a gentle wind, had come 
across a wide tract of sea to this ship, which was 
then sailing opposite St. Salvador. The fact of its 
being heard only at one particular spot, on the deck, 
w'as accounted for by the accidental position of a 
sail, which concentrated the sounds, and made them 
audible. Hence was drawm the philosophical in¬ 
ference, that an instrument might be constructed, 
which should bear the same relation to sound that 
the telescope does to sight. 

BATH FOR HORSES. 

[From ‘Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau.’] 

At the Kochbrunnen,or boiling spring, at Wies¬ 
baden, in Germany, the w'ater is of so high a tem¬ 
perature as to break the glasses into which it is 
given out from the well. It is celebrated for its 
virtues in every part of the world, and is particu¬ 
larly efficacious in gout and rheumatism; but for 


consumptive patients it is said to be highly injurious 
Horses have a bath appropriated to them in this 
place, and a recent traveller gives the following 
amusing account of their immersion. 

‘ Three or four times a day, horses, lame or chest- 
foundered, were brought to this spot. As the wa¬ 
ter was hot, the animals, on first being led into it. 
seemed much frightened, splashing, and violently 
pawing with their fore feet as if to cool it; but be¬ 
ing at last more accustomed to the strange sensa¬ 
tion, they very quickly seemed exceedingly to en¬ 
joy it. Their bodies being entirely covered, the 
halter was then tied to a post, and they were thus 
left to soak for half or three quarters of an hour. 
The heat seemed to heighten the circulation of their 
blood, and nothing could look more animated than 
their heads, as, peeping out of the hot fluid, they 
shook their dripping manes, and snorted at every 
carriage and horse which they heard passing. 

‘ The price paid for each bathing of each horse is 
eighteen kreutzers, and this trifling fact always ap¬ 
peared to me to be the most satisfactory proof I 
could meet with, of the curative properties of the 
Wiesbaden baths ; for though it is, of course, the in¬ 
terest of the inhabitants to insist on their efficacy, 
yet the poor peasant would never, I think, continue 
for a fortnight to pay sixpence a-day, unless he 
knew, by experience of some sort or other, that the 
animal would really derive benefit. 

‘ One must not, however, carry the moral too 
far; for even if it be admitted, that these baths cure 
in horses strains and other effects of over-work, 
it does not follow that they are to be equally bene¬ 
ficial in gout, and other human complaints which 
we all know are the effects of under-work, or want 

of exercise.’ - 

UNRECORDED CRIMES. 

In a speech of Lord Morpeth, about a century 
ago, on the impeachment of the Earl of Maccles¬ 
field for illegal practices in his office of Chancellor, 
we find this striking passage.—‘ My Lords, there 
have been crimes so unexampled, and of so horrid 
a nature, that the malefactors have been tried at 
midnight, and immediately drowned, and the jour¬ 
nal-books burnt, in compassion to mankind, that the 
memory of the proceeding being destroyed, the 
crime itself might no4 be propagated.’ It would be 
a blessed thing for the world, if the necessity of un¬ 
varying laws, and of established precedents, would 
permit the crimes of each successive age to pass 
into oblivion, and leave to the next generation the 
task of contriving its own modes of iniquity. But 
now, much of the evil of the past remains as an in¬ 
heritance to the future; there are whole libraries, 
the volumes of which contain nothing but crime 
It is not good to read such books; for, to our sin¬ 
ful nature, guilt is contagious, and may be said to 
communicate its contagion to the paper on which 
it is recorded. The extensive circulation of crimi¬ 
nal trials is both a sign of something evil in the pub¬ 
lic mind, and a cause of new evil. 


Nothing is so agreeable during a certain time, 
says Madame de Stael, as the decline of any gov¬ 
ernment whatever; for its feebleness takes the aspect 
of mildness; but the ruin which ensues is terrible. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


323 


THE CULTURE OF RICE. 

The least reflection on the products of the difler- 
ent parts of the globe, compels us to admire the 
goodness of that Providence, which, in each climate, 
has regulated its bounties according to the wants of 
the inhabitants. In the burning regions of the 
tropics, the animals destined for the subsistence of 
man, are few in number, and their flesh is of a very 
inferiour quality to that of the same species in the 
temperate zones. Belzoni relates, that, in the coun¬ 
try which extends betw’een the Nile and the Red 
Sea, the weight of a sheep does not exceed fifteen 
pounds. All, who have paid attention to this sub¬ 
ject, know the pernicious efiects of a too great in¬ 
dulgence in animal food, in these hot climates; and 
it is doubtless for this reason, that Providence has 


not permitted such nutriment to be abundant there. 

The different species of grains, distributed over 
the face of the earth, follow the same law ; a truth, 
of which the subject of this article is an example. 
Rice, by its natural dryness, is less liable to fermen¬ 
tation than either wheat or barley, and is therefore 
an aliment more suitable to hot countries. The 
same may be said of Indian corn, the qualities of 
which bear some similarity to those of Rice. The 
culture of this grain occupies a large part of the 
population of the East, especially in India, China, 
Sumatra, and the neighbouring isles; at the Phil- 
lipines, also. Rice is extensively cultivated. Rice 
grows abundantly in Egypt, Spain, and parts of 
Italy. In America, it is an important product of 
some of the southern States. 



Harrowing the Rice Field. 



The manner of cultivating Rice varies according 
to climate and local circumstances. We shall give 
the details of the method employed in China, where 
vast tracts of land, in the middle and south of that 
great empire, are devoted to the culture of Rice. 
Each year, the low lands are overflowed by the 
Kiang and the Yellow river, when those streams 


are swollen by the abundant rains of the Himalaya 
mountains, where they have their source. When 
the waters abate, they leave a thick bed of mud, 
which fertilizes the soil as much as the best manure. 
The patient and laborious Chinese begins his toil 
by surrounding the tracts, which he intends to cul¬ 
tivate, with raised banks of argillaceous earth. It 














































































324 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


is necessary that the Rice-field should be in the 
neighbourhood of a rivulet. The earth is then har¬ 
rowed several times over, as is seen in the first cut; 
and while it is undergoing this process the seed-rice 
is macerated in water, mixed with a certain quan¬ 
tity of marl. The growth is thereby quickened to 
such a degree, that the young shoots sprout above the 


soil, in two days after they have been deposited there. 

During the early part of the season, and until 
the grain is formed, the root of the plant must be 
kept constantly under water. To attain this end, 
various means are used ; two of which, the chain- 
pump and a bucket at the end of a lever, are 
represented in the next cut. 



Watering the Rice. 


When the young plants are six or seven inches 
high, the tops must be cut off, the roots are care¬ 
fully watered, and the whole is again planted in 
ranks a foot asunder. From time to time, they are 
sprinkled with lime-water to destroy the insects; 
the weeds and useless herbs are pulled up. An 
European cultivator cannot form an adequate idea 
of the perseverance and minute attention, which 
the Chinese bestow on these details. Two crops 
are obtained yearly—the first in May or June, the 
second in October or November. The sickle, em¬ 
ployed for harvesting the Rice, is in the form of a 
cresr.ent, like our own, with the edge toothed like 
a saw. The straw and stubble are burnt to enrich 
the earth. It is threshed with a flail, in the ordi¬ 
nary way; and the thin skin, which surrounds the 
grain, is gotten rid of by bruising it in a kind of mor¬ 
tar. This process may be seen in the following cut. 





Bruising the Rice. 


It is then winnowed, as is represented in the next 
engraving, which also shows the method of grind¬ 
ing it in a mill, the moving power of which is 
neither wind, water, nor steam, but the united force 
of several men. 



Winnowing and Grinding the Rice, 


















































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


325 


This grain, prepared in different ways, forms the 
chief nutriment of the Chinese. They are not ac¬ 
quainted with the use of spoons, but they have lit¬ 
tle skewers, with which they toss the rice very skil¬ 
fully into their mouths. A sort of wine is obtained 
by the fermentation of the grain. By distilling it, 
they make an intoxicating liquor, called rak, or ar- 
rak, which speedily causes drunkenness. When 
mixed with sugar and spices, it is a very palatable 
drink. In China, the flour of Rice is also used as 
starch ; and by compressing it in moulds, when it 
has been well baked, they make images and other 
ornaments, which are extremely durable, and of an 
admirable whiteness. 

In Sumatra, the method of cultivating Rice !s so 
different from that of which we have been speaking, 
that it may be proper to say a few words respecting 
it. This immense island is covered with thick for¬ 
ests, which are almost inexhaustible; and among 
these, in the Spring, the inhabitants choose a space 
which they call laddaug. They cut the trees at 
about ten feet from the earth, and when sufficiently 
dry, they set fire to them. The conflagration some¬ 
times lasts a month. They then wait for rainy 
weather, which, if it comes too soon after the cut¬ 
ting of the trees, and before they are dry enough 
to be burnt, greatly retards the crop. 

At this time, the natural credulity of the islanders 
is taken advantage of by impostors, who are gener¬ 
ally Malay adventurers. They pretend to have the 
power of assembling and of dissipating clouds ; and 
their services are recompensed by a tax of at least 
a dollar on each family. The juggler abstains, or 
pretends to abstain, from sleep and nourishment, 
during several days and nights; he passes the whole 
time in the open air ; and whenever he sees a cloud, 
he runs about with all his might, puffing tobacco, 
and blowing out the sinoke with the whole force of 
his lungs. As soon as the rains begin, holes are 
dug at equal distances, and a number of grains are 
deposited in each, without any other attention be¬ 
ing given to the crop, till harvest-time. Often in 
consequence of this negligence, the entire seed is 
devoured by birds. This carelessness, however, is 
not universal in Sumatra. In some parts of the 
island, they construct small machines of wood, 
which are placed around the field, and are all con¬ 
nected together by cords, in such a manner, that a 
child, by pulling a string, can put the whole in mo¬ 
tion. These contrivances, when properly managed, 
put the birds to flight. The method of harvesting, 
of threshing and bruising the Rice, and also of 
cooking and eating it, is pretty much the same at 
Sumatra as in China and Cochin China, at Tonquin 
and in India. 

In Europe, the cultivation of Rice has been at¬ 
tempted, but has been .attended with many incon¬ 
veniences, probably, because the business is not 
well understood. Many efl'orts have been made to 
introduce it into France, but without success, on ac¬ 
count of the mephitic exhalations which are diflused 
from the Rice-fields. In Spain, there is a law 
against cultivating Rice, w'ithin a less distance than 
a league from the cities. In Italy, the same ill 
effects are experienced, and are attributable to the 
same cause,—an improper method of j)reparing the 


ground. In China, India, and Egypt, the Rice- 
fields do not exhale unhealthy vapours. It is sup¬ 
posed that this is owing to the heat of the climate, 
which occasions a quick evaporation ; but it would 
rather appear, that the true cause is to be found in 
the situation of the Rice-fields, and in the mode ot 
management. The water, in which they are im- 
merged, is not often enough renew'ed,and becomes 
stagnant and putrid ; whereas there should be an 
almost continual current, and the situation of the 
fields should be such, that it could be rendered en¬ 
tirely dry, in the space of a few days. This is the 
mode in India, and the harvest is generally made 
on a drv soil. After the harvest, the stubble and 
roots are pulled up, exposed to the sun, and burnt, 
to fertilize the field. In the countries where the 
Rice-fields infect the air, it is because the water is 
not changed often enough, and is not wholly drawn 
off, even during the harvest. The result is, that 
the straw and roots become rotten, and a miasma 
is exhaled from them, which corrupts the air. 

We will conclude with two facts, which appear 
worth relating. One of the last Emperours of 
China, having noticed in his gardens a stalk which 
produced better Rice than ordinary, cultivated it 
himself during many years. When he had ascer¬ 
tained by experience that the Rice was really better 
than any other, he made a proclamation, announc¬ 
ing the discovery to his people, with a botanical 
description, and caused seed to be distributed to 
every applicant. 

In India, ten days after the birth of an infant, 
the priests go through the ceremony of giving him 
a name ; for which purpose, they lay him in a cloth 
containing Rice, and there shake him. When he 
has been sufficiently rolled frojn one side to another, 
they give him his name. Two months after, they 
present him to the Brahmin in the Pagoda. The 
Brahmin puts leaves of the sandal-wood and of the 
camphor-tree on his head, with cloves and other 
perfumes; then, extending his hand solemnly, he 
says—‘ Go; and if thou wouldst be happy, be wise.’ 
But whether this be a wise admonition, w'e can¬ 
not tell. 


FORMER TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH. 

Geology informs us that the temperature of the 
earth was, at former periods, much higher than at 
present, and that the poles were once hotter than 
the equatorial regions are now. Owing to the 
gradual cooling of the earth, many species of 
gigantic animals have become extinct, and such as 
still exist have dwindled down to a much inferiour 
size. Both animals and vegetables have reached 
their maximum of size, at periods and in countries 
where there was the greatest abundance of heat and 
moisture. That this is the fact, may be seen by 
the superiority of the animals and vegetables of the 
tropics over those of temperate climes. The ele¬ 
phant is a native of the torrid zone, and can never 
thrive in any other. Of vegetable productions, what 
are merely bushes in our climate become trees be¬ 
tween the tropics. Herbs, as we should call them, 
grow there to such a magnitude as to aflord shelter 
from the sun. In the southern parts of the United 




326 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


States, vegetable nature is on a grander scale than 
we northerners can readily conceive; the trunks of 
the forest-trees are taller by fifty feet than our’s; 
and the leaves of wild-flowers are sometimes large 
enough to write love-letters upon. And in some 
long-forgotten time, the earth was covered with im¬ 
mense vegetables, in comparison with which the 
largest, that now grow, would dwindle down to 
shrubs. It was necessary that the herbage should 
be on this grand scale, for the support of the huge 
animals who fed upon it. 

That such animals and such vegetables did exist, 
is proved by the discovery of their remains imbed¬ 
ded in rock, or buried at various depths in the 
earth. A mammoth—a creature of such immense 
bulk, that the hottest and most fruitful region of 
the earth would now be too cold and barren to sus¬ 
tain his life—has been found undecayed beneath 
the polar snows. When that animal was alive, 
therefore, the vicinity of the arctic circle must have 
been warmer than our present tropics. But while 
the poles were so hot, the tropics were proportion- 
ably hotter; and those who dwelt near the equator 
—if the earth had human inhabitants in those days 
—doubtless dreaded a northern winter, no less 
than their successors do now ; although the coldest 
Winters must have been incomparably warmer than 
our modern Summers. At a later period, while 
this cooling process was still going on, but had pro¬ 
bably arrived within a few thousand years of its 
close, animals approached somewhat nearer to the 
present standard. A tiger was but a third larger 
than may now be found in the Indian forests; a 
bear was of the size of our horses; a dog was as 
big as a modern lion. Thus, the race of living 
things was already wofully degenerated, since the 
days when the lizards used to be larger than our 
whales. And as the earth’s temperature still con¬ 
tinued to fall, entire species of the largest animals 
became extinct, and those which survived were not 
only smaller in bulk, but much less numerous. 
The larger the animals were, the sooner and the 
more entirely did they vanish from the earth. 

At the period when such enormous creatures ex¬ 
isted, a very large portion of what is now dry land, 
was covered by the sea ; and thus there was a plen¬ 
tiful supply of moisture in the atmosphere. It is 
probable also, that the soil of the earth being then 
fresh and unexhausted, its vegetative powers were 
beyond any comparison that we can form. While 
the world, therefore, if we reckon only the dry land, 
was much smaller than at present, it was enabled 
to support numbers of gigantic beasts, a single herd 
of which would now eat up all the sustenance of a 
country. As the ocean continued to recede, and 
the temperature of the earth to fall, vegetation be¬ 
came more scant; the world was no longer a fit 
pasture for such enormous cattle; they were grad¬ 
ually thinned away till only their bones are left for 
the wonder of our pigmy times. Those species, 
which were fortunate enough to survive, were only 
the miniature likenesses of their predecessors. 

An illustration of the fact, that the vegetative 
power of the earth bears a proportion to its heat 
and moisture, may be seen by tracing the progress 
of vegetation up a mountain. At the base, the 


forest is dense, and the trees gigantic ; as you as¬ 
cend, they dwindle both in bulk and height, and 
become mere saplings; at a still more elevated re¬ 
gion, trees of the growth of centuries are nothing 
but bushes ; and finally, at the summit of the moun¬ 
tain, the only vegetable production is a kind of dry 
moss that clings to the rock. It is stated that 
animals, living on the sides of mountains, are 
smaller in proportion to their distance above the 
base. In going from the equator to the poles, we 
perceive a similar gradation in the vegetative powers 
of the world, as in ascending a mountain. At the 
equator, there is still a vast luxuriance of fertility, 
with which, as you go northward, more and more 
of barrenness is intermixed ; until, in Lapland, there 
are but one or two species either of plants or ani¬ 
mals. Now, in tracing the course of animal and 
vegetable life, from the periods of highest temperature 
downward, we perceive a similar gradation as in as¬ 
cending a mountain, or passing from the equator to 
the arctic region. It is probable that the fertility of 
the tropics, in the earlier ages of the world, as much 
exceeded their present fertility, as the latter does 
that of Greenland. 

It should be observed, that this cooling process 
has long ago ceased. During countless ages, the 
temperature of the earth has been at its present 
standard; nor is it known that any considerable 
change has taken place since the existence of man. 

Enormous Still. —A condenser for the distilla¬ 
tion of gin was made in 1830, for Mr. Hodges of 
London, the height of which was fourteen feet six 
inches, and the diameter eight feet. It distilled ten 
gallons of gin per minute, six thousand per day, 
and one million eight hundred and seventy-eight 
thousand per annum. Such a stream of alcohol, 
one would think, would overflow the land. Some 
stills in Scotland, however, produce eighty gallons 
every three and a half minutes—which is indeed an 
amazing quantity to be added to the sin and misery 
of this world, in so short a time. 


‘ How deep a wound to morals and social pu¬ 
rity has that accursed article of the celibacy of the 
clergy been ! Even the best and most enlightened 
men in Romanist countries attach a notion of im¬ 
purity to the marriage of a clergyman ; and can 
such a feeling be without its effect on the estima¬ 
tion of the wedded life in general ? Impossible !— 
and the morals of both sexes in Spain, Italy, France, 
&.C. prove it abundantly.’ — Coleridge's Table Talk. 

W.\TCHEs. —The durability of common watches, 
when well made, is very considerable. One was 
produced, in ^ going order,' before a committee 
of the House of Commons to inquire into the watch 
trade, which was made in the year 1660; and there 
are many of more ancient date, in the possession of 
the Clock-maker’s Company, which are actually kept 
going.— Babbage. 

Scent of the Plague.— The Plague is said to 
smell like mellow apples, or, as some think, like May¬ 
flowers. We did not know that either apples or 
May-flowers smelt so plaguy bad. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


327 


THE FLAT HEAD INDIANS. 

[Translated from the Magasin Universel.] 

The Indians who inhabit the shores of the Colum¬ 
bia river, in North America, are distinguislied by the 
oddity of their manners and customs. Tliey are 
known by the name of Flat Heads, on account of 
the shape of their skulls. Immediately after the 
birth of an infant, it is placed in a sort of a cradle 
in the shape of a trough, the bottom of which is 
covered with moss. The part on which the head 
is to rest, is a little more elevated. A piece of pine 
bark, covered with a cushion to preserve the skin 
from bruises, is then fitted to the child’s forehead, 
and by means of a cord passing through holes on 
each side of the cradle, the cushion is made to press 
upon its head. This operation continues a whole 
year, and causes little pain ; but while the process 
is going on, the appearance of the infant is fright¬ 
ful; and its little black eyes, which the pressure of 
the bandages squeezes almost out of their sockets, 
look like those of a mouse in a trap. By the time 
the ligatures are taken otf, the head has attained 
the requisite degree of flatness; the upper part is 
rarely more than an inch thick ; and it never re¬ 
covers its rotundity. In the eyes of the Indians, this 
deformity is a grace that cannot be dispensed with. 
They justify the custom by saying that their slaves 
have round heads, and therefore free people ought 
to have flat ones. In fact, all the children who are 
born in slavery, unless adopted by the Flat Heads, 
inherit not only the degradation of their parents, 
but also the rotundity of their skulls. It can hardly 
be conceived what a repulsive ugliness this detesta¬ 
ble custom gives to the Indians. Nor have they 
naturally so much beauty, that they need put them¬ 
selves to the trouble of lessening it by art. The 
men, indeed, are of good stature and pretty well 
shaped ; but the women are five or six inches 
shorter, and have flat noses and large open nostrils. 
Their mouths, which they have not wit enough to 
keep shut, display short and ill-shaped teeth, set in 
uneven rows, and never cleaned. These red-skin¬ 
ned ladies are invariably bandy-legged ; their feet 
are broad and flat, their ears slit, their nostrils bored, 
their hair coarse and thick; and the better to set off 
their charms, they anoint their skins plentifully 
with fish-oil. As to their character, the Indians of 
this part of the New World are certainly cunning, 
sober, and patient; but generally also they are 
thievish, idle, and cruel. 

The Flat Heads believe in the existence of a good 
and an evil Genius, as well as of rewards and pun¬ 
ishments in another life. According to their creed, 
the righteous, after death, go to a land of bliss, 
where they enjoy a perpetual Spring, where they 
again dwell with their wives and children, where 
the rivers are full of fish, and the plains are covered 
with bison, the flesh of which forms their principal 
nourishment. There they give themselves up to 
the pleasures of the chase, fearing neither the 
rigours of winter, nor hunger, nor the horrours of 
war. The wicked, on the other hand, are trans¬ 
ported to a country which is covered with perpetual 
snow, and where the cold penetrates to the marrow 
of their bones. From the midst of their torment, 
they are condemned to see their righteous brethren 


in the delightful fields, chasing the game, or repo.s- 
ing themselves with their families; but the poor 
frozen sinners cannot stir one step towards that 
sunny region. Nevertheless, their misery has an 
end; it is longer or shorter, according to the de¬ 
gree of their guilt; and after its expiation, they are 
permitted to become inhabitants of the Indian 
Paradise. 

If nations which call themselves civilized and en¬ 
lightened are overrun with charlatans and empirics, 
we need not w'onder that they play a very success¬ 
ful part among the savages. Each village has its 
quack doctor. When a native is seized with any 
malady whatever, this JEsculapius is immediately 
called in, and begins his course of treatment by 
stretching the patient on his back. While he is in 
this position, his kinsfolk and friends, who are all 
furnished with two sticks of unequal length, beat 
time to the measure of a melancholy chant, which 
the Doctor sings through his nose. At intervals, 
they unite their voices to his. Sometimes a slave 
is ordered to mount on the top of the liut, where he 
accompanies this strange harmony by striking on 
the roof with a great club, and singing with all his 
might. The quack, in the meantime, kneels down 
by the sick person, and presses both fists heavily 
upon his stomach. This violent pressure compels 
the patient to utter dolorous cries; but the noise 
of his complaints is drowned by the uproar and 
racket of the doctor and his assistants, who shout 
and thump so much the louder. At the close of 
each stanza of the hymn, the operator takes both 
hands of his victim and blows upon them ; and thus 
continues to squeeze his stomach and blow upon his 
hands, till the patient ejects a small white stone, 
which had been thrust into his mouth by the Doctor 
himself, at the beginning of the operation. This 
he shows to the family, and, with the unabashed 
eflVontery natural to quack doctors, whether civiliz¬ 
ed or savage, affirms that all danger is over, and 
that the sick man will quickly be restored to perfect 
health. 

It often happens, as may well be supposed, that 
a poor wretch, who might have been easily cured 
by the most simple remedies, perishes in conse¬ 
quence of this barbarous treatment; but let him live 
or let him die, the Doctor must not be disappointed 
of his fee. Such instances of their gullibility well 
entitle these ridiculous people to be called Flat 
Heads—or, simply. Flats. 

An English traveller, who remained a considera¬ 
ble time among this tribe, has given a description of 
their methods of torturing their prisoners. A chief 
of the Black Foot tribe having been taken captive, 
in one of their wars, was condemned to death ; and 
the Englishman repaired to the camp, to witness 
the frightful spectacle. The prisoner w'as fastened 
to a tree. The Flat Heads, after heating an old 
gun-barrel red-hot, made use of it to burn succes¬ 
sively his legs, thighs, stomach, cheeks, and belly; 
they then cut the flesh round his nails, w'hich they 
tore out; and afterwards cut off' his fingers, joint by 
joint. During this horrible torment, the prisoner 
did not shrink in the least, nor testify the slightest 
emotion; instead of crying for mercy and uttering 
groans, he endeavoured to excite the barbarous in- 




328 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


genuity of his executioners by taunts and the most 
insulting reproaches. One of the Flat Heads rush¬ 
ed upon him, and with his knife, scooped out one 
of his eyes in an instant, and clove his nose in two 
parts. But the poor devil did not desist from his 
provocations:—‘I killed your brother!’ he cried. 
‘I tore off the gray scalp of your father!’ The 
warriour to whom he spoke, again rushing upon 
him, tore off his own scalp, and was about to plunge 
nis knife into his heart, when the voice of his chief 
forbade him. With his naked skull, his cloven nose, 
and the blood streaming from the socket of his eye, 
the intrepid Black Foot offered a hideous spectacle ; 
notwithstanding which, in this terrible condition, he 
ceased not to shower reproaches and outrageous in¬ 
sults on his foes. ‘ It was I,’ said he to the chief, 
‘ it was I who took your wife prisoner! We tore 
out her eyes and tongue ! We treated her like a 
dog! Forty of our young warriours’—He had not 
time to finish what he was going to say ; for at the 
mention of his wife, the fury of the chief broke 
through all bounds ; and seizing his musket, he put 
an end at once to the insults which the prisoner 
uttered, and the sufferings he endured. These cru¬ 
elties were even surpassed by those that were exer¬ 
cised on the female prisoners ; and it must be owned 
that the Flat Head women showed a more fiendish 
barbarity than the men. The details of the tortures 
which they inflicted are too horrible to be described, 
save with a pen dipped in blood. 

1 he Europeans have vainly endeavoured to abol¬ 
ish these atrocious customs. The natives pay no 
attention to what they say. They answer coolly, 
that the Black Feet use the Flat Heads in the same 
manner; that it is one of the laws of war, among 
the red men, to torture their prisoners; and that 
nothing can equal the pleasures of vengeance. 

THE SLEEP OF PLANTS. 

[Translated from the Magasin Universe!.] 

The greater part of those plants which have wing¬ 
ed leaves—that is to say, where many small leaves 
are attached to the same centre—undergo in the 
night a change of position, which renders it proba¬ 
ble that they take advantage of those hours of si¬ 
lence and obscurity, to enjoy a sort of slumber. 
This phenomenon was first remarked by Prosper 
Alpin; and among the vegetables on which he saw 
it operate most strongly, he mentions the acacia, 
the sesban, and the tamarind. But since vegetable 
physiology has become a favourite study of botanists, 
it has been discovered that all plants have their 
hours of repose. We will cite some of the most 
curious proofs of this fact. 

Bean leaves, for instance, raise themselves every 
evening, describing a circle of ninety degrees, and 
press their upper surfaces one against the other. 
Cassia leaves, on the contraiy, lower themselves im¬ 
mediately after twilight, describing a quarter of a 
circle, or unite themselves back to back. But these 
nocturnal movements are still more perceptible in 
the sensitive plant on which Mairan and Duhamel 
have made many very interesting experiments. The 
first has remarked that though this plant be set in a 
dark place, where there is a uniform temperature 
through the day and night, it never fails to shut up 


its leaves at dusk and open them in the morning, 
the same as if it were exposed to the light. Du¬ 
hamel was desirous of repeating this experiment. 
One morning in the month of August, he carried a 
sensitive plant to a cellar, which had no opening to 
the external air, and which was situated beneath 
another cellar.—The shaking which the plant un¬ 
derwent, in being carried thither, caused it to close 
its leaves, nor did it re-open them till ten o’clock 
the next morning; and then not quite so widely as 
it would have done in the open air. They remain¬ 
ed in this half-opened state, for several days. He 
then carried the plant from the cellar into the open 
air, at ten o’clock in the evening, taking care not to 
shake it. It appears that the sort of half-slumber, 
in which it had continued for so long a time, had 
more than satisfied the demands of nature; for it 
kept its leaves open all that night and the following 
day, and did not fall asleep again till its usual bed¬ 
time. This experiment proves that the sleep of 
plants is not the effect either of light or heat, as 
some authors have supposed ; and it is rendered 
more certain by the fact, that, in hot-houses, the 
sensitive plant goes to sleep at about seven o’clock 
throughout the year, although in Summer, at that 
hour, it is broad day-light. Nor is the case altered, 
even when the warmth of the hot-house, is kept up 
or increased, by means of stoves. 

The botanist Liane having received the seeds of 
a species of lotus called bird’s foot, he carefully cul¬ 
tivated the plants which they produced, and suc¬ 
ceeded in obtaining flowers from them. One even¬ 
ing, visiting his garden with a lantern, he stopped to 
look at the lotus, and was much surprised to find 
none of the flowers, which, that very morning, had 
so abundantly rewarded his pains. He accused 
the gardeners of negligence, suspected them of hav¬ 
ing stolen the flowers, and went to bed in great dis¬ 
pleasure. The next morning, he would not at first 
go near the lotus, being loth to renew his sense of 
the misfortune which had so much afflicted him all 
night. At length, it was absolutely necessary that 
he should pass by it. What was his astonishment! 
There was the lotus in full bloom, dressed out with 
all the flowers that it had borne the day before, and 
had so strangely lost at night. The botanist count¬ 
ed them, and found that not a single one was rtiis- 
sing. He returned again in the evening, and as¬ 
certained that the flowers were still there, but that 
the leaves were placed in such a peculiar manner as 
to conceal them ; and this singular faculty of the 
leaves could not be discovered in the day-time, 

‘ My lotus is asleep ! ’ cried the botanist; and this 
exclamation gave its name to the phenomenon since 
called the Sleep of Plants. 

Great services are like the larger pieces of gold 
or silver money, which do not often pass from one 
person to another. Small attentions are like small 
coin, which is continually passing.— Diderot. 


When Thebes was burnt, Alexander saved only 
the house of the poet Pindar. When Buffalo was 
burnt, the British officers saved only the house of 
an old woman, as a reward for her brave defence 
of it with a broomstick. 






329 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


WARRIOURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 


We have here a motley troop of warlike figures, 
whom we propose to display upon the pages of the 
Magazine, without much regard to military order. 
They will resemble a company, composed of the 
shattered fragments of several regiments ; ora throng 
of horse and foot, pursuers and pursued, in the con¬ 
fusion of a lost battle ; or perhaps they will remind 
the reader of the scene on a muster-ground, after 


dismissal, when soldiers in many differerrt uniforms 
are mingled together. But here, the old iron-clad 
knight, who fought und5r the walls of Jerusalem, 
will be the comrade of the m.odern hussar ; the man¬ 
at-arms of the eleventh century will ride in the same 
rank with the carabinier of the nineteenth ; and every 
figure that wears a sword, will be liable to the con¬ 
scription in our troop. 



The Crusaders. 


Here, in the first place, come a knight and a 
foot-soldier, both of whom were Crusaders. It will 
be observed that the defensive armour of the knight 
is greatly superiour to that of the common soldier. 
He wears, over all his other garments, a sur-coat, 
on which are embroidered the arms of his family ; 
beneath this external covering is his hauberk, or shirt 
of mail, formed of ringlets of steel linked together ; 
under the hauberk, is a cuirass of forged iron, com¬ 
posed of breast-plate and back-plate ; and under the 
cuirass is a gambeson, or quilted coat, stuffed with 
cotton, to preserve his body from bruises. He also 
carries a wooden shield, covered with leather and 
strengthened with iron or brass, which, in time of 
action, he suspends round his neck, and passes his 
left arm through two handles on the inside. The 
defensive armour may be seen to better advantage 
on the next figure. 

This is a man-at-arms, probably a gentleman by 
birth, but who has not yet attained the dignity of 
knighthood. He is clad in complete steel from head 
to foot, except a portion of his face, which can also 
be covered by closing the vizor of his helmet; when 
his head will be literally shut up in an iron box. 
His offensive weapons are a sword, and a heavy 
lance of ash-wood, which should be represented as 
eighteen or twenty feet in length. The immense 
weight of their equipment, and its want of pliability, 
must have greatly embarrassed the knights and men- 
at-arms in battle. Their ordinary and best mode 
of fighting was, to seat themselves firm in the sad¬ 
dle, direct their lances, and then gallop headlong to 
meet the advancing foe, who came onward in the 
same style. Sometimes the lances were splintered 


on both sides, without the overthrow of c ther 
champion ; but generally, one or other of therr. was 
borne off his horse, and measured his length on the 
field. Here, unless stunned by the fall, or suffoca- 



A man-at-arms. 


ted by the closeness of his helmet, the warriour lay 
pretty safe. It is related, that, at a certain battle, 
in Italy, the vanquished knights could not possibly 
be slain, but remained stretched on the field like 
huge lobsters, till several men were set to worK upon 

42 











































330 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


each of them with wood-cutter’s axes. King James 
the First, who was a dear lover of peace, remarked, 
in praise of armour, that it not only protected the 
wearer, but, by impeding his movements, prevented 
him from hurting any body else. 

The war-horses were almost as heavily armed as 
their riders; they wore an iron mask over the face, 
and frequently a breast-plate ; their legs were some¬ 
times defended, either by iron or stiff leather. It 
was likewise the fashion to cover them completely 
with chain-mail, or with quilted linen. An animal 
thus accoutred must have been very unwilling to 
move ; nor can we wonder that the knights were 
compelled to use spurs, the rowels of which were 
six inches long. Some remnant of the ancient ar- 
mour may be seen in the next cut, which represents 
a soldier of Louis the Sixteenth’s guard. 



Defensive armour was also worn, and probably 
still continues to be so, by the French carabiniers. 
The first of the two following figures has a breast¬ 
plate under his coat, and his immense boot suffi¬ 
ciently protects the whole leg and thigh. This corps 
did excellent service in the wars of Louis the Four¬ 
teenth. 



Pmbjiiier of 1694. 


The breast-plates of the Carabiniers are now of 
burnished copper, as are likewise their helmets, which 
are surmounted with a red crest. 



Carabinier of 1834. 


The hussars were probably the first mounted 
troops who entirely laid aside defensive armour. 
This corps was formed in 1692, of Hungarian refu¬ 
gees in the service of France. Their uniform was 
a sky-blue vest and pantaloons, and a bonnet, boots, 
and scarf, all of scarlet. Each hussar had a right 
to wear as many plumes as he had cut off foemen’s 
heads. 



Hussar of 1692. 


The hussars fought without any sort of order, 
or system of tactics. They charged their adversa¬ 
ries in a confused throng, surrounded them, and 
affrighted them with their shouts and gestures. 
If repulsed, they were promptly rallied, and came 
again to the charge. They were very adroit in the 
management of their horses, all of which were small 
and light. About the year 1750, they wore a spe¬ 
cies of fur cap, called schakos, and a blue pelisse 
with red trimmings. [See first cut on next page.] 


































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


S3i 



Hussar of 1750. 


Until the French Revolution, the hussars had ma¬ 
ny singular customs; one of which was, to pull the 
ears and tails of their horses, whenever they made 
a halt—a process which was supposed to remove 
their weariness. When the corps was subjected to 
the same discipline as the rest of the army, all these 
usages were abandoned. Their dress however, had 
still a wild and singular appearance. 



Hussar of 1795. 


There were, at one period, fourteen regiments of 
hussars in the French service. At the restoration 
of the Bourbons, these were reduced to six, which 
is the number retained under the present govern¬ 
ment. Their uniform, as will be seen by the cut 
at the head of the next column, has nothing of the 
stiffness which is usual in the military garb. In 
this respect, they form the most perfect contrast that 
could be imagined, to the knights and men-at- 
arms whose figures lead the van of this article. 

It is a sad thought, that men of the sword, wheth¬ 
er as individuals or in armies, should hitherto have 
filled so large space in the annals of every nation. 
Will the time never come, when all, that pertains 
to war, shall be merely a matter of antiquarian cu¬ 
riosity? 



BURIAL OF OLIVER CROMWELL 

[Life of Oliver Cromwell.] 

His funeral was performed with great pomp on 
the 23d of November. But the real place of his 
burial is uncertain ; though it is most probable, that 
his body was buried in Naseby-field. For I find 
in a collection of MSS. &.c. lately published, the 
following remarkable account. ‘ That the Regicidie 
Barkstead, beingLieutenant of theTower of London, 
and a great confidant of the Usurper, did, among 
other such confidences, in the time of the Usurper’s 
sickness, desire to know where he would be buried 
To which he answered, ‘ Where he had obtained 
the greatest victory and glory, and as nigh the spot 
as could be guessed, where the heat of the action 
was, in the field of Nasebywhich, accordingly, 
was performed thus: At midnight, soon after his 
death, being first embalmed, and wrapped in a leaden 
coffin, he was, in a hearse, conveyed to the said 
field, the son of the said Barkstead, attending close 
to the hearse; and, being come to the field, there 
found, about the midst of it, a grave dug about nine 
feet deep, with the green sod carefully laid on one 
side, and the mould on the other; in which the cof¬ 
fin being soon put, the grave was instantly filled up, 
and the green sod laid exactly upon it; care being 
taken that the surplus mould was clean taken away. 
And soon after, care was taken that the said field 
was entirely ploughed up, and sown three or four 
years successively with wheat. Thus Oliver and 
his friends, apprehending the restoration of the Stu¬ 
art family, and that all imaginable disgrace, upon that 
turn, would be put upon his body, as well as mem¬ 
ory, he contrived his own burial, as averred by 
Barkstead, having all the theatrical honours of a 
pompous funeral paid to an empty coffin, into which 
afterwards was removed the martyr;* that if any 
sentence should be pronounced, as upon his body, 
it might effectually fall upon that of the king. Ac¬ 
cordingly, it being ordered by the House of Com¬ 
mons, soon after the restoration, that Oliver’s body 
should be taken from the tomb, where it was sup¬ 
posed to lie, in Westminster-abbey, and from thence 


* King Charles the First. 



















333 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


to be conveyed, with the bodies of some of his asso¬ 
ciates in the murder of the king, to Tyburn, and 
there to be publicly hung on the gallows; the Ser¬ 
geant of Horse saw their commands executed ; but 
some, with greater curiosity, viewing the spectacle 
on the tree, observed the remains of a countenance, 
which they little expected to find there; and, unty¬ 
ing the cord, discovered a strong seam about the 
neck, by which the head had been, as was supposed, 
immediately after the decollation, fastened again to 
the body. This being whispered about, and num¬ 
bers that came to this dismal sight hourly increasing, 
notice was immediately given of the suspicion to the 
attending officer, who despatched a messenger to 
Court, to acquaint them with the rumour, and the 
ill consequences the spreading, on examining it fur¬ 
ther, might have; on w'hich, says my author, the 
bodies were immediately ordered down, to be bu¬ 
ried again, to prevent any infection. Certain it is, 
they were not burnt, as in prudence, for that pre¬ 
tended reason, might have been expected ; as well 
as, in justice, to have shown the utmost detestation 
of their crimes, and the most lasting mark of infamy 
they could inflict on them.’ 


ANCIENT PILGRIMS. 

In the year 1407, some heretics having spoken 
against the popish custom of making pilgrimages to 
the shrines of Saints, and particularly objecting to 
the merry music which accompanied the march of 
the pilgrims, the Archbishop of Canterbury made 
the following reply. We give it with all its antique 
diction, and uncouth and disorderly spelling— 

‘When one of them thatgoeth barfote striketh his 
Too upon a stone, and hurteth hyin sore, and maketh 
hym to blede, it is well done that he or his Felow 
begyn then a songe, or else take out of his Bosome 
a Bagge-pype, for to drive away with soche Myrthe 
the hurte of his Felowe. For, whith soche solace, 
the Travell and Werinesse of Pylgremes is lightely 
and rnerily broughte forthe.’ 

We are inclined to take the side of the jovial 
Archbishop against the heretics, who, by the way, 
were soon after burnt for their misbelief in regard 
to this, and other sacred matters. It would have 
been almost worth while to live in those old days 
of papistry, for the sake of riding in the company 
of Chaucer’s pilgrims, beguiling the way with tales 
mirthful or melancholy ; or even to go on foot, danc¬ 
ing along to the sound of the bag-pipe, with the 
comfortable idea that every step of this merry jour¬ 
ney was a step towards heaven. Sometimes, it is 
true, the pilgrims walked with peas in their shoes, 
or crept over the stony roads on their bare knees— 
modes of travelling w'hich the merriest music could 
hardly render tolerable. But generally, a pilgrim¬ 
age, though imposed or undertaken as a religious 
penance, must have been a very pleasant interlude 
m a man’s life. On such occasions, all the daily 
cares, that harassed him at home, were thrown aside, 
and it was inevitable that his disburdened mind 
snould arow' cheerful and frisky. And except to 
visit the distant shrine of a saint, it was seldom, in 
those times, that people strayed a dozen miles from 
♦*»lir birthplace; so that these pious journeys af¬ 


forded them almost their sole opportunities for see¬ 
ing the world ; and when completed, the pilgrim 
was a travelled man, and had a stock of fireside sto¬ 
ries for the remainder of his days. Should the Ro¬ 
mish faith, as some forebode, be established in 
America, there is no part of its rites, ceremonies, 
and customs that our locomotive countrymen would 
more readily adopt, than this of pilgrimages. But 
it would not be the same thing now, as in those 
good old times. The pilgrim would neither provide 
himself a staff, nor seek out a good stout horse— 
he w'ould simply put down his name at the coach 
office, or get on board a steamboat, with a vallise 
under his arm—or, perchance, he would do his pil¬ 
grimage in a rail-road car. No bag-pipe nor song 
would enliven his way; he would be graver than 
the ancient pilgrims, but with earthly cares, not 
heavenly meditations—and a pilgrimage, thus mod¬ 
ernised, would be as dull as a trip to Saratoga 
Springs. 

SNAKES. 

It has been supposed that all snakes produce their 
young by means of eggs ; but a corres[)ondent of the 
American Journal of Science gives evidence to the 
contrary. In a water-snake, he found about a hun¬ 
dred young ones of various letiglhs, and the thick¬ 
ness of a knitting-needle. The same writer observes 
that the smaller species of snakes cast their skins in 
the latter part of May or beginning of June ; the lar¬ 
ger species retain their old garments somewhat lon¬ 
ger ; but all have got rid of them by the end of 
September. A rattle-snake, in confinement, was 
observed to rub his head against the wires of his 
cage, and thrust it between them, as if endeavour¬ 
ing to escape. By this process, the skin on the 
back of his head began to cleave away and turn 
downward on his neck. He then knotted himself 
into several convolutions, the last of which pressed 
forcibly on the separated portion of the skin ; and 
shooting his head briskly forward, released another 
length of his body. In this manner, he gradually 
crept out of his skin, which was left wrong-side out¬ 
ward. The whole race of snakes are turncoats. 
The reason of this provision of nature is, that a 
snake’s skin—is a sort of armour to protect his 
grovelling body from injury in its continual contact 
with the earth—and this skin is of a texture which 
cannot accommodate itself to the increased size of 
the snake. If he were not thus enabled to creep 
out of it, he must either burst it asunder, or be con¬ 
fined in an intolerably tight waistcoat. 

Polemical, Divinity. At the siege of a walled 
town, in one of the Spanish wars, a Catholic priest 
shot eleven men with a musket, from behind a bat¬ 
tlement. Each time that he fired, this good priest made 
the sign of the cross in the air, with his musket, 
pronouncing a blessing on the man whom he aimed 
at—and then let fly. Thus the enemy received, at 
once, a benediction for his soul and a bullet for his 
body. Several of the New-England clergy have 
taken arms, in our Indian wars and in the Revolu¬ 
tion : but with less philanthropy than the Catholic 
priest, they distributed only their bullets to the ene¬ 
my, and kept their benedictions for their friends. 






OF USEFUl INFORMATION. 


333 


CROSS-BOW 

The Cross-Bow, or Arbalist, is a very ancient 
weapon; its invention is a-ttributed by some author¬ 
ities to the Sicilians, by others to the Cretans. It 
is supposed to have been first introduced into France 
by the Crusaders, and is mentioned as having been 
used by Louis the Fat at the beginning of the twelfth 
century. Some of the soldiers of William the Con- 
querour were armed with cross bows, at the battle 
of Hastings. They afterwards came into general 
use, but were considered so destructive, that, in 1139, 
the fathers of the church prohibited all true believ¬ 
ers from shooting with the cross-bow, as being an 
instrument hateful to God and unfit for Christians. 
This decree was confirmed by Pope Innocent III. 
King Richard the First of England, however, per¬ 
sisted in the use of them ; on which account it was 
deemed a judgment upon that monarch, when he 
was himself slain by the shot of a cross-bow, at the 
siege of the castle of Chaluz in Normandy. It was 
many hundred years before the weapon was laid 
aside. The latest period, at which they are men¬ 
tioned in history, was in 16:27, when some of the 
English were armed with cross-bows, in the expe¬ 
dition against the Isle of Rhee. 

Some cross-bows were so large that it required 
the whole strength of one man to bend them ; others 
could only be bent by a machine. These were 
used only in sieges. The smaller kind, which were of 
a size to be carried on the shoulder, are represented 
in the following cut. 



It is composed of a bow of steel, (B) mounted 
on a wooden stock, (A) and provided with a string, 
(C) which is fastened near the middle of the stock 
to a nut or movable wheel (D). The bow-string 
was loosed, and the arrow discharged, by means of 
the trigger (E). The sights (F and G) enabled the 
archer" to take aim. Various kinds of arrows were 
used. The one in the cut (H) was called a quar- 
rell, and had a four-sided steel head. Stones and 


leaden bullets were sometimes discharged from 
them. 

A cross-bow of the ordinary size, aimed point- 
blank, would kill a man at the distance of from forty 
to sixty yards; and if elevated, at one hundred and 
twenty or one hundred and sixty yards. It has 
been thought by some military men, that this weap¬ 
on might be used with effect in modern warfare. 
The whistling of the arrows, it is supposed, would 
frighten the horses of the cavalry ; and the infantry 
would be discomposed by seeing a cloud of deadly 
missiles in the air. This once murderous instru¬ 
ment has now passed from the hands of warriours 
to those of school-boys, who still keep up the good 
old practice of archery, to a considerable extent. 
There is, at this day, a manufactory of Cross Bows 
in Boston. 


SONG. 

She is not fair to outward view, 

As many maidens be; 

Her loveliness I never knew 
Until she smiled on me, 

O, then I saw her eye was bright, 

A well of love, a spring of light. 

4 

But now her looks are coy and cold. 

To mine they ne’er reply; 

And yet I cease not to beholJ 
The love-light in her eye— 

Her very frowns are fairer far 
Than smiles of other maidens are. 

Table Book. 


FEDERATIVE GOVERNMENT. 

[Murat’s ‘ United States of America.’] 

If it be true that no government ought to exist 
except upon condition of promoting the interests 
of the governed, it is plain that legislation must 
change as often as these interests shift their ground. 
The system of centralization does not permit this 
change to be made. But in a federation like that 
of the United States, government follows the inter¬ 
ests of the mass. No man pays a tax to support 
a public functionary useless to him ; and the charge 
of defending the country falls upon those who re¬ 
quire its defence. If in one quarter crimes are more 
frequent than elsewhere, it is there that judges, gaols, 
and gaolers are multiplied, but at the expense of 
that particular district. One state wants a sea-port 
improved, another a Guild-hall built; and each sup¬ 
plies its 'jwn wants. The rich and the poor con¬ 
tribute to all only according to their respective 
means, and to the share they enjoy in the works 
done. 

Every thing is found, too, to be better done by 
those who know the local circumstances ; and what¬ 
ever in remote spots does not affect strangers, may 
be safely left to the inhabitants, whose interests and 
taste will in this way be properly respected. Opin¬ 
ions also differ ; and it is good to let experiments 
be made in different neighbourhoods. In one a 
more convenient tax will be imposed, or an impro¬ 
ved prison will be built. The example will become 
the subject of examination ; and the general legisla¬ 
tion will gain by individual success. The sum of 
happiness will be increased by this course, along 
with national civilisation. 










334 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Another great advantage of the Federative sys¬ 
tem is its effect in spreading intelligence equally 
over the country. Under it, there is no provincial 
inferiority. Education, fashion and wealth spring 
up and animate every part of the land instead of 
being confined to one city. Where the system of 
centralization prevails, the capital absorbs all. The 
men of ability throng to it, with the certainty of 
great numbers failing to find employment. In re¬ 
gard to intellect, Germany and Italy are federations; 
and the lights of civilisation are more equally spread 
abroad there than in France. Out of Paris, there 
is not to be found a single good college, a single good 
theatre, and scarcely any where a single man of good 
taste. Italy presents a striking example of the ad¬ 
vantages and disadvantages of these two systems. 
Before Rome conquered and absorbed all, Magna 
Graecia was covered with flourishing towns. From 
the conquest downwards, they have been sacrificed 
to her, and to centralization. Now, in the south 
of Italy, Naples is every thing, and therefore the only 
large city. But in the north of Italy, in Tuscany and 
Lombardy, the division of the country into small 
states has raised fine towns everywhere. A common 
centre for a defensive government against the for¬ 
eigner, is only wanted to ensure to these countries 
a glorious career in every object of public honour 
and national happiness. 

This point is illustrated in a remarkable manner 
by the example of the United States ; and it is shown 
advantageously by the comparison of all countries 
which possess local municipal administrations, as 
Holland, Belgium, and England, with France. In¬ 
dustry of all kinds prospers by being allowed room 
to expatiate in. Particularly are political abilities 
and honour improved and fostered by exercise 
in the distant provinces; where men are prac¬ 
tised in public local business before they are called 
upon to guide the affairs of the state. At present 
in France, it is from Paris that candidates are sent, 
by the favour of a party, to be deputies for the 
departments. The stranger is elected, and, as was 
to be expected, deceives his constituents with 
whom he has nothing in common. The reverse 
of this ought to be the rule. Reputation in a Com¬ 
mune ought to recommend a real patriot to the body 
of surrounding electors; and the vigilance of those 
who have long known their Deputy, would be his 
best check against the seductions of the executive 
government. 


WILD TURKIES AND DEER. 

At the settlement of a Virginian backwoodsman, 
a flock of thirty wild turkies came and fed very so¬ 
ciably with his hogs; who, as there was plenty of 
food for both, manifested no swinish ill-breeding to¬ 
wards their guests. But the backwoodsman took 
his rifle, and standing in the door of his cottage, 
shot one of the turkies. The survivors, who knew 
nothing of the dangers of civilisation, manifested no 
terror at the report of the rifle, nor seemed disturb¬ 
ed when their companion fell dead among them. 
In this manner, the backwoodsman shot twenty- 
seven of the thirty turkies; when the three others, 
seeing that something was amiss, took flight into 


the forest. Thus it is that all Nature’s wild children 
are taught, by systematic injuries, to flee from civil¬ 
ized man. 

The same backwoodsman had tamed a young 
deer, which, in the winter, used to feed and sport 
with his children. In Summer and Autumn, the 
deer went into the forest, in search of food that she 
loved better than the bread from the children’s 
hands. At intervals, she would return to visit the 
backwoodsman’s family, accompanied by one or more 
wild deer, with whom she had become acquainted 
in the forest and invited them to the settlement. 
When the wild deer saw the cabin, they would 
make a stand, snuff the air, and try to satisfy them¬ 
selves what strange object this might be. Mean¬ 
time, the backwoodsman had seized his rifle, and 
getting within sixty or a hundred yards, let fly— 
and down fell the poor citizen of the forest with a 
bullet between his antlers. In this way, the treach¬ 
erous tame-deer—for we cannot help thinking that 
she was a traitress, and knew what she was about 
—lured fourteen wild ones to their death. 


FORCED ABSTINENCE. 

A person was recently confined in one of the 
Ayrshire coal-mines, in Scotland, by the caving in 
of the pit; and twenty-three days elapsed before 
his release. When the place of his imprisonment 
was discovered, the air was so impure, owing to the 
gaseous exhalations of the mine, as to cause sick¬ 
ness in those who breathed it. It is supposed that 
this unhealthy air, by lowering the condition of the 
vital functions, and thus lessening the waste of the 
body, was instrumental in enabling the man to sub¬ 
sist so long without food. There was a pool of 
water in the cavern, whence he drank for the first 
ten days, but then happened to lie down at a dis¬ 
tance from it, and was too weak to reach it again. 
When found, he was a mere skeleton ; the back¬ 
bone could be distinctly felt through the abdomen. 
He was carefully nursed, and for several days, ap¬ 
peared likely to recover ; but experienced a relapse, 
and finally died. It is an axiom of Hippocrates, 
that death is ultimately certain, after a complete ab¬ 
stinence of seven days, whatever care may be taken 
of the patient. 


Combativeness. A phrenological gentleman 
says, that the organ of Combativeness is so strongly 
developed in the heads of Frenchmen and Ameri¬ 
cans, as to be a very decided national characteristic. 
He hence infers, that these two nations ought most 
carefully to avoid going to war, and to choose any 
antagonists rather than each other. This precau¬ 
tion, he avers, is the more indispensable, because 
the combative organs, on both sides, will increase 
with indulgence, and finally become quite uncon¬ 
trollable. — 

Sir Isaac Newton was born in 1642—the year 
of Galileo’s death. 


Florida was discovered by Ponce de Leon, on the 
11th of April, 1512. 











335 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


MODERN JEWISH PASSOVER. 

[From the French.] 

The feast of the Passover, among the modern 
Jews, commences on the fifteenth day of the month 
in which their fathers fled from Egypt, and which 
is called Nisan. It continues during seven days for 
the Jews who inhabit Jerusalem and its vicinity, and 
eight for the Jews in other parts of the world. The 
Sabbath which precedes the Passover is named the 
Great Sabbath; and on this day, the rabbin of each 
synagogue delivers a lecture, in which he e.xplains 
the rules that are to be observed, on the approach 
of the feast.—During this time, the Jews are per¬ 
mitted to eat no other than unleavened bread, and 
must be careful that no leaven remains in their hou¬ 
ses. To this end, on the thirteenth day, the most 
cautious search is made by the head of the family, 
in all parts of the house. All the leaven that can 
be found is collected in one vessel, preserved care¬ 
fully during the night, and burned the next day with 
the vessel which contains it. Great solemnity is 
observed in performing this. At the feast of the 
Passover, no vessel is used which has ever contained 
leaven ; and, for a similar reason,all the kitchen uten¬ 
sils, that are in ordinary use, are put aside and re¬ 
placed by new ones, or by vessels which are pre¬ 
served from one Passover to another. Even the 
kitchen tables, chairs, and floors, are purified, at 
first with hot water, and afterwards with cold. 

When the purification is finished, they prepare 
the unleavened cakes, which are to be substitued for 
the ordinary bread. These cakes are kneaded but 
a short time before baking, in order to prevent all 
fermentation. They are generally small, round, 
and full of little holes ; they should be made of flour 
and water only ; but the richer class of Jews add 
eggs and sugar. It is not allowable to eat them on 
the first day of the feast, nor to drink any liquor 
made of grain, during its whole continuance. The 
Jews drink nothing but water, or the unfermented 
juice of the grape. On the fourteenth day of the 
month, the first-born of each family is obliged to 
fast, in remembrance that the first-born of the Israel¬ 
ites were passed over, when the angel of the Lord 
slew all the first-born of Egypt. On the evening 
of the same day, the men assemble in the synagogue 
to prepare themselves for the feast by prayers ; and 
during this time, the females get ready the tables 
against their return. All the most beau.tiful furni¬ 
ture that they have, is brought to light ^ori this oc¬ 
casion. On one of the plates, they place a quarter 
of roast lamb and an egg; and on another, three 
cakes; carefully enveloped in two napkins. On a 
third plate, they put lettuce, parsley, celery, and 
horse-radish. These are their bitter herbs. Near 
these herb^,' there is a vessel of vinegar, salt, and 
water, '^here is also a dish, which is supposed to 
represent, in the eyes of the Jews, the bricks which 
their ancestors were compelled to make in Egypt; 
it is a thick paste, composed of apples, almonds, 
nuts, and figs, moistened with wine. 

Around the table on which is served the paschal 
lamb, the unleavened cakes, and the bitter herbs, 
the whole family seats itself; and then commences 
what may be termed a ceremony, rather than a 
repast. The master of the house pronounces a ben¬ 


ediction on what is set before them, and particularly 
on the wine. Then, leaning on his left arm, with 
the loftiest air that he can assume, (for he intends 
to represent the liberty which the Israelites regain¬ 
ed, by their flight from Egypt,) he drinks a little of 
the wine ; and this example is followed by the rest of 
the family. Each person then dips a portion of the 
bitter herbs in vinegar and eats them, while the 
chief of the family pronounces a second benediction. 
He then unfolds the napkins, and taking the middle 
one of the three cakes which are wrapped up in 
them, he breaks it in halves, and replaces one of the 
pieces between the other two cakes. The other 
piece he conceals under his seat, or under the cush¬ 
ion of his chair, in remembrance of the circumstance 
related by Moses (Exodus, xii. 34.) ‘ And the 

people took their dough before it was leavened, their 
kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes 
upon their shoulders.’ Then the head of the family 
lifts the lamb and the egg from the table, while all 
who are present unit^in taking up the plate which 
contains the cakes, and say, as with one voice:— 
‘ Here is the bread of poverty and affliction, which 
our fathers ate in Egypt; let him who is hungry 
come and eat; whosoever hath need, let him enter 
and eat of the paschal lamb. . This year, we are here ; 
the next if it be God’s will, we shall be in the Land 
of Canaan. This year, we are slaves ; the next, if 
God permit, we shall be free children of the family, 
and masters.’ 

The lamb and the egg are then anew placed on 
the table ; the plate containing the cakes is removed 
in order that the children may inquire what is the 
meaning of this rite. If there are no children, some 
member of the family makes the question in regu¬ 
lar form. In answer, an account is given of the 
captivity, the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt, 
their deliverance by Moses, and the institution of 
the Passover on that occasion. This narrative is 
followed by some psalms and hymns, chanted by 
all the family. The unleavened bread is then re¬ 
placed upon the table, and morsels of it are distrib¬ 
uted to all. It was formerly the custom to eat the 
paschal lamb ; but this is now laid aside. The Jews 
assign as a reason, that it is not lawful to eat this 
holy lamb at a distance from the Land of Canaan, 
and in a foreign and unsanctified country. 

A plentiful supper follows the ceremony, which 
is repeated, in nearly the same form, on the second 
evening. On the two first and the two last days 
of the feast, there is a great solemnity and much 
pomp in the synagogues ; and the Jews abstain from 
all labour, almost as strictly as on the Sabbath. The 
four intermediate days are not so strictly observed. 
The last day terminates with a ceremony called Hab- 
dala, during which the head of the family, holding 
in his hand a cup of wine, repeats several chapters 
of Scripture, drinks a little of the wine, and passes 
the cup to the rest. 


In India, the system of Nature is on a grand scale. 
The bamboo, which answers to the reed of other 
countries, grows to the height of fifty feet, and is 
eight feet in circumference. Other productions are 
of proportionate magnitude. 





336 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


RUBIES. 

Among the crown jewels of Pegu, there was for¬ 
merly a most magnificent ruby. Such was its size 
and splendour, that the inhabitants of Pegu consid¬ 
ered it a subject of national glory, that this inesti¬ 
mable precious stone was in the possession of their 
king. In the hyperbolical language of the East, it 
was said that, if the great ruby of Pegu were to be 
thrown into a river, its intense and brilliant red 
would turn the water to blood. When the Burmahs 
conquered Pegu, they searched in vain for the great 
ruby; nor could they, by any tortures or threats of 
punishment, discover where it was concealed. The 
king of Pegu, a small, weak, and paralytic old man, 
was stripped naked and shut up in an iron cage, in 
the city of Rangoon. In this situation he continu¬ 
ed twelve years, and was never permitted to leave 
his iron cage, except on occasions of festival, when 
he was brought out to adorn the triumph of his con- 
querours. It was observed that the old king held 
continually in his hand a lump of pitch, which was 
supposed to be a charm or talfsman, such as the su¬ 
perstitious people of that country are in the habit of 
carrying about their persons. At length he died, 
and his body was thrown out to be devoured by 
dogs and birds of prey. A Burmah soldier, per¬ 
ceiving that the hand of the dead king still grasped 
the lump of pitch, had the curiosity to force it from 
him with his spear, and examined it. It enclosed 
the long-sought ruby, which the poor old king had 
thus preserved for twelve years—prizing it as much 
perhaps, as he did his kingdom. 

The Burmahs set a superstitious value upon ru¬ 
bies. It is, or was, the custom of many of them to 
make an incision into their flesh, generally in the 
arm or leg, and to put a ruby in the wound, which 
soon heals over it. There the gem remains, through¬ 
out the possessor’s life, and is considered a charm 
of wonderful efficacy. Whenever the English 
fought a battle with the Burmahs, they used to ex¬ 
amine the dead bodies, and, if they observed a rising 
in the flesh, would cut into it, in search of rubies. 


NORWEGIAN PEASANTS. 

Barrow, a recent traveller in Norway, gives a very 
lively description of the peasantry of that country. 
The men wear red skullcaps, and a short jacket 
and trousers ; at their waists they carry large knives, 
in leathern belts ornamented with brass.—These 
knives are very serviceable instruments. They are 
used to cut wood, bread and cheese, to make chairs, 
tables, saddles, carts, and wheels, chests, boxes, 
bowls, spoons, and all other sorts of wooden ware. 
They often acquire great skill in carving, and pro¬ 
duce excellent specimens of art, with no other tool 
than the knife. In 1688, when Christian V. visited 
Tronyem, a cow-herd, who had stood by the road¬ 
side to see the king pass, carved a wooden bust of 
him. In his momentary glimpse of the monarch’s 
features, the self-taught artist had caught so accu¬ 
rate a likeness, and had wrought it out so admira¬ 
bly with his knife, that the bust was sent to the 
royal museum at Copenhagen, where it is still pre¬ 
served. Each peasant is his own carpenter, black¬ 
smith, weaver, rope-maker, tailor, and cabinet-ma¬ 


ker. Some of them have made such proficiency 
in the mechanic arts, as to construct clocks, watches, 
and even church-organs. 

At a rustic feast, the table was a pine-board, well- 
scoured, on which were heaped great quantities of 
oat-meal cakes, of enormous circumference, but as 
thin as a wafer; there was also fish, dried and fresh; 
and huge bowls of cream, beaten up with eggs and 
other ingredients. But the most singular delicacies 
of the feast were two large wooden bowls of butter, 
in the centre of which was stuck a tallow candle. 
As the candle burnt down, it diffused rivulets of 
melted tallow over the surface of the butter, and 
both were eaten together. Whenever a guest en¬ 
ters a Norwegian cottage, a bowl of butter is set be¬ 
fore him, in token of welcome. It is also customaty 
to offer a glass of spirits. We Americans have been 
said to shake hands more frequently, and on slighter 
acquaintance, than any other people; but in Nor¬ 
way the custom is so universal, that, when a beggar 
has received an alms, he holds out his hand to ex¬ 
change a shake with his benefactor. 


Fidelity. Captain Walcot, at his execution for 
being concerned in one of the plots, in Charles the 
Second’s time, advised his friends, ‘ that they would 
neither hear any man speak, nor speak themselves, 
that which they would not have repeated ; for there 
is no such thing as faith in man to man, whatever 
there is in man to God ; Either the tears of a wife, 
or a family of little helpless children, something or 
other, will attempt or provoke men to betray one 
another.’ These are the bitter words of one about 
to die for a friend’s breach of confidence. We do 
not concur with Captain Walcot, as to the univer¬ 
sal faithlessness of mankind :—there are many single 
men whom we would trust, even when their truth 
to us might be ruin to themselves ; but, to speak 
frankly, no husbands, no fathers. Not that a man’s 
love of wife or child is stronger than his self-love— 
but with the former love, he patches up a much 
more plausible excuse to his conscience. 


Curious Discovery. It has recently been dis¬ 
covered, that, if water be permitted to run out, 
through a hole in the bottom of the vessel which 
contains it, a vortex will be formed in a direction 
contrary to the course of the sun. This is said to 
be invariably the fact; and if the water be forcibly 
made to whirl round in the opposite course, yet, as 
soon as the opposing power is removed, it will begin 
to turn contrary to the sun. The discoverer of 
this phenomenon imputes it to the rotation of the 
earth on its axis, and deduces from it a method of 
finding the latitude of places. 


The streets of Paris are daily throng^ with 
twenty-five thousand horses, and fifteen thousand 
vehicles of all sorts. 


The oriental nations wrote from the right side of 
the paper to the left; the western nations of Europe 
wrote from the left to the right, as we do ; the Greeks 
wrote one line from the right to the left, and the 
next from the left to the right. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


33 : 



PHRENOLOGY. 

In the present state of the science, we cannot 
advise our readers to expend any considerable part 
of their time in the study of it. If we take the 
judgments of philosophers and scholars throughout 
the world, we shall find that the majority disbelieve 
its doctrines, while comparatively few give them 
their unreserved assent. Phrenology, therefore, in 
reference to the opinion of the wise, must still be 
ranked among the doubtful sciences. For ought 
we know, it may hereafter be as irrefragably con¬ 
firmed as any other doctrine, in physics or meta¬ 
physics. On the other hand, the next generation 
may see cause to reject it, as utterly as we do ju¬ 
dicial astrology, or the physiognomy of Lavater. 
Its strongest advocates have not yet settled the de¬ 
tails of the science, nor perhaps its general princi¬ 
ples, to their own mutual satisfaction. Let them 
agree among themselves, before they ask the public 
to agree with them. In the mean time, and till 
Phrenology shall have proved itself a branch of 
Useful Knowledge, we had rather fill our pages 
with certain and admitted truths, than with contro¬ 
verted theories. It is the business of the professed 
student to enquire into what is doubtful; the man, who 
has little time for study, should be sure that he does 
not waste that little on a worthless subject. He 
may otherwise find, after months and years, that he 
has spent half the leisure of his life in filling his 
mind with trash, which it will take him the other 
half to get rid of. The brief article, with which we 
intend to illustrate the above Phrenological Cuts, 
will comprehend all that it is now worth while to 
read about the matter. 

The cerebral functions are divided by Spurzheim 
into iwo Orders:—the Feelings, or Affective Facul¬ 
ties ; and the Intellectual Faculties. Both of these 
orders may be subdivided into several genera, and 
each genus into several species. Of the Feelings 
or Affective Faculties some are called propensities, 
and others, sentiments. The former are possessed 
both by man and animals ; of the latter, some be¬ 
long only to man, and others are shared with ani¬ 
mals. The Intellectual Faculties are of two kinds— 
the perceptive, which have reference to the external 
world—and the reflective, which relate to the opera¬ 
tions of the mind within itself. The subdivisions 



2 . 

of these genera it is needless to enumerate. Each 
and all of the Faculties, both Affective and Intellec¬ 
tual, are supposed to operate by means of organs in 
the brain. The situation of the different organs 
may be seen in the Cuts, which represent the front 
and back view of a Phrenological bust. 

I. In the list of Affective Faculties, the first is 
Destructiveness, the seat of which is immediately 
above each ear. Dr. Spurzheim speaks rather 
doubtfully as to the design of Nature in giving us 
this propensity. It is however universally possessed 
by man and animals. When strongly developed, 
it impels people to pinch, bite, scratch, break, tear, 
cut, stab, strangle, demolish, devastate, burn, drown, 
kill, poison, murder, and assassinate. II. Amative¬ 
ness, or Physical Love. This organ is situated at 
the top of the neck, and its size may be known by 
measuring the breadth of the head, behind the ears. 
Its manifestations do not require to be described. 
III. Philoprogenitiveness. This organ is largest 
in females, and generally forms a protuberance on 
the back of their heads. Its effect is the love of 
offspring. IV. Adhesiveness is situated upward 
and outward from Philoprogenitiveness, towards 
each side of the head. Those who are constant in 
love, and faithful in friendship, are said to possess 
this organ large. It is larger in women than in 
men. V. Inhabitiveness. The size of this organ 
determines the decree of attachment to home. ■ It 
is situated immediately above Philoprogenitiveness. 
VI. Combativeness. This is the organ of quarrel¬ 
ling and fighting—propensities which seem more 
likely to produce bumps on the head, than to be 
caused by them. It is situated between Philopro¬ 
genitiveness and Destructiveness. VII. Secretive¬ 
ness. Persons in whom secretiveness predominates, 
delight in mystery; they conceal trifles as well as 
matters of importance; they pursue their ends by 
indirect means. The seat of this organ is on the 
side of the head, immediately above Destructiveness 
VIII. Acquisitiveness. When large, this organ in 
dicates a natural thief; in its more moderate de 
velopements, it produces the desire for gain. It i-/ 
situated above Secretiveness, and between Ideality 
and Cautiousness. IX. Constructivenes^ indicates 
a disposition to mechanical arts. Its place is at the 
temples. X. Next come the Sentiments, the firs 
43 















838 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


of which is Cautiousness. This organ, according 
to its greater or less developement,indicates different 
degrees of timidity. It is situated on the back part 
of the head, between Adhesiveness and Acquisitive¬ 
ness. XI. Love of Approbation. This organ, 
which is sufficiently defined by its name, is situated 
directly above Adhesiveness. XII. Self-Esteem is 
larger in men than women. It is placed above In- 
habiliveness, and bounded on each side by the Love 
of Approbation. XIII. Benevolence extends back¬ 
ward from the top of the forehead, where the hair 
begins to grow. The vicious and ill-tempered have 
a flat place or a hollow in that part. XIV. Rev¬ 
erence. This organ is situated on the top of the 
head, immediately behind Benevolence. Eminently 
devout people are said to possess it very large. 
XV. Firmness, when largely developed, indicates 
obstinacy; when too small, the character lacks 
strength. Its seat is on the top of the head, be¬ 
tween Self-Esteem and Reverence. XVI. Con¬ 
scientiousness. This organ is situated on each side 
of Firmness, and next to the Love of Approbation. 
Its office is, to judge the right or wrong of all our 
thoughts and actions. XVII. Hope is situated on 
the side of the head, beneath Firmness and above 
Acquisitiveness. XVIII. Marvellousness. People, 
who possess this organ very strong, seek and find 
something wonderful in the most ordinary occur¬ 
rences. It is situated in front of Hope, and is 
partly bounded by Reverence. XIX. Ideality. 
This is the poet’s organ. It produces the sublime 
in the arts, and causes enthusiasm in every pursuit. 
It is placed next to Marvellousness, and these two 
organs frequently act together. XX. Mirth/ulncss. 
Before a person tries to be witty, he should examine 
his head in search of this organ. If he do not find 
a prominence on the side of his forehead, towards 
the upper part, he may relinquish all hopes of ex¬ 
citing a laugh, save at his own expense. XXI. 
Imitation. This organ is very strong in mimics, 
and should be so in monkeys. It is essential to 
success in the arts of drawing, painting, and sculp¬ 
ture. Its position may be seen in the Cut. This 
completes the list of the Affective Faculties. 

Next come the Intellectual Faculties, which are 
all situated in the forehead or its vicinity. XXII. 
Individuality is immediately above the root of the 
nose, between the eyebrows. It causes us to take 
notice of external objects. XXIII. Configuration. 
The size of this organ, when large, is indicated by 
the distance between the eyes. It disposes us to 
observe the shape and aspect of things, and to as¬ 
sign figures to our own conceptions ;—thus, when 
we think of Death, we figure to ourseRes a skele¬ 
ton. XXIV. Size. Those, in whom this organ is 
largely developed, form accurate ideas of the size of 
objects. XXV. Weight. This faculty procures 
the knowledge of the specific gravity of objects. 
XXVI. Colouring, or the organ of distinguishing 
colours. This varies so much in different individ¬ 
uals, that some have no perception of colours, or 
can merely tell black from white, while others can 
accurately discriminate among 750,000 shades of 
colour. XXVII. Locality. The faculty of remem¬ 
bering places. XXVIll. Order is situated above 
^he eye, between Colouring and Calculation. Among 


other good effects, it produces cleanliness and tidi¬ 
ness. XXIX. Calculation. In persons possessed 
of great powers of reckoning, the external angle of 
the eyebrow is either pressed downward or remarka¬ 
bly elevated. XXX. Eventuality. This organ 
forms a prominence in the middle of the forehead, 
when largely developed. Individuals who possess 
it are attentive to all that happens around them. It 
is essential to secretaries, historians, teachers, and 
editors. XXXI. Time. This faculty enables to 
conceive of the duration of phenomena, their simul¬ 
taneousness or succession. XXXII. Tune. The 
organ of Tune bears to the ears the same relation 
as that of colour does to the eyes. When very 
large the external corners of the forehead are round¬ 
ed by it. XXXIII. Language. ThR organ, in a 
high degree of developement, renders uie eyes very 
prominent. It enables people to find words for 
their ideas. XXXIV. Comparison points out the 
similitudes, analogies, differences, or identity of 
things, and comprehends their relations, harmony, 
or discord. XXXV. Causality is situated on each 
side of Comparison, and, when largely developed, 
gives a hemispherical shape to the upper part of 
the forehead. All which man produces by art, de¬ 
pends upon this faculty. Comparison and Causality 
combined constitute reason. 


A Benefactor. —Laud, Archbishop of Canter¬ 
bury in the reign of Charles the First, was perhaps 
the greatest benefactor that ever New England had. 
True ; he meant nothing of the kind; yet, without 
his priestly tyranny, the Mayflower would never 
have been chartered—the hallowed feet of those old 
ministers and godly men would never have stepped 
upon the Rock of Plymouth—and Winthrop and all 
his associates might have worshipped in the parish- 
churches where their fathers did. New England 
would have remained long a wilderness, and at last 
have been settled by mere worldly adventurers, 
the most desperate of their generation, instead of 
the wisest and holiest. Their descendants would 
not have possessed that distinctive character which 
brought about the Revolution. Liberty would have 
had no cradle; and the world would have been hin¬ 
dered in its march, perhaps for centuries, but for the 
timely aid of the Archbishop. Allowing this esti¬ 
mate of his influence to be greatly overstrained, he 
yet stands a memorable example of the providence 
by which Error is made to do for Truth, what Truth 
could not so well do for itself. Errour fights in the 
dark, and inflicts the heaviest blows on its own 
party in the battle; all its strength, as appears by 
the final result, goes to eke out the weakness of the 
adversary. For more than errour, in addition to 
great infirmities of temper. Archbishop Laud does 
not seem to be accountable. He did not, so far as 
we can judge from his private diary, sin against his 
own conscience. At his death, he showed the 
spirit of a martyr; for, when about to be beheaded, 
looking through the boards of the scaffold, he saw 
some of the crowd underneath, and desired that the 
chinks might be closed up. ‘ I desire not,’ said the 
fallen Archbishop, ‘ that my blood should be upon 
their heads.’ 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


339 



APRIL FOOLS. 

It is a curious fact, that the custom of making 
April Fools prevails in the most widely separated 
regions of the globe, and that, everywhere, its ori¬ 
gin is hidden in remote antiquity. The Hindoos 
on the Ganges practise it; in all the European 
countries it exists, in one shape or another ; the 
French make what they call April Fish; and, in 
America, it is one of the few mirthful customs which 
our fathers brought from merry Old England. 
When once such a fashion was established, we 
should suppose that human nature might be pretty 
safely trusted to keep it up. It is desirable to have 
the privilege of saying, on one day in the year— 
what we perhaps think, every day—that our ac¬ 
quaintances are fools. But the false refinement of 
the present age has occasioned the rites of the 
holyday to fall somewhat into desuetude. It is not 
unreasonable to conjecture, that this child’s play, as 
it has now become, was, when originally institut¬ 
ed, a vehicle of the strongest satire which mankind 
could wreak upon itself. The people of antiquity, 
we may imagine, used to watch each other’s con¬ 
duct throughout the year, and assemble on All 
Fools’ Day, to pass judgment on what they had ob¬ 
served. Whoever, in any respect, had gone astray 
from reason and common sense, the community 
were licensed to point the finger, and laugh at him 
for an April Fool. How many, we wonder, whether 
smooth-chinned or gray-bearded, would be found 
so wise in great and little matters, as to escape the 
pointed finger and the laugh. 

It is a pity that this excellent old custom has so 
degenerated. Much good might still result from 
such a festival of foolery; for though our own indi¬ 
vidual follies are too intimately blended with our 
natures to be seen or felt, yet the dullest of us are 
sufficiently acute in detecting the foolery of our 
neighbours. Let us, by way of example, point our 


finger at a few of the sage candidates for the hon¬ 
ours of All Fools’ Day. 

He who has wasted the past year in idleness, 
neglecting his opportunities of honourable exertion ; 
he who has learnt nothing good, nor weeded his 
mind of anything evil; he who has been heaping up 
gold, and thereby gained as many cares and inquie¬ 
tudes as there are coins in his strong-box; he who 
has reduced himself from affluence to poverty, 
whether by riotous living or desperate speculations: 
these four are April Fools. He who has climbed, 
or suffered himself to be lifted, to a station for which 
he is unfit, does but stand upon a pedestal, to show 
the world an April Fool. The gray-haired man, 
who has sought the joys of wedlock with a girl in 
her teens, and the young girl who has wedded an 
old man for his wealth, are a pair of April Fools. 
The married couple, who have linked themselves 
for life, on the strength of a week’s liking; the ill- 
matched pair, who turn their roughest sides towards 
each other, instead of making the best of a bad bar¬ 
gain ; the young man who has doomed himself to a 
life of difficulties by a too early marriage ; the mid¬ 
dle-aged bachelor who is waiting to be rich; the 
damsel who has trusted her lover too far; the lover 
who is downcast for a damsel’s fickleness;—all 
these are April Fools. The farmer, who has left a 
good homestead in New England, to migrate to the 
Mississippi Valley, or any where else, on this side 
of Heaven ; the fresh-cheeked youth who has gone 
to find his grave at New Orleans; the Yankees who 
have enlisted for Texas; the merchant who has 
speculated on a French war ; the author who writes 
for fame—or for bread, if he can do better: the 
student who has turned aside from the path of his 
profession, and gone astray in poetry and fanciful¬ 
ness:—what are these, but a motley group of April 
Fools? And the wiseacre who thinks himself a 
fool in nothing—Oh, superlative April Fool! 

But what a fool are we, to waste our ink and 












































340 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


paper in making out a catalogue of April Fools. 
We will add but one or two more. He who, for 
any earthly consideration, inflicts a wrong on his 
own conscience, is a most egregious April Fool. 
The mortal man, who has neglected to think of 
Eternity, till he finds himself at the utmost bourn 
of Time,—Death points at him for an April Fool. 
And now let the whole world, discerning its own 
nonsense, and humbug, and charlatanism, and how 
in all things, or most, it is both a deceiver and de¬ 
ceived—let it point its innumerable fingers, and 
shout in its own ear—Oh, World, you April Fool! 
Lastly, if the reader in turning over this page, 
have not profited by the moral truths which it con¬ 
tains, must we not write him down in our list of 
April Fools? But if there be no truths, nothing 
well said, nor worth saying, we shall find it out 
anon; and whisper to ourself,—‘ Mr. Editor, you 
are an April Fool.’ 

AMERICA AND THE ANCIENTS. 

[From the French.] 

In 1786, Charles III, king of Spain, sent an ex¬ 
pedition to America, to examine the Mexican an¬ 
tiquities, and especially those of Milla and Palemjue. 
The researches of the travellers produced no impor¬ 
tant result. Some years later, a second expedition 
sailed from Spain, with the design of examining 
more carefully the places which had already been 
explored. On their arrival in Mexico, they ascer¬ 
tained that there was a deserted and ruinous city, 
six leagues in extent, situated in the province of 
Tzendales. They penetrated into the frightful soli¬ 
tude which surrounded it, and were amazed to find 
themselves in the midst of a city, the solidity of 
whose edifices, and the magnificence of whose mon¬ 
uments, were no less wonderful than the immensity 
of its extent. Antique idols of granite or porphyry, 
pyramids, subterranean sepulchres, foundations of 
huge stones, bas-reliefs of colossal size, either sculp¬ 
tured on blocks of granite, or modelled in stucco¬ 
work, zodiacks, hieroglyphics, and other relics of 
remote antiquity, met their eyes on all sides. This 
metropolis, concealed for ages in the middle of a 
vast desert, had remained unknown till 1750. It 
was at that period that the Spanish government 
conceived the first design of the scientific expe¬ 
dition, which was ordered and executed in 1786. 
This, and two succeeding expeditions, cost Spain a 
hundred thousand dollars, which, however, were re¬ 
paid by the advantages that accrued to science. 

It is natural to inquire, how came these wonder¬ 
ful works of man in the desert, and who were the 
people that created them? Numerous proofs, 
among which we may reckon the form and archi¬ 
tecture of the Mexican ruins, leave no room to 
doubt, that the New World was visited and proba¬ 
bly colonized by voyagers from Europe, many cen¬ 
turies previous to the expedition of Columbus. The 
temples of Mexico are constructed on the same plan 
as those of Delphi and Pausanias, and were called 
Teo-callie —a word of Greek origin. A Mexican 
planter has recently discovered a small vault, in 
which were two ancient swords, a helmet, and 
buckler, all greatly damaged by rust, and an earthen 
pitcher of great size. On the hilt of one of the 


swords was engraved a portrait resembling that of 
Alexander, and on the helmet was a representation 
of Achilles, dragging the dead body of Hector rourKl 
the walls of Troy. On the stone, which covered 
the vault, was an inscription in Greek, partly obliter¬ 
ated, yet sufficiently legible to show the names of 
Alexander, king of Macedon, and of I’tolemy, the 
commander of his fleet. If this story be authentic, 
we might conjecture that Ptolemy and his fleet 
were driven into mid-ocean by a tempest, and finally 
cast on the shores of Brazil, where they founded a 
now forgotten empire. 

Hanging Rock. —Four miles above the mouth of 
Little Sandy river, (says the American Journal of 
Science and the Arts,) on the right banK of the Ohio, 
there is a celebrated clifl'of sandstone, called Hang¬ 
ing Rock. The upper portion of the cliflT, which is 
nearly four hundred feet high, projects over the up¬ 
right face of the rock, like the cornice of a house. 
It extends also, some distance up a creek, which 
here makes into the bank'of the river. The Ohio 
flows close to the base of the clift’, while, directly 
beneath the projecting roof of the Hanging Rock, is 
erected a forge for refining iron. I'he blasts of its 
immense bellows, and the thundering strokes of its 
tremendous hammer, echo and reverberate along 
the clifl', so as to give a lively idea tif the workshop 
of Vulcan, within Mount iEtna, where he and his 
Cyclops forged Jupiter’s thunderbolts. 

Burning Spring. —One of the most remarkable 
of the gaseous Springs, in the valley of the Kena- 
wha, is called the Burning Spring, and is near the 
centre of the salines. The gas rises, through the 
alluvial soil, into a cavity, of about a foot in depth 
and five or six feet in diameter. It is eight or ten 
rods from the river. Except in dry seasons, the 
cavity is partly filled with water, through which the 
inflammable air makes its way with a considerable 
ebullition. On being kindled with a firebrand or a 
candle, it throws up a light, lambent flame, several 
feet high, which illuminates the neighbouring ob¬ 
jects in a singular manner, and gives a ghastly as¬ 
pect to those persons who surround this Fountain 
of Fire. The gas has been gushing forth for un¬ 
known ages, without any perceptible diminution 
of the quantity. - 

Fortitude. —General Piclou was one of the 
bravest and best officers in the British service. In 
one of the conflicts that preceded the great day of 
Waterloo, he received a very severe wound, which 
broke several of his ribs; but, being aware that a 
decisive battle was at hand, he concealed the injury 
from all but his confidential servant, lest he should 
be intreated to remain under the surgeon’s care. 
At Waterloo, he placed himself at the head of his 
division, and led a charge against the French. It 
is supposed that his wound would have been mortal, 
and that the hand of death was even then upon 
him; yet, worn out, feverish, and agonized, he still 
concealed his torment, and was foremost in the 
charge. While glancing along the line, and wav¬ 
ing his sword to encourage his men onward, he re¬ 
ceived a bullet in the brain, and fell back on hii 
^ horse—dead. 










341 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


MARTHA’S VINEYARD. 

It is not generally known, that, in ancient times, 
the Vineyard, with Nantucket and the neighbouring 
islets, constituted a separate colony, wholly inde¬ 
pendent of any other jurisdiction in America. This 
territory was granted by William, Earl of Stirling, 
to Thomas Mayhew, formerly a merchant in the 
province of Massachusetts Day, but whose fame, 
rather traditionary than historical, has brought him 
down to posterity under the title of Governour 
Mayhew. He appears to have had as real and legal 
a claim to the gubernatorial dignity, as any of the 
French, Dutch, Swedish, or English potentates, 
who then bore sway within what are now the limits 
of the United States and Canada. Governour 
Mayhew came into office in 1642; at which time, 
there were a few English families at one extremity 
of the island, whom Providence had brought thither, 
while their vessel was wandering along the coast in 
search of Virginia. The descendants of the Nor¬ 
tons, who were among these early settlers, are now 
very numerous in the Vineyard. The rest of Gov¬ 
ernour Mayhew’s territory was inhabited by the red 
men, whose sachems seem to be independent chiefs, 
yet owed a species of feudal homage to the great 
Sachem of the Wampanoags, who ruled on the 
main land. The Governour had been partly induc¬ 
ed to emigrate to Martha’s Vineyard, by the hope 
of converting the Indians to Christianity ; and con¬ 
temporary writers give such statements of his suc¬ 
cess, as we might find it difficult to believe ; if the 
French missionaries had not also proved, at about 
the same period, that the red man had a soul for 
the white man’s Heaven. Be that as it may, Gov¬ 
ernour Mayhew undoubtedly gained an influence 
over the Indians of the isles, which was exerted 
equally for their good as his own, and that of his 
countrymen in Plymouth and Massachusetts. Dur¬ 
ing his rule, there were no wars in the Vineyard ; 
by the mild energy of his character, the Indians 
there were kept quiet, while king Philip was stirring 
up the savages to their last great struggle with the 
civilized invader; and when the good old Gov¬ 
ernour was called away, the martial spirit of the 
race had long been fled. 

We love to dwell upon the history of the little 
province, and eke out its unwritten portions by the 
aid of fancy. We wonder whether the inhabitants 
ever troubled themselves about a constitution, a 
charter, or a bill of rights? Did they grumble at the 
sovereignty of Great Britain, and bluster about in¬ 
dependence? Did the people send representatives 
to the General Court of Martha’s Vineyard, or was 
it the custom, as formerly i;i Massachusetts, for the 
whole body of the freemen to legislate in person ? 
Or, as appears more probable, was Goverour May¬ 
hew’s head the legislative, and his hand the execu¬ 
tive branch of power? If so, the good old man 
must be set down in the list of despots, and, but 
for a kind and upright heart, might have been as 
black a tyrant as the worst of them. How large a 
standing army did this potentate maintain, and 
what portion of the troops kept guard before his 
palace-gates, or attended him, when he marched 
through his dominions? Where did the prison 
stand, and where the scaflfold, and how many trai¬ 


tors, or other criminals, were executed under Gov¬ 
ernour Mayhew’s warrant? What rebellions or in¬ 
testine commotions disturbed the Vineyard, and 
what hostilities with the rival powers across the 
Sound ? What were the alliances of this Common¬ 
wealth, and what the general system of its foreign 
policy ? For the support of his administration, did 
the Governour levy taxes at his own pleasure? And 
did he, like his brethren of Massachusetts, assume 
the regal prerogative of coining money ? On his 
death-bed, did he nominate his successor ?—or was 
it by Divine Right that Thomas the Second suc¬ 
ceeded to his father’s chair of state ? For certain 
it is, that the dynasty of the Mayhews was contin¬ 
ued in the person of the first ruler’s son, who also,, 
we believe, combined Church with State, and was 
himself the whole clergy of the province. Legis¬ 
lator! Captain-General! Chief-Priest! All that 
monarchs aspire to be, such were the Mayhews of 
Martha’s Vineyard.* 

The separate sovereignty of this little insular na¬ 
tion was more than once disputed by the large pro¬ 
vinces in its neighbourhood. In 1644, the Com¬ 
missioners of the United Colonies (on what pretence, 
save the right of the strongest, does not appear) 
annexed Martha’s Vineyard to the jurisdiction of 
Massachusetts. This was during the civil war in 
England, when an appeal to the King must have 
been fruitless, and one to the Parliament would 
have resulted in its sanction of the Puritan usurpa¬ 
tion. It is probable, however, as we do not trace 
its strong character in the early history of the island, 
that Massachusetts was satisfied with asserting its 
title, and made no attempt to deprive the Mahews 
of their just authority. Wherever the energetic 
government of the Bay-province did actually bear 
sway, its influence was too perceptible to be over¬ 
looked, and too peculiar to be mistaken. In after 
years, the claim was either withdrawn or forgotten, 
and the Mayhews ruled the Vineyard in peace, till 
late in the reign of Charles the Second. The island, 
without regard to the previous title of Governour 
Mayhew, was then granted to the King’s brother 
James, and annexed to the province of New York, 
which had recently been taken from the Dutch. 
But neither in this case, was the external jurisdic¬ 
tion much more than nominal; and Martha’s Vine¬ 
yard still remained a separate dominion, merely 
paying the Duke of York an annual tribute of two 
barrels of pickled cod-fish. His Royal Highness 
being a Catholic, the object of this arrangement 
was doubtless to obtain a good supply of fish for 
his table, in Lent and other seasons of abstinence 
from flesh. A Whale would have been a tax more 
honourable to the bold hunters of the deep. The 
cod-fish subsidy was however done away in 1692, 
by a final union between Martha’s Vineyard and 
Massachusetts, and the effective exercise of the 
authority of the latter province within the limits of 


* Governour Mayhew died in 1681, at the great age of ninety- 
three. Gookin says, that Thomas Mayhew, the eldest son of the 
Governour, was lost on his passage to England, before his father’s 
death. It must therefore have been INlatthew, the second son, 
who succeeded to the family honours and prerogatives. There 
are many of the name of Mayhew still in the Vineyard, and they 
appear to feel a proper pride in their origin 






342 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


the island. Thus ended the rule of the peaceful 
Mayhews.* 

In time of peace, the jurisdiction of Massachu¬ 
setts has ever since had the same supremacy in 
Martha’s Vineyard, or Duke’s county, as in any of 
the counties on the main land. But a province, 
which is indefensible in war, cannot strictly be said 
to form an integral part of the country with which it is 
politically connected. It must always be allowed a 
degree of independence, in holding intercourse with 
the enemy; it would be its utter ruin, to take an 
active part in hostilities ; and however inoffensive in 
this respect, it will be likely to suffer more, save in 
the slaughter of inhabitants, than any other portion 
of the territory. This has been the case with Mar¬ 
tha’s Vineyard. We are not informed of the extent 
to which its prosperity was affected by the old wars 
between France and England; but in the Revolu¬ 
tionary contest, it was a severe sufferer, without the 
satisfaction of taking any revenge on its oppressors, 
or of helping to establish the liberties of America. 
The sons of the Vineyard were captured, and con¬ 
fined in the British prison-ships, w’here many of 
them died. The whaling business was entirely 
broken up. The island was continually exposed 
to the ravages of the enemy’s cruisers ; and 
in 1779, the English General Gray robbed it of 
one hundred and twenty oxen and ten thou¬ 
sand sheep, leaving the grass to grow uncropped on 
its desolate pastures. Before the close of the war, 
Martha’s Vineyard exercised one of its ancient 
rights, as a separate colony, by sending an agent or 
arnbassadour to London, to represent the proceed¬ 
ings of this wholesale cattle-stealer, and negociate a 
settlement of the claims which had thereby accrued. 
About a third of the value of the sheep and oxen 
was repaid by the British government. The Vine¬ 
yard long suffered under the depressing influence of 
its Revolutionary misfortunes, and perhaps had not 
entirely recovered from them, when they were in 
some measure renewed by the war of 1812. 

Thus much for the history of the island. In re¬ 
gard to its present condition, a month’s residence 
enables us to give a few hasty sketches, which per¬ 
haps may entertain the reader; as Martha’s Vine¬ 
yard lies somewhat out of the beaten track of tour¬ 
ists and description-mongers. The settlement near¬ 
est to the main land is that of Holmes’s Hole; a 
name familiar to the wives of New England seamen, 
when, searching the ship-news, they are gladdened 
with the intelligence that their husbands have ar¬ 
rived thither, and are only awaiting a fair wind to 
bring them home. The port is separated from Fal¬ 
mouth, on the main, by the Vineyard sound, which 
is here about nine miles across. It is a small and 
rather shabby-looking town, with a few streets, 
which plough through such a heavy sand that the 
inhabitants have acquired a peculiar gait, by the 
constant habit of trudging ankle-deep along the side¬ 
walks. The young girls manage to perform it very 
gracefully. Some of the houses are painted yellow; 
others have a greenish tinge; but generally they 
present a dark and weather-beaten aspect, betoken¬ 

* The writer in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, from 
whom we have drawn most of the foregoing statements, speaks of 
the cod-fish tax, on the authority of tradition. 


ing that the inhabitants care little for outward show 
The meeting-houae has the same neglected look, 
and might, whether fairly or not, convey the idea 
that religion has gone somewhat out of fashion. 
Altogether, the town oflers a strange contrast to 
one of our white inland villages, with the architec¬ 
tural prettinesses of the dwellings, and the neat 
church, looking as if it were painted anew every 
Saturday in readiness for the Sabbath. The sandy 
lanes of Holmes’s Hole will as little bear a compari¬ 
son with a smooth village street, extending between 
two broad and verdant margins, and overshadowed 
by lofty elms, which almost intermingle their heavy 
boughs across it. In fact, there is a terrible de¬ 
ficiency of green grass and tall trees. Behind the 
town, the land rises in gentle swells, on the side of 
one of which may be discerned a small company of 
slate and marble grave-stones, marking the site of 
an ancient burial place. 

There are several shoe-maker’s shops in the town, 
one or two variety stores, a shop for the sale of 
ready-made clothing, and a post-office, where every 
mail-day, the vvhole correspondence of Holmes’s 
Hole and the vicinity is displayed at a window. 
There are two school-houses, each looking like a 
church in miniature, with a little tower and cupola ; 
and a bell which jingles as regularly as that of a 
college chapel. In school-hours, the voices of the 
children might be heard a long way off, all reciting 
their lesson together, in a sort of half-musical chant. 
Several times in the course of a day, a red flag was 
displayed at the door of an auction-room, and the 
auctioneer rang a hand-bell with such prodigious 
emphasis, that at least half a dozen maids and mat¬ 
rons w'aded through the sand to bid upon his goods. 
Sometimes, an old fashioned chaise drove into town, 
or else a wagon toiled heavily along, lugged by a 
yoke of the fine cattle of the Vineyard. Next, per¬ 
haps, the village doctor would be seen on horseback, 
plodding forth ten miles or more, to spend all the 
night abroad, for a scanty fee. And now, should 
there chance to be any passengers to-day—for its 
arrival depends upon that contingency—now ap¬ 
pears the stage-coach from Edgartown, the insular 
metropolis. Such are the trifles that serve to amuse 
the stranger, when the sultry sun and the heavy 
sand compel him to idle away the day at the win¬ 
dow of the inn. 

There are two wharves at Holmes’s Hole; one ex¬ 
tending out from the central part of the town, and 
the other about a mile below, at the entrance of the 
harbour. It is pleasant, in a Summer morning, to 
lean against one of the posts at the end of the inner 
wharf, and w’atch the boys angling for cunners, eels, 
scaupog, and other fish with Indian names; or to 
mark the arrival and departure of the packets, that 
ply between this port and New Bedford or Nan¬ 
tucket. The masters of these sloops seem to take 
more pride in them than in their dwelling-houses, 
if we may judge by the decorations and pretty 
flourishes of paint about the stern and bows. Be¬ 
fore the steam-boat came into competition with 
them, they had a great run of business, both as to 
freight and passengers, and still have not much 
cause to grumble. The flag being set—that is to 
say, lowered a little from the mast-head, as a signal 






343 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


of sailing orders—down come the passengers, wdth 
their trunks and great-coats, and step hastily aboard. 
But one old gentleman, bethinking himself that he 
has lelt a bundle ashore, entreats the skipper for 
time to run and fetch it. ‘ Well, well! But bear a 
hand ! ’ cries the impatient skipper; and off sets 
the old man at full speed. Meantime, the mainsail 
is hoisted; a horn is blown repeatedly to hasten the 
loitering passenger; the boys, playing about the 
deck, are ordered to bundle ashore; the moorings 
are on the point of being cast off—one instant more, 
and the old man will be too late. ‘Stop! Stop!’ 
he bellows from afar, and is now seen at the upper 
end of the wharf, with his baggage and sea-stores, 
consisting of a pan of gingerbread and the bundle 
aforesaid. He tumbles aboard, and the sloop, with 
her broad sail fluttering and shaking, glides slowly 
from the wharf; when up goes the jib, and she be¬ 
gins to feel the wind. 

Then we turn elsewhere for amusement, and per¬ 
ceive an old whaler standing in the shade of one of 
the warehouses. He has weathered Cape Horn 
some half a dozen times, but now makes it his bu¬ 
siness to catch fish along shore, and this morning, 
off Gay Head, has captured a prize that may be 
worth looking at. It is a sword-fish, the body al¬ 
ready cut up, but the head entire, and with the 
sw'ord protruding from the snout, five feet in length, 
flat, two-edged—an awful weapon ! Speak to the 
old man, and he will explain how he harpooned the 
monster, and tell us, moreover, that, once upon a 
time, sitting in the stern of his boat, she was stag¬ 
gered with a sudden shock; and up came a sword 
through the bottom, directly betw'een the astounded 
fisherman’s legs. The sword-fish is very common 
in these waters ; its meat is dry, but not ill-flavoured, 
and somewhat resembles halibut. 

But the greatest incident of the day, is the arrival 
of the steamboat from New Bedford, bound to Nan¬ 
tucket. A flag at the lower wharf is the signal of 
a single passenger, and will call her into the en¬ 
trance of the harbour; another flag at the upper 
wharf denotes three passengers or more, and will 
bring her all the way up to town. Both signals are 
set to-day. And here she comes round the point, 
already audible by the distant beating of her wheels, 
and whiz of steam, which rapidly grows more dis¬ 
tinct. Up she drives, right against the wind, nears 
the wharf, runs foul of a sloop’s bowsprit, lands a 
gentleman, a lady, and a horse, takes on board 
three or four of the Vineyard people—and is off 
again 1 But the curses of the packet-masters follow’ 
her, as she goes snorting on her way. ‘ May her 
boiler burst!’ they say in their hearts; and we say, 
‘Heaven forgive them!’ For our own part, how¬ 
ever, we prefer a vessel that voyages in the good 
old way, by the favour of the wind, instead of one 
that tears her passage through the deep in spite of 
wind and tide, snorting and groaning, as if torment¬ 
ed by the fire that rages in her entrails. 

If a person can muster resolution to wade through 
the sands of the village and reach the neighbouring 
pastures, he may then walk pleasantly on a soil 
thinly bestrewn with grass, and intermingled with 
moss, which gives an elastic spring beneath the 
feet. In a ramble, one Sabbath afternoon, we came 


to a secluded spot, hidden among the surrounding 
hills, and found three grave stones, of which the 
inscriptions were not likely to be often read. Yet 
one of them was worth reading. It was conse¬ 
crated to the memory of John and Lydia Claghorne, 
a young whaler and his wife, the former of whom 
had perished on the farther side of Cape Horn, 
about the same time that Lydia had died in child¬ 
bed. The monumental verse ran thus:— 

John and Lydia, that lovely pair, 

A whale killed him, her body lies here; 

Their souls, we hope, with Christ shall reign— 

So our great loss is their great gain. 

John Claghorne has now slept beneath the sea, 
and Lydia here in her lonesome bed, between sixty 
and seventy years. One of the rarest things in the 
world, is an appropriate and characteristic epitaph, 
marked with the truth and simplicity which a sor¬ 
rowing heart would pour into the effusion of an 
unlettered mind ; an expression, in unaffected lan¬ 
guage, of what would be the natural feelings of 
friends and relatives, were they standing above the 
grave. It seems to us, that this rude and homely 
verse may be ranked among the master-pieces of 
monumental literature. 

The general cemetery of Holmes’s Hole is at some 
distance from these three stones, and in open sight 
of the town, which here looks prettier than else¬ 
where, especially when brightened by the declining 
sunshine. On the left appears the sea, the sound, 
and Falmouth on the main, far enough off to be 
shrouded with mist; on the right is a salt-water 
lake, separated from the harbour by an isthmus of 
sand ; and before us, at the foot of the hill, lies the 
village, its window’s kindling cheerfully in the west¬ 
ern sun. We stand atnong the graves, and do not 
much wonder that the dead people retained their 
attachment- to their native island, through every 
change of clime, and came back hither to be buried 
under its sandy sods—all, save those who rest in 
the caves of ocean. There is here a collection of 
about fifty grave-stones, and a far greater number 
of nameless graves, many of which are so old as to 
be hardly discernible. Some are crossed by an im¬ 
mense foot-path. A few’ of the monuments were 
marble, and inscribed with deeply cut letters, which 
had been painted black, but were now washed 
nearly white again by the moisture of the climate. 
The moss soon gathers on a grave-stone here. 
Many of the stones were admirable specimens of an¬ 
tique sculpture—the antiquity of a hundred years, 
or more—and were carved all round w'ith a border 
of funeral emblems, and a death’s head or a cheru¬ 
bim on top. All these had been imported from the 
main-land, or some, perhaps, from England. But 
there was one rough gray stone which bore scarcely 
any marks of having been touched by a human hand, 
except that the initials S. L. and an ancient date, 
were rudely inscribed upon it. This humble me¬ 
morial, wrought painfully by Grief herself, and 
doubtless bedew’ed with tears, was more honourable 
both to the mourner and the dead, than the costliest 
monument that ever was bought and sold. In a 
spot where there were several children’s graves to¬ 
gether, almost obliterated by time, a wild rose, red, 
fragrant, and very small, had either sprouted from 




344 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


one of the little mounds, or been planted there by 
the forgotten parents of the forgotten child, and had 
now spread over the whole group of those small 
graves. The mother’s dust had long ago been 
mingled with the dust over which she wept—the 
nameless infant, had it lived would have been hoary 
and decrepit now—yet, all this while, though mar¬ 
ble would have decayed, the rose had been faithful 
to its trust.—It told of affection still. 


ENGLISH PAUPERS AND AMERICAN CONVICTS. 

An English writer asks, why the paupers of Eng¬ 
land cannot be turned to as profitable account as 
the convicts of America. He adverts to the prison 
at Sing Sing, which is calculated for one thousand 
male convicts, all of whom are lodged in separate 
cells, which are well ventilated, lighted, and warm¬ 
ed with heated air. A whole row of ten or fifteen 
of these cells are locked by turning a single key. 
The convicts are well clothed, have sufficient food, 
good medical attendance, and so many comforts 
that their "ituation is no otherwise a punishment, 
than by the loss of liberty, and of converse with 
their fellow bemgs. It will be supposed that the 
building of the prison, and its maintenance on such 
a system, would have burdened the State with an 
immense expense. But the reverse is the fact. 
The convicts were at first located on the site which 
had been chosen, where they lodged in wooden 
huts, and were guarded by soldiers, till they had 
quarried the gray marble or limestone of which the 
prison is constructed,—and actually built, with 
their own hands, the cells that were to immure 
them from the world. By the various trades car¬ 
ried on in the prison, such as stone-sawing and cut¬ 
ting, carpentry, shoemaking, cabinet-work, smith’s 
work, engraving, tailoring, <fcc. the convicts main¬ 
tain themselves, and leave a surplus in the treasury. 
The English writer proposes, that the paupers of 
his own country should be managed on a similar 
system; or at least, that they should be taken in 
charge by the government and employed on the 
public works, which are now ill executed, and at a 
vast expenditure. 

Wolfe’s Monument. —Before Lord Aylmer, the 
late Governour of Canada, left Quebec, he caused 
a monument to be erected to General Wolfe, on 
the plains of Abraham. The base is seven feet 
square and three feet high, and is formed of granite 
boulders, which inclose the very stone against which 
Wolfe was leaning, when he breathed his last. 
These masses of granite are united with blue-water 
cement. On the base is placed a large square 
lime-stone, which forms the plinth of the column; 
next, there are polished marble rings, from which 
rises a circular pillar of polished dark blue marble 
to the height of about seven feet, and with a diame¬ 
ter of two and a half feet. The height of the whole 
monument is twelve feet. The inscription is in large 
capitals, and cut deep into the stone— Here died 
Wolfe victorious. The monument stands on 
the left of the city, and at the distance of about one 
hundred yards. It has been assigned as a reason 
for not sooner erecting a memorial to a man, whose 
life and death conferred so much glory on his coun¬ 


try, that such a trophy would continually have re¬ 
minded the conquered Canadians of their defeat 
and subjection. But now, after a lapse of seventy- 
seven years, the descendants of the vanquished 
will not feel sore on the subject. Ought not Mont¬ 
calm also to have a monument on the field of his 
honourable defeat and death ? 


POTATOES. 

When a particular kind of potato has become 
known for its excellence, that kind is used for pro¬ 
pagation ; but after a few years, it is observed to 
degenerate, and lose the qualities which at first dis¬ 
tinguished it. This is probably owing to the method 
of propagation. The potatoes themselves—or, in 
other words, the roots of the plant—are used for 
seed, instead of the true seed, which is annually 
produced in the small berries on the stalks. Thus 
the potato wears out, in a manner analogous to 
that of the fruit of grafted trees. Varieties of the 
potato, which have been recently obtained from 
the seed berries, will admit of being propagated, for 
several years, by planting the potato itself. The 
ground, before planting, should be thoroughly pul¬ 
verized ; the manure should be well fermented ; the 
potatoes should be planted whole, and not deprived 
of their first shoots. 


Rot in Sheep. —This disease is thought to be 
occasioned by the butter-cup, or crow-foot, the ac¬ 
rid qualities of which are well known. Tliis weed 
is refused by horses, cattle, and even pigs. Geese 
and sheep, who eat it, are observed to be often af¬ 
fected with diseased livers. For the cure of the 
rot, an ounce and an half of salt, in a pint of water, 
is to be given, three successive mornings, on an 
empty stomach. For its prevention, the sheep 
should have access to the fresh earth of mole-hills 
or worm-holes; and its present frequency in Eng¬ 
land is supposed to be partly owing to the destruc¬ 
tion of moles and worms. 


Colossal Monument. —The column, recently 
erected at Petersburgh to the Emperour Alexander, 
consists of a solid block of granite, eighty-five feet 
in length, at the summit of which is a bronze statue 
of twenty feet. The pedestal is twenty-five feet in 
diameter. The materials were brought from Fin¬ 
land, and a vessel was constructed purposely for 
the conveyance of the enormous block of granite— 
the largest, probably, that ever was quarried entire 

Horse Shoes. —A new kind of horse-shoe has 
been invented, which promises fair to supercede 
those now in use. They are manufactured by 
steam, at the rate of 3000 an hour, and may be 
sold at one quarter the price of common horse-shoes. 

Mr. Henry Stathart, an iron-founder, of Bristol, 
England, has invented an apparatus for converting 
salt-water to fresh, and at the same time cooking 
provisions for the passengers and crew of the vessel. 
This is said to be one of the most useful inventions 
of modern times. - 

Shades over the eyes, in reading, are considered 
injurious. 













OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


345 



COFFEE HOUSE SLIP. 

The engraving represents one of the haunts of 
business, in the commercial capital of America. 
Coffee House Slip, so named from its vicinity to the 
Tontine Coffee House, is situated at the foot of 
Wall Street. Since the sketch was taken, the 
Great Fire has swept across this portion of New 
York, and left smoking ruins in its track, instead of 
the closely wedged edifices of the day before. It 
is a singular truth, that the mere shadowy image of 
a building, on the frail material of paper, which 
might be annihilated in an instant, is likely to have 
a longer term of existence than the piled brick and 
mortar of the building. Take a print like this at 
the head of our article, and an edifice like the large 
one on the right hand corner, and the chances are, 
that, a century hence, the print will be as good as 
ever; while the edifice, though it may not have 
crumbled beneath the weight of years, will proba¬ 
bly have been torn down to make room for modern 
improvements, or utterly destroyed by fire. Should 
posterity know where the proud structure stood, it 
will be indebted for its knowledge to the wood-cut. 

To a person of quiet and secluded habits, whether 
he live in the country or in a retired street of the 
metropolis, there can be no pleasanter ramble than 
to the vicinity of one of the principal wharves. He 
finds himself, as it were, in a different world, and 
takes note of every thing around him, with the mi¬ 
nuteness of a traveller to far distant lands. The 
great ships, that have come speeding night and day 
from the uttermost parts of the earth, and are now 
moored in the dock, their enormous hulls rusty and 
sea-stained, and their rigging torn by the gales;— 
other vessels displaying their snowy canvass and 
proudly marching from the strand, to visit ports that 
are half the world’s width asunder, or perchance to 
go down into the ocean-depths:—the packets, w'th 


their places of destination announced in huge let¬ 
ters on their shrouds, some landing their freight, 
some stowing it away in their capacious holds, some 
mustering their passengers for departure;—the bales 
and bags of precious merchandise, and puncheons 
and casks of choice liquors, and barrels of flour 
stamped with different brands, which lie scattered 
along the wharf, as if any poor devil might have 
them for the picking up ;—the mounted iron can¬ 
non, presenting its gaping mouth at the stranger, 
as if to utter tales of pirates in the West Indies oi 
of Malays in the East;—the other cannon, which 
has long ago sent forth its last peal of thunder, and 
now, with its muzzle in the earth and its breech in 
the air, is converted into a post;—the rumbling of 
heavily-laden wagons, the clash and clang of bars 
of Swedish iron, dragged on trucks over the pave¬ 
ment, the quick rattle of gigs, and the slow rattle oi 
handcarts ;—all these particulars, and many more, 
attract the observer’s notice, and enter into his re 
collection of the scene. He snuffs up the scent of 
tar, to which his nostrils are less accustomed than 
are those of a sailor to the perfume of the Spice 
islands. 

He observes also the living features of the scene, 
as well as its inanimate objects. There is the mer¬ 
chant, with his thonghtful brow and anxious eye, 
musing on the wealth that he has trusted to the 
uncertain main—doubtful, perhaps, whether, in 
three months hence, he will be a man of half a mil¬ 
lion, or a bankrupt;—there are the slender clerks, 
comparing a ship’s cargo with the invoice ;—there 
the sea-captain, with the flush of the salt-breeze still 
glowing on his cheek :—there the bronzed sailors, 
in blue jackets and duck trousers, rolling along 
like ships over uneven billows, and talking hoarsely, 
as if with speaking-trumpets ;—there the truckmen, 
in frocks no longer white ;—there the day-labourers, 

44 






































































































































































































































































346 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


with their Irish look and accent;—and if any fe¬ 
male be brought into the sketch, she must be Irish 
too, with a rough red cheek and unabashed stare, 
«uch as befits the mistress of a sailor’s boarding¬ 
house. The jabber of foreign tongues is heard 
around, and the stranger almost doubts whether his 
short walk have not transported him to Lisbon or 
Madrid, or some port along the shores of the Medi¬ 
terranean. And now he hears, issuing from the 
bowels of the earth, a mingled uproar of laughter 
and oaths, and tuneless singing, and perhaps the 
squeak of a fiddle, which, with the fumes of to¬ 
bacco-smoke and strong liquors, are sure tokens of 
a victualling cellar and grog-shop. 

Brazilian Ant-Hills. —In Brazil, the ants build 
pyramids of clay to the height of ten or twelve feet; 
so that a traveller on horseback, riding by them, 
will see their summits considerably above his head. 
The exteriour surface of these hills is a hard yellow 
clay. If one of them be cut in halves, from the 
summit to the base, it will be seen that great archi¬ 
tectural skill has been employed in the construction 
of the edifice. It consists of a number of horizon¬ 
tal floors or stories, one above another. The ma¬ 
terial, of which the interiour is constructed, is a sort 
of black earth, which sometimes shines as if var¬ 
nished. There are communications between neigh¬ 
bouring ant-hills, by means of passages under ground, 
in the formation of which, as much art is displayed 
as in hollowing the famous tunnel under the Thames. 
The ants exude a viscous fluid, with which they 
temper the clay, and render it fit for the purposes 
of building. They sometimes migrate from the 
habitations, which it has cost them so much labour 
to erect; and in their journey they march straight 
onward, devouring every green thing in their path, 
and all the cockroaches, spiders and flies. 


THE FORGING OF THE ANCHOR. 

[From Blackwood’s Magazine ] 

Come, see the Dolphin’s anchor forged ; 

’Tis at a white heat now ; 

The little flames still fitfully 
Play through the sable mound ; 

And fitfully you still may see 
The grim smiths ranking round, 

All clad in leathern panoply. 

Their broad hands only bare ; 

Some rest upon their sledges here,— 

Some work the windlass there. 

The windlass strains the tackle chains, 

The black mound heaves below. 

And, red and deep, a hundred veins 
Burst out at every throe : 

It rises, roars, rends all outright,— 

O Vulcan, what a glow ! 

’Tis blinding white, ’tis blasting bright; 

The high sun shines not so ! 

The high sun sees not, on the earth. 

Such fiery, fearful show ; 

The roof-ribs swarth, the candent hearth, 

The ruddy lurid row 
Of smiths, that stand, an ardent hand. 

Like men before the foe ; 

As, quivering through his fleece of flame, 

The sailing monster, slow 
Sinks on the anvil—all about, 

Tlie faces fiery grow— 

* Hurrah !’ they shout, ‘ leap out—leap out 
Bang, bang, the sledges go : 

Hurrah ! the jetted lightnings 
Are hissing high and low ; 


A hailing fount of fire is struck 
At every up-heaved blow ; 

The leathern mail rebounds the hail; 

The rattling cinders strow 
The ground around ; at every hound 
The sweltering fountains flow ; 

And thick and loud, the shrinking crowd. 

At every stroke, punt ‘ ho !’ 

Leap out, leap out, my masters ; 

Leap out and lay on load ! 

Let’s forge a goodly Anchor; 

A Bower, thick and broad ; 

For a heart of oak is hanging 
On every blow, I bode ; 

And I see the good Ship riding. 

All in a perilous road. 

The low reef roaring on her lee ; 

The roll of Ocean pour’d 
From stem to stern, sea after sea ; 

The mainmast by the board ; 

The bulwarks down ; the rudder gone. 

The boats stove at the chains ; 

But courage still, brave mariners— 

The Bower yet remains. 

And not an inch to flinch he deigns. 

Save when ye pitch sky high. 

Then moves his head, as though he said, 

‘ Fear nothing—here am I !’ 

In livid and obdurate gloom. 

He darkens down at last ; 

A shapely one he is, and strong. 

As e’er from cat was cast.— 

O trusted and trust-worthy guard. 

If thou hadst life like me. 

What pleasures would thy toils reward. 

Beneath the deep-green sea ; 

O deep sea-diver, who might then 
Behold such sights as thou ? 

The hoary monster’s palaces, 

Methinks what joy’t were now 
To go plumb plunging down amid 
The assembly of the whales. 

And feel the churn’d sea round me boil 
Beneath their scourging tails ! 

O, Lodger in the sea-king’s halls, 

Couldst thou but understand 
Whose be the white bones by thy side. 

Or who that dripping band. 

Slow-swaying in the heaving wave. 

That round about thee bend. 

With sounds like breakers in a dream. 

Blessing their ancient friend,— 

Oh, could’st thou know what heroes glide 
With larger steps round thee. 

Thine iron side would swell with pride ; 

Thou ’dst leap within the sea ! 

Give honour to their memories. 

Who left the pleasant strand. 

To shed their blood so freely. 

For the love of Father-land,— 

Who left their chance of quiet age. 

And grassy church-yard grave. 

So freely, for a restless bed 
' Amid the tossing wave,— 

Oh, though our Anchor may not be 
All I have fondly sung. 

Honour him for their memory. 

Whose bones he goes among ! 

Curious Experiment. —If a musket be loaded 
with ball, and a finger be pressed upon the ramrod, 
which rests upon the ball, then, if the musket be 
discharged, the ball will not be thrown out of the 
barrel. This is accounted for by the feeble velocity 
of the ball, when it first starts, compared with that 
which is communicated to it by the expansion of 
the gases throughout the whole extent of the barrel. 
But we entreat our friends not to risk the tips of 
their fingers by making the above experiment; for 
it is not given on our own authority. We never 
tried it, nor ever will. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


347 


ON EDUCATION. 

[From the Westminster Review.] 

The moral condition of a people depends in a 
higher degree upon the state oi cultivation among 
females than is commonly imagined. Their influ¬ 
ence over their husbands and children for good and 
evil is in all cases great, and it is fit that such influ¬ 
ence should be directed to good. 

This principle has been far too much lost sight of 
in the Education of Females, and they have been 
trained, as it were, for one exclusive purpose, to be 
got rid of in marriage; and not as partners with 
man in a common lot. 

When the attraction of a young face, and the 
novelty of youthful manners have worn ofl', there is 
left little of sympathy with the pursuits of the hus¬ 
band, or acquaintance with those departments of 
knowledge, on which his habits and occupations 
naturally lead him to converse. The dry utterance 
of scientific terms, without a knowledge of the uses 
and application of the science, or the details of his¬ 
tory without the knowledge of its spirit, is to all 
valueless; and the deficiency is to be supplied only 
by extensive and various reading. But this is pre¬ 
cisely the point where the Education of females 
fails; they are not taught to read, to analyse and 
digest the matter read, whether it be novel, history, 
or biography. If, instead of abandoning all, or 
nearly all mental occupation at the period of leaving 
school, a course of study calculated to develope and 
keep in exercise the reflective faculties were com¬ 
menced and perseveringly continued for the next 
four or five years, the wife would have some share 
of the attractions of the intelligent conversationist, 
and without trespassing on the field of the dry, dull, 
political or scientific discourse of the professional 
person, might supply in actual life some portion of 
the imaginative and amusing, by which its real cares 
are driven away. A stupid man would in such 
cases gain some vivacity, and discover powers that 
had been enfeebled by the constant reference of his 
thoughts to mercantile or professional objects. 

What this course of study should be for people 
of means, might be easily determined. When a 
governess employed to teach the mechanics of edu¬ 
cation has been dismissed, let a lady of refined taste 
and good judgment be engaged to carry on a course 
of reading with the pupil; carefully analyzing every 
work read ; applying all knowledge applicable, and 
examining new views referred to by the author, and 
noting fresh facts, taking care throughout all these 
readings to lead the pupil to talk on the subject, 
and point out the passages illustrative of her views. 

Added to this, the habit of reading well aloud, 
should be encouraged both to discover whether the 
meaning be fully understood by the reader,and to pro¬ 
duce an accomplishment of more extensive utility to 
others than even music, that of presenting the views of 
an author by reading, so as to give them all their force. 
How few men or women can read! How few 
therefore are good orators, or good conversationists, 
or even good writers ! How great a blessing to a 
sick and languid person, too ill to exert his own 
powers, is that of having a companion who can 
so read as to bring the pictures presented by written 
composition, dramatically to the mind’s eye ! With 


such powers at any time there need be no lack of 
society ; the very best authors may be brought as it 
were into personal converse, and the family stock 
of information constantly relieved of its barrenness. 

But the importance of female Education is great, 
on account of the share of mothers in forming the 
infant mind. The very young acquire by a sort of 
involuntary imitation, the language, the habits, fail¬ 
ings and manners of their parents, especially of the 
mother, wit'h whom they most constantly associate; 
and the labours of the school are more or less light¬ 
ened in all things, according to the progress pre¬ 
viously made during the period of involuntary in¬ 
fant learning. 

The scope of Education, in both sexes, must be 
determined by its object. The grand object is to 
unite in the highest possible degree the combina¬ 
tion of the speculative and practical characters in 
the same person. The former, when once set a 
going, proceeds in a far more rapid course of im¬ 
provement than the latter; the manual or mechani¬ 
cal operations being far slower and less exciting 
than the mental volition. 

From the exclusive attention to intellectual studies, 
the speculative has far outrun the practical, and lost 
the power of patient application on which the so¬ 
lidity and completeness of the speculative is depen¬ 
dent. In short, of the whole number of persons 
trained by the present system of Education, the far 
greater number are deprived of habits of industry, 
of bodily or mental application. Hence, though 
remarkable for refined sentiments and generous 
emotions, they seldom second these by corresponding 
eflbrts. But this in a still greater degree is the case 
with the power of bodily application. Hence men 
of genius have become distinguished as men of idle¬ 
ness ; often, as dissipated and immoral. They de¬ 
pend upon intellectual excitement, and having no 
physical toil to subdue the physical excitement, or 
divert the mind from the more exhausting eflbrts of 
intellectual pursuits, their lives are a succession of 
states of excitation and depression. Wanting en¬ 
ergy, physical or mental, they speedily become in¬ 
dolent ; fond of dreaming, and mere idle reading, 
but incapable of either mental or bodily application. 
This one fault runs through the whole of the gen¬ 
eral systems of Education. Addressed as they are 
to the purely intellectual, they fail because the 
purely intellectual is useless, except in reference to 
its power over the physical; which power it cannot 
possess except by a course of discipline, uniting 
both the intellectual, physical and moral faculties in 
the same concurrent course of developement. The 
moral is but the habitual effect of the intellectual 
and the physical trained to right uses. A moral 
man is one who has self-control, and therewith, 
and in consequence thereof, the habitual exercise of 
what is morally good. But this self-control is de¬ 
pendent naturally and mentally upon physical con¬ 
trol, and this again is the result of intellectual con¬ 
trol, constantly actuating the physical. To be a 
moral man is not to be a mere man of sentiment. 
A man may think all good, and yet be so weak of 
purpose as to be capable only of evil, which unre¬ 
strained physical incitements may force upon him. 
The whole man must be educated,—the intellec- 





348 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


tual,—the physical,—the moral; and this is not done 
by wise saws, but by discipline constantly bending 
the faculties of the individual to suitable purposes. 


SCANTY SUSTENANCE. 

An English writer, to prove that, as a general 
rule, population is in advance of food, adduces facts 
of which we make the following abstract. The to¬ 
tal amount of persons living on the skirts of exist¬ 
ence, in a state of constant misery, and liable to 
starvation, is reckoned at one per cent, of the whole 
number of inhabitants. This proportion is about 
the same, whether the country be populous or oth¬ 
erwise. In France, beggars are numerous, and 
people die of hunger. In fruitful and vine-clad 
Portugal, a pilot will prostrate himself on the deck 
of a vessel, in his gratitude for the boon of a hard 
biscuit. The Arabs, half-starved themselves, de¬ 
vour half-starved sheep. In luxuriant Chili, the in¬ 
habitants feed on sea-weed in the intervals of their 
crops, and those, who are of delicate constitutions, 
do not survive. In Canada, during the winter, 
many are starved to death. In Buenos Ayres, 
numbers live on offals, at the public shambles. In 
upper Peru, the natives eat animals that die of dis¬ 
ease. The Chinese do the same, and likewise con¬ 
vert other disgusting matters into food. Thousands 
of infants are destroyed in China; nor is it consid¬ 
ered a crime; since the babe suffers a less cruel 
death by its mother’s hand, than it otherwise would 
by starvation. In Norway and Sweden, the peo¬ 
ple mix their bread with saw-dust. Our own coun¬ 
try, according to the English author, is the only one 
in the world, where some portion of the inhabitants 
are not liable to starvation, and do not actually 
starve. We are preserved from this condition by 
the circumstance that we raise food for export, and 
therefore there is always a surplus quantity amongst 
us, in case of emergency. 


DANISH MONARCHY. 

The Danes, says Madame de Stael, have given 
the most scandalous example in politics, of which 
history has preserved the recollection. One day, 
in 1662, they declared their King legislator and sov¬ 
ereign master of their property and lives. They 
gave him power to do every thing, except to revoke 
the act by which they had made him a despot. 
And when this unreserved donation of themselves 
was consummated, they added to the deed of gift 
this singular clause, that, if the kings of any other 
countries had any privilege whatever which was 
not comprised in their act, they accorded it in ad¬ 
vance, and at every hazard, to their monarch. The 
protestant religion, and above all, the liberty of the 
press, have since created in Denmark a strength of 
public opinion which serves as a moral limit to the ab¬ 
solute power of the king. Since Madame de Stael 
wrote this passage, the Danish monarch has relin¬ 
quished his despotic privileges of his own accord— 
an instance of royal generosity quite as singular, as 
was the original gift from the people to his prede¬ 
cessor. — 

INTOLERANCE. 

From the time of the revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes, in 1685, down to 1787, the children of 


Protestants in France were not considered legiti¬ 
mate. Their possessions were confiscated, and 
were given to those who denounced them. The 
children were taken from their parents by force, to 
be brought up in the Catholic religion. The 
preachers, and those Protestants who had embraced 
Catholicism, but afterwards relapsed, were condem¬ 
ned to the galleys or to death ; and as it had been 
declared, by a royal ordinance, that there were no 
longer any Protestants in France, all who adhered 
to that faith were considered as relapsed Catholics, 
whenever it suited the convenience of the govern¬ 
ment to punish them.- 

LUCIEN BONAPARTE. 

Lucien, having quarrelled with his brother Napo¬ 
leon, resolved to quit Europe and take refuge in the 
United States. He went secretly to Civitta-Vee- 
chia, and embarked for Boston in August, 1810, on 
board a vessel which had been fitted out for him by 
his brother-in-law Murat, then King of Naples. A 
storm drove him on the coast ofCaglieri in Sardinia. 
The king of that country refused him an asylum, 
and the British consul would not grant him a safe 
conduct. Being compelled to put to sea again, he 
was taken at the entrance of the pfirt by two Eng¬ 
lish frigates, which carried him to Malta. He re¬ 
sided there four months, and was then removed to 
England, where he remained prisoner until the trea¬ 
ty of Paris, concluded in April, 1814, restored him 
to liberty.— 3Iagasin Universel. 

Indian Corn is of very uncertain origin. Some 
writers say that it is from the East, others from 
America. The former sustain their opinion on the 
grounds that it has long been known in Europe by 
the name of Ble de Tw'quie, or Turkey grain, and 
that varieties of it have been brought from the Isle 
of France and from China. Those who assign its 
origin to America say, that the early navigators 
found it cultivated in Mexico, and Brazil, and in 
all parts where they first landed ; and that each re¬ 
gion had a name for it, such as maize, flaolli, and 
others. It is affirmed, that it still grows wild 
among the Indians in Paraguay. The fact is un¬ 
disputed, that, immediately after the discovery of 
America, the cultivation of Indian Corn spread 
rapidly in other parts of the world. We would 
willingly vindicate the claim of our own country to 
the honour of having bestowed this grain on the rest 
of the globe—esteeming it an invaluable and truly 
Yankee esculent, whether eaten in the green ear, in 
Johnny cakes or loaves from the oven, or in puddings, 
boiled or baked. - 

The Horse possesses an exquisite sense of smell¬ 
ing. He scents the approach of man, at the dis¬ 
tance of a mile and a lialf. His nose, also, detects 
water at a great distance. It is well known, that 
the caravans of Arabs, Tartars, and Mongolians, and 
also the herdsmen in South America, lake advan¬ 
tage of this animal’s sensibility of smell, to discover 
unknown pools of water. Asses and mules possess 
the same faculty. The Jews, during their forty 
years’ wandering in the desert, often had recourse 
to the instinct of these quadrupeds, when in want 
of water. The American horses scratch the earth 
with their hoofs, above the source of a hidden foun¬ 
tain .—Magasin Universel. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


349 



View of tho Shot Tower, on Manhattan island. 


SHOT TOWER. 

This edifice was erected, some years ago, by Mr. 
George Youle, and is situated on Manhattan island, 
a few miles from the city of New York. It rises to 
the height of one liundred and fifty feet, and forms 
one of the most striking objects amid the pictur¬ 
esque and beautiful scenery with which it is surround¬ 
ed. The East River, thronged with steam-boats 
and other vessels, flows at its base. The tower 
needs nothing but antiquity, and a mantle of cling¬ 
ing ivy, and above all, the charm of legend and tra¬ 
dition, in order to afford as good a subject for the 
pen of the poet or novelist, as it already does for 
the pencil of the artist. Or if it were (as might 
well beseem its stately height) the monument of a 
hero, or even a light-house, to guide benighted mari¬ 
ners to their haven, nothing would be easier than 
to surround it with romantic associations. But it is 
almost impossible to connect the sentiment of ro¬ 
mance with a Shot Tower. 

When we consider the small size of the article, 
to the manufacture of which this lofty structure is 
devoted, the means appear greatly out of proportion 
with the result. Formerly, in casting shot, the ap¬ 
paratus was merely a plate of copper, in the bottom 
of which were punched a number of small holes. 
This was placed a few feet above a kettle of water, 
into which the melted lead descended, after passing 
through the holes in the |)late. But in falling so 
short a distance, and being so suddenly cooled and 
hardened, the shot did not acquire a perfectly glo¬ 
bular form,—a desideratum which is now' attained 
by means of Shot Towers. In that of Mr. Youle, 
the largest size of shot falls from the summit of the 
edifice to the bottom of a well, tw'enty-five feet be¬ 
low the surface of the earth, making the whole des¬ 
cent about one hundred and seventy-five feet. The 
size of the shot is determined by the size of the 


holes through which it passes. The furnaces, for 
melting the lead, are situated near the summit of 
the tower. Three tons of shot is the quantity 
usually manufactured per day. 

This method of casting shot was invented by Mr. 
Watt, the celebrated engineer, in consecjuence, it is 
said, of a dream. He tried the experiment from 
the tower of the church of St. Mary RedcliflTe, and, 
finding it successful, obtained a patent, which he 
afterwards sold for ten thousand pounds. There 
are now several shot-towers in the vicinity of Lon¬ 
don. The loftiest of these is one hundred and 
fifty feet high, and gives a fall of one hundred and 
thirty feet to the melted lead. An iron staircase 
ascends from the base to the summit of the tower; 
Arsenic is mingled with the molten lead, in the pro¬ 
portion of forty pounds to one ton. In casting, the 
metal is not poured through a tube, but descends 
through the open space of the tow'er, in a continual 
stream of silvery drops. As the weight of the lead 
prevents it from scattering, or being blown about 
like water-drops, the workmen pass to and fro, 
w'ithout danger, close beside this fiery cascade. 
The shot is of diflferent sizes, from No. 1, or Swan 
Shot, to No. 12, which is called Dust Shot. When 
first manufactured, they are of a dull white colour, 
without lustre, and are polished by being shaken 
together in an iron barrel which is made to revolve 
by machinery. This process gives them their black 
lustre, and they are then ready for sale. 


ADVANTAGES OF MORAL SCIENCE. 

[From Combe, on the Constitution of Man.] 

Much has been written about the extent of hu¬ 
man ignorance, but we should discriminate between 
absolute incapacity to know, and mere w'ant of in¬ 
formation arising from not having used this capacity 
to its full extent. In regard te the first, or our ca- 





















































































350 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


pacity to know, it appears probable that, in this 
world, we shall never know the essence, beginning, 
or end of things; because these are points which 
we have no faculties calculated to reach: But the 
same Creator who made the external world consti¬ 
tuted our faculties, and if we have sufficient data 
for inferring that His intention is, that we shall en¬ 
joy existence here while preparing for the ulteriour 
ends of our being; and if it be true that we can be 
happy here only by becoming acquainted with the 
qualities and modes of action of our own minds and 
bodies, with the qualities and modes of action of 
external objects, and with the relations established 
between them; in short, by becoming thoroughly 
conversant with those natural laws, which, when 
observed, are pre-arranged to contribute to our en¬ 
joyment, and which, when violated, visit us with 
suffering, we may safely conclude that our mental 
capacities are wisely adapted to the attainment of 
these objects, whenever we shall do our own duty 
in bringing them to their highest condition of per¬ 
fection, and in applying them in the best manner. 

If we advert for a moment to what we already 
know, we shall see that this conclusion is supported 
by high probabilities. Before the mariner’s com¬ 
pass and astronomy were discovered, nothing would 
seem more utterly beyond the reach of the human 
faculties than traversing the enormous Atlantic or 
Pacific Oceans; but the moment these discoveries 
were made, how simple did this feat appear, and 
how completely within the scope of human ability ! 
But it became so, not by any addition to man’s 
mental capacities, nor by any change in the physi¬ 
cal world ; but by the easy process of applying in¬ 
dividuality, and the other knowing faculties, to ob¬ 
serve, causality to reflect, and constructiveness to 
build ; in short, to perform their natural functions. 
Who that, forty years ago, regarded the small-pox 
as a scourge, devastating Europe, Asia, Africa, and 
America, would not have despaired of the human 
faculties ever discovering an antidote against it? 
And yet we have lived to see this end accomplish¬ 
ed by a simple exercise of Individuality and Reflec¬ 
tion, in observing the effects of, and applying vac¬ 
cine inoculation. Nothing appears more com- 
})letely beyond the reach of the human intellect, 
than the cause of volcanoes and earthquakes; and 
yet some approach towards its discovery has re¬ 
cently been made.* 

Sir Isaac Newton observed, that all bodies which 
refracted the rays of light were combustible, except 
one, the diamond, which he found to possess this 
quality, but which he was not able, by any powers 
he possessed, to burn. He did not conclude, how- 
ev(;r, from this, that the diamond was an exception 
to the uniformity of nature. He inferred, that, as 
the same Creator made the refracting bodies which 
he was able to consume and the diamond, and pro¬ 
ceeded by uniform laws, the diamond would, in all 
probability, be found to be combustible, and that 
the reason of its resisting his power, was ignorance 
on his part of the proper way to produce its confla¬ 
gration. A century afterwards, chemists made the 
diamond blaze with as much vivacity as Sir Isaac 


Newton had done a wax candle. Let us proceed 
then, on an analogous principle. If the intention 
of our Creator was, that we should enjoy existence 
while in this world, then He knew what was neces¬ 
sary to enable us to do so; and He will not be found 
to have failed in conferring on us powers fitted to 
accomplish his design, provided we do our duty in 
developing and applying them. The great motive 
to exertion is the conviction, that increased knowl¬ 
edge will furnish us with increased means of doing 
good,—with new proofs of benevolence and wis¬ 
dom in the Great Architect of the Universe. 

The human race may be regarded as only in the 
beginning of its existence. The art of printing is 
an invention comparatively but of yesterday, and 
no imagination can yet conceive the efl’ects which 
it is destined to produce. Phrenology was wanting 
to give it full efficacy, especially in moral science, in 
which, little progress has been made for centuries. 
Now that this desideratum is supplied, may we not 
hope that the march of improvement will proceed 
in a rapidly accelerating ratio? We require only 
to attend to the scenes daily presenting themselves 
in society, to obtain irresistible demonstration of 
the consequences resulting from the want of a true 
theory of human nature, and its relations. Every 
preceptor in schools, every professor in colleges, 
every author, editor, and pamphleteer, every tnem- 
ber of a legislative body, counsellor and judge, has 
a set of notions of his own, which in his mind hold 
the place of a system of the philosophy of man ; 
and although he may not have methodized his ideas, 
or even acknowledged them to himself as a theory, 
yet they constitute a standard to him by which he 
practically judges of all questions in morals, politics, 
and religion ; he advocates whatever views coincide 
with them, and condemns all that differ from them, 
with as unhesitating dogmatism as the most perti¬ 
nacious theorist on earth. Each also despises the 
notions of his fellows, in so far as they differ from 
his own. In short, the human faculties too gener¬ 
ally operate simply as instincts, exhibiting all the 
confliction and uncertainty of mere feeling, unen¬ 
lightened by perception of their own nature and 
objects. Hence public measures in general, whether 
relating to education, religion, trade, manufactures, 
the poor, criminal law, or to any other of the dear¬ 
est interests of society, instead of being treated as 
branches of one general system of economy, and 
adjusted each on scientific principles in harmony 
with all the rest, are supported or opposed on nar¬ 
row and empirical grounds, and often call forth dis¬ 
plays of ignorance, prejudice, selfishness, intolerance 
and bigotry that greatly obstruct the progress of im¬ 
provement. Indeed, unanimity, even among sen¬ 
sible and virtuous men, will be impossible, so long 
as no standard of mental philosophy is admitted to 
guide individual feelings and perceptions. But the 
state of things now described could not exist if edu¬ 
cation embraced a true system of human nature 
and its relations.- 

ESCAPE FROM A RATTI,ESNAKE, 

[From Ross Cox’s ,\(lventures on Columbia River.] 

A curious incident occurred, at this spot, to one 
of our men, named La Course, which was near 
proving fatal. This man had stretched himself on 


• Vide Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


351 


the ground, after the fatigue of the day, with his I 
head resting on a small package of goods, and qui- ! 
etly fell asleep. While in tliis situation, 1 passed i 
him, and was almost petrified at seeing a large rat¬ 
tle snake moving from his side to his left breast. 
My first impulse was to alarm La Course. But an 
old Canadian, whom I had beckoned to the spot, 
requested me to make no noise, alleging it would 
merely cross the body and go away. He was mis¬ 
taken , for, on reaching the man’s left shoulder, the 
serpent deliberately coiled itself, but did not appear 
to meditate an attack. Having made signs to sev¬ 
eral others, who joined us, it was determined that 
two men should advance a little in front, to divert 
the attention of the snake, while one should ap¬ 
proach La Course behind, and, with a long stick, 
endeavour to remove it from his body. The snake, 
on observing the men advance in front, instantly 
raised its head, darted out its forked tongue, and 
shook its rattles—all indications of anger. Every 
one was now in a state of feverish agitation as to 
the fate of poor La Course, who still lay slumbering, 
unconscious of his danger, when the man behind, 
who had procured a stick seven feet in length, sud¬ 
denly placed one end of it under the coiled reptile, 
and succeeded in pitching it upwards of ten feet 
from the man’s body. A shout ot joy was the first 
intimation La Course received of his wonderful 
escape, while, in the mean time, the man with the 
stick pursued the snake, which he killed. It was 
three feet six inches long, and eleven years old, 
which, I need not inform my readers, we easily as¬ 
certained by the number of rattles. A general 
search was then commenced about the encamp¬ 
ment; and under several rocks, we found upwards 
of fifty of them, all of which we destroyed. There 
is no danger attending their destruction, provided a 
person has a long pliant stick, and does not ap¬ 
proach them nearer than their length, for they can¬ 
not spring beyond it, and they seldom act on the 
offensive unless closely pursued. They have a 
strong repugnance to the smell of tobacco, in con¬ 
sequence of w'hich we opened a bale of it, and 
strewed a quantity of loose leaves about the tents, 
by which means we avoided their visits, during 

the night. - 

TORPID PLANTS. 

[From the ‘ South West.'] 

There is a willow which grows on the banks of 
the Mississippi, whose roots become as dry as tinder, 
after the periodical swell has subsided, but which 
vet^etates afresh as soon as it is watered by the next 
inundation. This property of dying and returning 
again to vegetative existence, is not peculiar to this 
willow; other plants possess the same singular pro¬ 
perty, though this e.xceeds all others in magnitude. 
The plants of that description known to botanists, 
are all water-mosses except two species of ducks- 
meat—the ‘ lemna minor ’ and the ‘ lemna gihha’ 
These are but minute vegetables floating on the 
surface of stagnant water, without taking root in 
the pond. They may be dried in the hot sun and 
then kept in a deal box for two or three years, after 
which they will revive, if placed in spring, river, or 
rain water. There is at the north a kind of natural 
paper, resembling the coats or strata of a wasp s 
nest in colour and consistency, which is formed of 


the sediment of ponds, that become dry in hot 
weather. If a piece of this paper-like substance 
be put in a glass of fresh water, and exposed to 
light, it loses its dirty white colour in a few min¬ 
utes and assumes a lively green. This sudden 
change is occasioned by a number of aquatic mosses, 
constituting a part of the materials of the paper or 
sediment in question, and belonging to the genus 
‘ Conferra ;’ for these minute vegetables may be said 
to be in the state of suspended animation, while 
they remain dry ; but the presence of water restores 
them to their natural functions by its animating 
virtue. So long retaining the principle of life, 
these curious plants, as well as the two species 
above mentioned, may be transported to any distant 
country in a torpid condition, where they might 
again be animated. The same remark will apply 
to the Mississippi willow which suggested these 
observations.- 

Dancing Horses. —At equestrian exhibitions, 
horses are often made to oance. They keep perfect 
time to the music, and flourish their four legs with 
as much grace and facility as Celeste ever did her 
single pair; which, of course, shows double skill on 
the part of the quadruped. But it is said to be fre¬ 
quently the case, that horses drop down dead in the 
performance of the dance. One equestrian company 
has successively lost several valuable animals, in this 
way. As the physical exertion, during the dance, 
does not seem to be great, the fact must be accounted 
for by the tension of intellect,with which the poor horse 
adapts his motions to the music. Frenchmen live 
by dancing, but horses die by it:—as the frogs said, 
what is sport to us, is death to them. 

Flint in Hay. —Few persons, while tumbling 
about in a hay-mow, would suppose it to be partly 
composed of the same substance as a bed of flint. 
Yet such is the fact. , A hay-stack being consumed 
by lightning, a portion of vitreous matter, of similar 
composition to flint-glass, was found among the 
ashes. This had been formed from the silex, or 
flint, in the stalks of hay. 

HUMANITY. 

“ A fearful gift upon thy heart is laid, 

Woman ! a power to suffer and to love ; 

Therefore thou so canst pity.” 

“ How few, like thee, inquire the wretched out. 

And court the offices of soft humanity ! 

Like thee, res^erve their raiment for the naked. 

Reach out their bread to feed the crying orphan. 

Or mix their pitying tears with those that weep! ” 

Rowe. 

Humanity is that sympathy by which we view 
the sufferings of others as inflicted on ourselves, 
and desire, in consequence, to avert the blow. 
Thus, woman, more frequently than the opposite 
sex, is distinguished by this virtue, being, from 
her helpless nature, more exposed to mental and 
corporeal afflictions. Humanity differs from be¬ 
nevolence in its being a feeling which makes the 
case of the injured or distressed immediately our 
own, while benevolence may rather be esteemed a 
desire to give or impart some good or benefit we 
find ourselves possessed of to the needy and des¬ 
titute; the former seeks to prevent evil, the latter 
to promote good. 










THE CASTILIAN QUADRILLE 


BY CH ; ZEUNER. 









































































































































































































































































































































































I 



45 













































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































354 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

To none of the eminent men of the Revolution 
are we more indebted than to Hamilton, both for 
his services in tlie course of that memorable contest, 
and lor the sagacity with which, at its close, he dis¬ 
cerned the political necessities of the country, and 
assisted in laying the foundations of our present 
prosperity. He saw, perhaps, more clearly than 
most other statesmen of that period, how greatly 
the future welfare of the people depended upon the 
developement of those resources which could only 
be drawn forth by the pervading influence of an 
energetic government. Nor be it imputed to him 
as a crime, if his opinions on this subject went to an 
extent, which, by the light of subsequent expe¬ 
rience, we are now wise enough to shun. Even the 
errour of those opinions probably contributed to our 
welfare; and his fame is destined to ‘grow with the 
growth, and strengthen with the strength ’ of that 
Union, which it was his warmest wish to render in¬ 
dissoluble. 

Alexander Hamilton was born in the island of 
Nevis, in January, 1757. On the maternal side, he 
was of French extraction ; his father was a descen¬ 
dant of the noble Scottish family of Hamilton. 
His childhood afforded many indications of talent, 
and at the age of thirteen, his ambition seems to 
have been as intense as at any subsequent period 
of his life. He was then in the counting-house of 
an opulent merchant of Santa Cruz; and, in a let¬ 
ter to a school-fellow, he ‘ confesses that his am¬ 
bition is prevalent, so that he contqmns the grovel¬ 
ling condition of a clerk, or the like, to which his 
fortune condemns him, and would willingly risk his 
life, though not his character, to exalt his station. 
He wishes there was a war.’ Yet he was exceed¬ 
ingly assiduous in the duties of his situation, and 
evinced such a capacity for business, that before he 
attained his fourteenth year, Mr. Cruger, his em¬ 
ployer, confided to him the conduct of his exten¬ 
sive establishment, during his absence on a visit to 
the American continent. He afterwards frequently 
adverted to this occupation as the most useful part 
of his education ; he acquired in its details a method 
and facility peculiarly advantageous to the future 
Financier. Its teachings were practical, and there¬ 
fore well suited to the practical character of his 
mind. 

Shortly after this time, some of the West Indian 
islands were desolated by a hurricane, of which 
Hamilton wrote, and published in a newspaper, a 
description which attracted much notice, and in¬ 
duced his friends to yield to his wishes for a more 
liberal education than his native island could afford. 
Accordingly, at the age of fifteen, he took passage 
for New York, and soon after became a student of 
King’s College, then under the Presidency of the 
Rev. Dr. Cooper. His acquaintance with miscel¬ 
laneous literature was at this time extensive; he 
nad made some progress in the study of mathe¬ 
matics, and of chemistry, which he afterwards re¬ 
commended as a science, ‘ well adapted to excite 
curiosity, and create new combinations of thoughts.’ 
Some of his early compositions in verse have been 
preserved, displaying much poetical talent. His 
favourite authors were Pope and Plutarch ; but he 


also perused, with great interest, works of contro 
versial divinity. ‘While a student at King’s Col¬ 
lege,’ says his friend. Col. Troup, ‘he was attentive 
to public worship, and in the habit of praying on 
his knees night and morning. I lived in the same 
room with him for some time, and have often been 
powerfully affected by the fervour and eloquence of 
his prayers. He had read many of the polemical 
writers on religious subjects, and was a zealous be¬ 
liever in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. 
I confess, that the arguments with which he was 
accustomed to justify his belit-^^ '^ave tended in no 
small degree to confirm my own faith in revealed 
religion.’ 

But the whole intensity of Hamilton’s character 
w'as soon to be elicited by that Revolution, whose 
perils placed him in his appropriate sphere of ac¬ 
tion, and in which no other man, so young as him¬ 
self, W’as so enviably distinguished. His earliest 
impressions were favourable to the rights of the 
crown ; but these were speedily effaced, and feelings 
more befitting his future career awakened, by a visit 
to Boston, soon after the destruction of the tea. 
Massachusetts was, from the beginning, in Hamil¬ 
ton’s own words, ‘ the pivot on which the Revolu¬ 
tion turned,’ and the excitement of the public mind 
was never greater than at that time. Hamilton re¬ 
turned to New York, strong in zeal and in argu¬ 
ment, and on the sixth of July, 1774, at the age of 
seventeen, made his first essay as an Orator, and 
publicly pledged his devotion to the cause of liberty. 
It was at a large assemblage of the citizens, long 
remembered as ‘ the great meeting in the fields.’ 
He had previously been in the habit of ‘ walking 
several hours each day under the shade of some 
large trees in Batteau, now Dey street, talking to 
himself in an under tone of voice, apparently en¬ 
gaged in deep thought; a practice which he con¬ 
tinued through life. This circumstance attracted 
the attention of his neighbours, to wdiom he was 
known as the Young West Indian, and led them to 
engage in conversation with him. One of them, 
remarking the vigour and maturity of his thoughts, 
urged him to address this meeting to which all the 
patriots were looking with the greatest interest. 
From this seeming intrusion he at first recoiled; 
but, after listening attentively to the respective 
speakers, and finding several points untouched, he 
presented himself to the assembled multitude. The 
novelty of the attempt, his youthful countenance, 
his slender and diminutive form, awakened curiosity 
and attracted attention. Overawed by the scene, 
before him, he at first hesitated and faltered; but, 
as he proceeded almost unconsciously to utter his 
accustomed reflections, his mind warmed with the 
theme, his energies were recovered, and after a dis¬ 
cussion, clear, cogent and novel, of the great princi¬ 
ples involved in the controversy, he depicted in 
glowing colours the long continued and long en¬ 
dured oppressions of the mother country, he insisted 
on the duty of resistance, pointed to the means and 
certainty of success, and described the waves of 
rebellion sparkling with fire, and washing back on 
the shores of England the wrecks of her power, her 
wealth, and her glory. The breathless silence ceas¬ 
ed as he closed, and the whispered murmur, ‘ it is a 



OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


355 


Collegian! it is a Collegian!’ was lost in loud ex¬ 
pressions of wonder and applause, at the extraor¬ 
dinary eloquence of the young stranger.’* From 
this time, the studies of Hamilton were chiefly di¬ 
rected to politics and the ait of war. He acquaint¬ 
ed himself, as much as possible, with the details of 
military discipline, and with statesmanlike ability, 
inquired into the resources of the country; and the 
disposition of her inhabitants for vigorous and uni¬ 
ted eflbrts. He repeatedly took a part in the pub¬ 
lic discussions, and engaged in a controversy with 
the Rev. Dr, Cooper; the Episcopal clergymen of 
New York and Connecticut, having zealously es¬ 
poused the ministerial side in the contest. He also 
wrote several political pamphlets which were attri¬ 
buted to Gov. Livingston and to Mr. Jay, and 
which were esteemed to confer additional celebrity 
upon these eminent men ; but when, on the inquiry 
to which of them the honour belonged, the author 
was ascertained to be a youth of eighteen, but re¬ 
cently admitted to college, and new to the country, 
admiration of the works was lost in surprise at the 
discovery. ‘ I remember,’ says Col. Troup, ‘ that 
in a conversation I once had with Dr. Cooper, 
about these pamphlets, he insisted that Mr. Jay 
must be the author, it being impossible to suppose 
that so young a man as Hamilton could have writ¬ 
ten them.’ On the part of the British government, 
liberal offers were made him, which, it is scarcely 
necessary to say, he declined without hesitation. 

The adherents of the crown were, from various 
causes, numerous in New York. There was little 
unity of feeling among the inhabitants, who were 
dissimilar in origin and in creed, and among whom 
property was more unequally distributed than in 
some of the other colonies. Landed estates were 
held by a peculiar tenure; education was not gen¬ 
erally diffused; the patronage and expenditure of 
the government was also large ; and all these cir¬ 
cumstances combined to render the popular party 
less prompt to resist, and far more cautious in de¬ 
liberation and resolution than might have been ex¬ 
pected. Still, revolutionary sentiments and feelings 
were strong, and strengthening, among the people; 
and in the discussion of the momentous questions 
of the day, Hamilton continued to participate with 
his pen and with his voice, till the course of events 
summoned him to render services of a different na¬ 
ture. In March, 1776, he was appointed by the 
Convention of New York, ‘ Captain of the Provin¬ 
cial Company of Artillery,’ one of the first compa¬ 
nies raised by that province. He ‘ recruited his 
men, and, with the remnant of his second and last 
remittance from Santa Cruz, equipped them: He 
attended to their drill and his other duties with a 
zeal and diligence which soon made his company 
conspicuous for their appearance, and the regu¬ 
larity of their movements.’ 

Immediately after the Declaration of Indepen¬ 
dence, he was ordered upon active service. He 
was very soon fortunate enough ‘ to attract the ob¬ 
servant eye of Washington, who, on the inspection 
of some works which Hamilton was engaged in 
throwing up, entered into conversation with him. 


invited him to his marquee, and formed a high esti¬ 
mate of his capacity.’ 

He distinguished himself at the battle of White 
Plains, and through the whole of that arduous cam¬ 
paign, one of the most disheartening of the whole war. 
‘ Well do I remember the day,’ said a friend, ‘ when 
Hamilton’s company marched into Princeton. It 
was a model of discipline; at its head was a boy, 
and I wondered at his youth; but what was my 
surprise, when struck with his diminutive figure, he 
was pointed out to me as that Hamilton of whom 
we had already heard so much.’ At the close of 
the season, his company, from exposure in battle 
and from the severity of the w’eather, was reduced 
to twenty-five men. On the first of March, 1777, 
he was appointed Aid-de-camp to General Wash¬ 
ington, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He 
was then twenty years of age. 

Adverting to the selection of the members of 
his staff", Gen. Washington says, in a letter to Col. 
Harrison, of January 9th, 1777:—‘ As to military 
knowledge, I do not expect to find gentlemen much 
skilled in it; if they can write a good letter, write 
quick, are methodical and diligent, it is all I expect 
to find in m'y aids.’ And, in a subsequent letter to 
Congress, requesting additional assistance, he re¬ 
marks ; ‘ the business which has given constant ex¬ 
ercise to the pen of my secretary, and not only fre¬ 
quently, but always, to those of my aids, has ren¬ 
dered it impracticable for the former to register 
the copies of my letters, instructions, &c. in books, 
and thus valuable documents which may be of 
equal public utility and private satisfaction, remain 
in loose sheets and in the rough manner in which 
they were drawn.’ Washington’s principal Secre¬ 
tary was Col. Robert H. Harrison, of Maryland, 
and upon him the labour of the correspondence 
chiefly devolved ; but such of the more elaborate and 
important communications, as were not written by 
the Commander in Chief himself, were the produc¬ 
tions of Hamilton’s pen. ‘ This larger and more 
appropriate sphere of action,gavetohis mind not only 
a wider, but a loftier range. He was called, not 
merely to execute subordinate parts, but to assist in 
planning campaigns, in devising means to support 
them, in corresponding with the difTerent members 
of this extensive empire, and in introducing order 
and harmony into the general system.’ 

From this period till the close of the war, his 
conduct displayed the utmost zeal, assiduity and 
valour; he acquired the most brilliant distinction at 
the siege of Yorktown, as well as on several pre¬ 
vious occasions. He early perceived the incompe¬ 
tency of a ‘ merely federative and advisary ’ system 
of government, like the old Confederacy, to a vigor¬ 
ous prosecution of the war; and saw, in the finan¬ 
cial embarrassments of the country, greater cause of 
alarm, than in the temporary successes of the Brit¬ 
ish arms. ‘ He looked, with intense anxiety, to the 
adoption of some effectual means by which the dis¬ 
tresses of the country might be reached at their 
source;’ and endeavoured, in various ways, to urge 
upon the people, the necessity of confiding to Con¬ 
gress an authority adequate to the emergencies of 
the times. 

At the close of the Revolution, Hamilton, then 


» Life of Hamilton, by his Son. 






PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


/ 

/ 

scarcely twenty-five years of age, had already gain¬ 
ed a high and secure place in American history. 
Our limits will allow us merely to glance at the 
career of his manhood, which, in point of ability 
and distinction, fulfilled the promise of his youth. 
When his military services were no longer required, 
he had commenced the study of the law, and .speed¬ 
ily became eminent in the profession. In political 
life, he was one of the strongest champions of the 
party which had Washington at its head. He as¬ 
sisted in framing the Constitution of the United 
States, and greatly contributed to prepare the popu¬ 
lar mind for its reception, by the admirable series 
of articles, entitled the Federalist. Of this work, 
as profound as any, and more generally intelligible 
than most, that have been written on the science of 
government, the larger portion proceeded from the 
pen of Hamilton. In recommending the present 
Constitution, he considered it not the most perfect 
that might have been framed, but better than the 
old Confederation, and the best that the people of 
America would consent to impose upon themselves. 
Hamilton had not sufficient faith in the capacity of 
the people for self-government; and while it was 
yet a matter of theory, we cannot wonder that his 
severe and practical mind should have distrusted 
the result. Had there been the same hesitation in 
America, at that period, between a monarchy and 
a republic, that there was in France, at her late 
Revolution, Hamilton, with pure but mistaken pa¬ 
triotism, would probably have given his voice for the 
former; or, at least, his nominal republic would 
have been very like a monarchy in its institutions. 
Fortunately, the bare proposal would have been 
met by an outcry of abhorrence; and Hamilton lent 
his great powers to the formation of a government, 
republican both in name and spirit, but endowed 
with all the energy that was needful to its own 
support. - 

Washington, on his installation as our first Pres¬ 
ident, named Hamilton Secretary of the Treasury, 
the duties of which office he discharged with his 
usual ability. During the insurrection in Pennsyl¬ 
vania, when the people of the western counties took 
arms against the general government, Hamilton was 
placed at the head of the force destined to act 
against them. The disturbances being quelled 
without bloodshed, he resigned his post. His last 
appearance in a military character was again by the 
side of Washington, in 1798, as second in com¬ 
mand of the army, which was to be called into ser¬ 
vice in case of hostilities with France. When the 
cloud of war had blown over. General Hamilton 
resumed the practice of the law, in the city of New 
York. He never again held any public office, but 
was considered the leader of the Federal party, 
which was then, and ever afterwards, in the mi¬ 
nority, on all points of national dispute. The life 
of this eminent man was now drawing to a bloody 
close. In 1804, Aaron Burr, then Vice-President 
of the United States, peremptorily demanded an 
explanation from General Hamilton, in regard to 
some aspersions which the latter was supposed to 
have cast on his integrity. This demand was re- 

{ ’ected. The consequence was a meeting at Ho- 
)oken, where Hamilton fell at the first fire, pour¬ 


ing out his life-blood on the same sod, which had 
before been wet by that of his son. He may thus 
far be absolved from the guilt of duelling, that he 
had no wish to take the life of Colonel Burr, and 
had resolved not to return his fire. 

The vignette of the present number of our Maga¬ 
zine is from the Statue of Hamilton, which, by the 
liberality of the merchants of New York, was plac¬ 
ed in the Exchange of that city. The material was 
the purest Italian marble, and was sculptured by 
Mr. Hughes, at an expense of several thousand dol¬ 
lars. This noble Statue had occupied its pedestal 
but a few months, when it was involved in the wide 
destruction, caused by the Great Fire of last De¬ 
cember. — 

FAREWELL.— By Bishop EIeber. 

When eyes are beaming 

What never tongue might tell; 

When tears are streaming 
From their crystal cell, 

When hands are linked that dread to part, 

And heart is met by throbbing heart, 

Oh ! bitter, bitter is the smart 
Of them that bid farewell! 

When hope is chidden 
That fain of bliss would tell. 

And love forbidden 
In the breast to dwell: 

When, fettered by a viewless chain. 

We turn, and gaze, and turn again, 

Oh ! death were mercy to the pain 
Of them that bid farewell! 


Indian Hieroglyphics. —Schoolcraft observes, 
that the Chippewas have made greater progress than 
any other Indian people, in the art of hieroglyphic 
writing. No part of their country can be traversed, 
without perceiving evidences of this fact. Every 
pathway through the forest is marked by blazed 
and figured trees, conveying directions and intelli¬ 
gence to whomsoever is able to interpret the charac¬ 
ters. They teach the art to their children, as care¬ 
fully as we do the alphabet to our own; with this 
difference, however, that only the males are per¬ 
mitted to receive instruction. The characters are 
sometimes traced on sheets of birch-bark, which are 
suspended to poles, and also on war-clubs, paddles, 
and gun-stocks. Skins are likewise inscribed with 
them, particularly those which form the back-dresses 
of warriours. Information is also communicated 
by means of poles, with knots of grass attached to 
them, by rings of paint, and often by antlers, or the 
heads of animals, suspended over rivers. 

General Picton’s Helmet. —The battle of Bu- 
sacos, in Spain, was fought in the night. Sir Tho¬ 
mas Picton, the British general, being suddenly 
aroused from bed, forgot to lay aside the coloured 
cotton night-cap, in which he had been taking a 
comfortable snooze. Wherever the battle raged 
hottest, there was seen the gallant general, in this 
queer sort of helmet. 


Lawsuits in Pegu. —It is the custom in Pegu, 
a province of the Birman empire, when one man 
brings a suit against another, and the matter cannot 
be otherwise decided, to plunge both parties over 
head and ears in the water. The first who comes 
to the surface, loses his cause 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


35T 


A BEE HUNT. 

[From Irving’s Tour on the Prairies.] 

The beautiful forest in which we were encamped 
abounded in Bee trees; that is to say, trees in the 
decayed trunks of which wild Bees had established 
their hives. It is surprising in what countless 
swarms the Bees have overspread ihe far West, 
within but a moderate number of years. The In¬ 
dians consider them the harbinger of the White 
Man, as the Bufl'alo is of the Red Man; and say, 
that in proportion as the Bee advances, the Indian 
and Buffalo retire. We are always accustomed to 
associate the hum of the Bee-hive with the farm¬ 
house and flower-garden ; and to consider those in¬ 
dustrious little animals as connected with the busy 
haunts of man, and I am told that the wild Bee is 
seldom to be met with at any great distance from 
the frontier. They have been the heralds of civ¬ 
ilisation, steadfastly preceding it as it advanced 
from the Atlantic borders, and some of the ancient 
settlers of the West pretend to give the very year 
when the honey Bee first crossed the Mississippi. 
The Indians with surprise found the mouldering 
trees of their forests suddenly teeming with am¬ 
brosial sweets, and nothing, I am told, can exceed 
the greedy relish with which they banquet for the 
first time upon this unbought luxury of the wil¬ 
derness. 

At present the honey Bee swarmed in myriads, 
in the noble groves and forests that skirt and inter¬ 
sect the prairies, and extend along the alluvial bot¬ 
toms of the rivers. It seems to me as if these beau¬ 
tiful regions answer literally to the description of 
the land of promise, ‘ a land flowing with milk and 
honey for the rich pasturage of the prairies is cal¬ 
culated to sustain herds of cattle as countless as the 
sands upon the sea shore, while the flowers with 
which they are enamelled render them a very para¬ 
dise for the nectar seeking Bee. 

We had not been long in the camp when a party 
set out in quest of the Bee-tree; and, being curious 
to witness the sport, I gladly accepted an invitation 
to accompany them. The party was headed by a 
veteran Bee-hunter, a tall lank fellow in homespun 
garb that hung loosely about his limbs, and a straw 
hat shaped not unlike a Bee-hive; a comrade, 
equally uncouth in garb, and without a hat, strad¬ 
dled along at his heels, with a long rifle on his 
shoulder. To these succeeded half a dozen others, 
some with axes and some with rifles, for no one stirs 
far from the camp without his fire-arms, so as to be 
ready either for wild deer or wild Indian. 

After proceeding some distance we came to an 
open glade on the skirts of the forest. Here our 
leader halted, and then advanced quietly to a low 
Dush, on the top of which I perceived a piece of 
honey-comb. This I found was the bait or lure for 
the wild Bees. Several were humming about it, 
and diving into its cells. When they had laden 
themselves with honey they would rise into the air, 
and dart off in a straight line, almost with the ve¬ 
locity of a bullet. The hunters watched attentively 
the course they took, and then set off in the same 
direction, stumbling along over twisted roots and 
fallen trees, with their eyes turned up to the sky. 
In this way they traced the honey-laden Bees to 


their hive, in the hollow trunk of a blasted oak, 
where, after buzzing about for a moment, they en¬ 
tered a hole about sixty feet from the ground. 

Two of the Bee hunters now plied their axes 
vigorously at the foot of the tree to level it with 
the ground. The mere spectators and amateurs, 
in the mean time, drew off to a cautious distance, 
to be out of the way of the falling of the tree and 
the vengeance of its inmates. The jarring blows of 
the axe seemed to have no effect in alarming or dis- 
turbing this most industrious community. They 
continued to ply at their usual occupations, some 
arriving full freighted into port, others sallying forth 
on new expeditions, like so many merchantmen in 
a money-making metropolis, little suspicious of im¬ 
pending bankruptcy and downfall. Even a loud 
crack which announced the disrupture of the trunk, 
failed to divert their attention from the intense pur¬ 
suit of gain ; at length down came the tree with a 
tremendous crash, bursting open from end to end, 
and displaying all the hoarded treasures of the com¬ 
monwealth. 

One of the hunters immediately ran up with a 
wisp of lighted hay as a defence against the bees. 
The latter, however, made no attack and sought no 
revenge: They seemed stupified by the catastrophe 
and unsuspicious of its cause, and remained crawl¬ 
ing and buzzing about the ruins without offering us 
any molestation. Every one of the party now fell 
to, with spoon and hunting knife, to scoop out the 
flakes of honey-comb with which the hollow trunk 
was stored. Some of them were of old date and a 
deep brown colour, others were beautifully white, 
and the honey in their cells was almost limpid. 
Such of the combs as were entire were placed in 
camp kettles to be conveyed to the encampment; 
those which had been shivered in the fall were de¬ 
voured upon the spot. Every stark Bee hunter 
was to be seen with a rich morsel in his hand, drip¬ 
ping about his fingers, and disappearing as rapidly 
as a cream tart before the holyday appetite of a 
school-boy. 

Nor was it the Bee-hunters alone that profited 
by the downfall of this industrious community; as 
if the Bees would carry through the similitude of 
their habits with those of laborious and gainful man, 
I beheld numbers from rival hives, arriving on eager 
wing, to enrich themselves with the ruins of their 
neighbours. These busied themselves as eagerly 
and cheerfully as so many wreckers on an Indiaman 
that has been driven on shore; plunging into the 
cells of the broken honey-combs, banqueting gree¬ 
dily on the spoils, and then winging their way full 
freighted to their homes. As to the poor proprie¬ 
tors of the ruin, they seemed to have no heart to 
do any thing, not even to taste the nectar that 
flowed around them ; but crawled backwards and 
forwards, in vacant desolation, as I have seen a poor 
fellow with his hands in his breeches pocket, whist¬ 
ling vacantly and despondingly about the ruins of 
his house that had been burnt. 

It is difficult to describe the bewilderment and con¬ 
fusion of the Bees of the bankrupt hive who had 
been absent at the time of the catastro[)he. and who 
arrived from time to time, with full cargoes from 
abroad. At first they wheeled about in the air, in 




358 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


the place where the fallen tree had once reared its 
head, astonished at finding it all a vacuum. At 
length, as if comprehending their disaster, they set¬ 
tled down in clusters on a dry branch of a neigh¬ 
bouring tree, from whence they seemed to contem¬ 
plate the prostrate ruin, and to buzz forth doleful 
lamentations over the downfall of their republic. 
It was a scene on which the ‘ melancholy Jaques ’ 
might have moralized by the hour. 

We now abandoned the place, leaving much 
honey in the hollow of the tree. ‘ It will all be 
cleared off by varmint,’ said one of the rangers. 
‘ What vermin?’ asked I. ‘ Oh, bears, and skunks, 
and raccoons, and ’possums. The bears is the 
knowingest varmint lor finding out a Bee-tree in 
the world. They’ll gnaw for days together at the 
trunk till they make a hole big enough to get in 
their paws, and then they’ll haul out honey, bees 
and all.’ 


GOLD WASHING. 

In the mining districts of Brazil, the gold is im¬ 
bedded in metalliferous ridges of rock, which spread 
to an immense extent over the country, rugged and 
barren, without trees, grass, or verdure of any sort. 
Towards the city of San Jose, the ridge presents a 
precipitous wall, five or six hundred feet high, and 
twelve or fourteen miles in length. The indications 
of gold are as follows:—waters impregnated with 
saline sulphates, particularly if they have a mineral 
taste ; marcasites, or pieces of metal found in cavi¬ 
ties of the rock, or in streams that flow from the 
ridge; a sterile soil, w'ith scanty vegetation, if any, 
and of a sickly hue, caused by metallic vapours 
from the earth; a strong reflection of the sunbeams 
from the face of the rock ; and a loud reverberation 
of sound, during a thunder storm. Standing upon 
the top of the ridges, and gazing over the country, 
the traveller sees nothing but a red desert, as far as 
the eye can reach ; although, originally, this tract 
included the most fruitful soil in Brazil. Its ruin 
has been caused by washing away the vegetable 
mould in search of gold, with which, in the course 
of ages, the whole surface of the country had be¬ 
come impregnated, by means of the waters that 
ooze from the metalliferous ridges. The heavy rains 
penetrate into the recesses of the rocks, pass through 
the veins of gold, and issue from the sides of the 
ridge, bearing with them the lighter particles of 
metal, which they deposit in the soil for many miles 
around. The Brazilians, by repeated processes, 
wash away all the vegetable earth, and extract the 
particles of gold, but leave only a sort of red clay or 
dirt, which is as incapable of nourishing vegetation, 
as so much brickdust would be. There is no possi¬ 
bility of restoring, in any degree, the fruitfulness of 
those parts of the country, the surface of which has 
been thus washed away. So far as can be conjec¬ 
tured the curse of everlasting barrenness is entailed 
upon them. Had the inhabitants sought only the 
vegetable riches of these spots, they might have en¬ 
joyed them till the end of time; but they chose to 
devastate the land for the sake of its metallic wealth, 
which is already exhausted. 

But though the soil itself now contains but little 


gold, the metalliferous ridges are supposed to be 
full of incalculable wealth. What has hitherto been 
gathered—though sufficient to gild, as it were, the 
whole surrounding country with glistering particles 
—was but the overflow and superfluity of the vast 
treasures which Nature has hidden beneath those 
barren rocks. Within a few years, associations 
have been formed in England for working the mines 
of Brazil. The Brazilians themselves possess no 
skill in mining; their only art is that of washing 
away the soil. Gold-finding, however, is the great 
aim and occupation of the inhabitants of all classes 
and ages; even the children, instead of engaging in 
sports, may be seen grubbing in the earth or pound¬ 
ing pebbles to pieces, with premature greediness for 
the glittering dross. Stripped as the land now is 
of all its vegetable qualities, it may still be ques¬ 
tioned whether it would not be for the interest of 
the people, could the gold mountains be sunk to 
the centre of the earth. They would doubtless find 
some other mode of industry, which could not ulti¬ 
mately be so miserable as that which engrosses 
them at present. 

A cubic foot of ore, weighing about one hundred 
and ten pounds, produces from three to eight and 
a half ounces of gold. The gold collected by wash¬ 
ing is usually of a dirty white colour; some of the 
gold is black, owing to its being alloyed with an 
oxide of silver. It is a curious fact that a gold ear¬ 
ring, as artificially manufactured as any in a jew¬ 
eller’s shop, has been found among the native metal 
under the soil. Gold-washing is now carried on in 
sixty-six districts of Brazil, all of which, in the 
course of time, must be ruined by it. 


Viscount Exmouth. —This was the British ad¬ 
miral who fought the battle of Algiers. His family 
name was Pellew. From his boyhood, he was re¬ 
markable for courage, and early gave proof of the 
ability which afterw'ards made him a distinguished 
ornament of the British navy. When General Bur- 
goyne was ascending the side of the ship which 
brought him to America, the yards were-manned to 
receive him; and happening to look upward, the 
General saw a midshipman standing on his head, at 
the very extremity of the yard-arm. This was one 
of young Pellew’s ordinary feats. After his arrival 
in America, he served with the army, and by his 
skill, a bridge was constructed across the Mohawk, 
over which Burgoyne marched to Saratoga. He 
was afterwards engaged in the battle of Bemis’s 
Heights, and came near capturing General Arnold, 
whose stock and buckle remained in Pellew’s hands 
as a trophy of the encounter. Had Arnold then 
been made prisoner, some of the most striking and 
melancholy incidents of our Revolutionary war 
might never have occurred, and that wretched trai¬ 
tor might still have borne the name of patriot. 

To raise potatoes in Ireland, English seed is 
planted ; in England, Irish seed. 

French Wines.— Immense quantities of the light 
wines of France are annually thrown away. They 
will not bear transportation, and cannot find a mar¬ 
ket at home. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


359 



JOHN C. CALHOUN. 


On the father’s side, Mr. Calhoun is of Irish de¬ 
scent. His grandfather came to America in 1733, 
and settled first in Pennsylvania, whence he after¬ 
wards removed to the backwoods of Virginia, and 
finally to South Carolina. In this latter migration, 
he seems to have been accompanied, like an ancient 
patriarch, by his married children and their off¬ 
spring. The family planted itself on the borders of 
the Cherokee country, and soon underwent a bloody 
attack from the Indians, in which the eldest son, 
with half the males of ‘ Calhoun’s settlement,’ were 
slain. The mother of the family, and several other 
women, besides a number of children, were massa¬ 
cred. During the hostilities that ensued, Mr. Cal¬ 
houn’s father, Patrick Calhoun, was appointed cap¬ 
tain of a body of rangers, in which office he dis¬ 
played great courage and ability. These events 
occurred long prior to the birth of John Caldwell 
Calhoun, which took place on the eighteenth of 
March, 1782. 

His early education was irregular and imperfect. 
When thirteen years old, he was placed at an 
academy, where he had free access to a circulating 
library, with liberty of choice between the light and 
fanciful, and the more solid literature, which it con¬ 
tained. He at once rejected the trash, and devoted 
himself to the perusal of history and metaphysics, 
with such an intensity of application that, in a few 
months, he had nearly ruined his health. In con¬ 
sequence, he was withdrawn from the academy, and 
became engrossed with rural sports and occupations, 
till the age of eighteen. He appears to have look¬ 
ed forward to a life spent in similar pursuits ; nor 
was he easily persuaded by his brother, who saw his 
great natural abilities, to resume the studies which 
had been so long broken off. It is not probable 
that Mr. Calhoun, whatever might have been his 
pursuit or profession, would have lived without dis¬ 


tinction of one sort or other, or have died without 
leaving some mark of his existence. Yet, however 
high may be a young man’s talent, a classical edu¬ 
cation and a learned profession are desirable, not so 
much because they add to his natural gifts, as be¬ 
cause they put him in the most direct road to his 
proper sphere of action. A farmer may have the 
intellect of a statesman ; but it depends upon con¬ 
tingencies whether it will ever be brought into play; 
whereas a lawyer reaches, as a matter of course, 
that rank in public life to which his talents may en¬ 
title him. Certainly, if Mr. Calhoun had not yield¬ 
ed to his brother’s advice, his distinction would have 
come later, and the country would have lacked the 
many services which he rendered her, while yet in 
his early manhood. 

In two years from the time of his return to the 
academy, he was admitted to the Junior Class of 
Yale College, and was graduated, in two years more, 
with the highest honours of that institution. He 
received, also, a part of his legal education in New 
England, at the Litchfield law-school. Here, in 
the discussions of a debating society, he showed 
those powers of argument and eloquence, which 
were very soon to place him in the highest rank of 
public men. Although, in after life, he has stood 
forth the champion of a party, which appeared 
ready to withdraw the hand of union from New 
England, there must be many kindly feelings in his 
heart, towards that portion of his native country. 
Returning to the South, he was admitted to the 
bar in 1807, and at once assumed his place among 
the ablest members of the profession. His first step 
in public life was the delivery of an address, during 
the excitement arising from the attack on the frigate 
Chesapeake. After serving two sessions in the 
legislature of South Carolina, he was sent, in 1811, 
at the age of twenty-nine, to Congress; whither his 
fame had preceded him, and immediately obtained 
him a most important part in the conduct of na¬ 
tional aflTairs. He was appointed to the committee 
on foreign relations, and in the course of the same 
session, on the withdrawal of General Porter, be¬ 
came chairman of that committee. Thus, in seven 
years from the period of his leaving college, had 
Mr. Calhoun reached a station, which made him a 
leader of the administration party, a chief advocate 
of hostile measures against Great Britain, and one 
of the strongest supporters of the war, when it 
commenced. 

The life of a leading statesman is so mixed up 
with the annals of his country, that, in regard to 
him, there is scarcely any distinction between bi¬ 
ography and history. Great national events com¬ 
pose the incidents of such a life. The narrative 
should not flow on in the narrow line, which suffices 
to represent the course of private men, but, if it aim 
to give any tolerable idea of its subject, must be 
allowed a latitude as wide as the land itself. Other 
characters, also—those of the statesman’s friends or 
opponents—should be developed, in order to throw 
light upon his owm. And as, in one sense, the 
most important part of the life of such a man, con¬ 
sists in his principles and opinions, these should be 
deduced from his actions, or gathered, where it is 
possible, from the records of his pen or the words 





360 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


of his own mouth. The speeches, by which he in¬ 
fluenced with his breath the destinies of his country, 
are not mere words, but mighty deeds, and should 
be preserved as such in his biography, not only as 
incidents of his life, but as interpreters of other in¬ 
cidents. His nominal rank—the public stations 
which he may have filled—are comparatively of no 
moment. External greatness is not a guarantee 
for greatness of soul and intellect; nor, where the 
latter exists, does the former effect any thing to¬ 
wards a portraiture of it. Yet, in a brief sketch 
like this, all that we can do is to trace Mr. Calhoun 
from one station or office to another, and leave al¬ 
most the whole of his real biography untold. 

At the close of the war, as chairman of the com¬ 
mittee on currency, Mr. Calhoun was the chief in¬ 
strument in establishing the bank of the United 
Stales. Whatever may be the ultimate tendency 
of such an institution, it had undoubtedly the im¬ 
mediate effect of regulating the currency of the 
country, which was then in a state of unprecedent¬ 
ed disorder. On the accession of Mr. Monroe to 
the Presidency, Mr. Calhoun became Secretary of 
War, which office he continued to hold for the next 
eight years. Under his charge, the department 
was relieved from nearly all its immense burden of 
debt, and the expenses of the army were reduced 
more than one third. In the mean time, at an ear¬ 
lier age than usual, his name had been brought for¬ 
ward, among the most prominent candidates for the 
Presidency of the United States. As there was not, 
however, a probability of his being elected by the 
people, he withdrew his pretensions to the higher 
dignity, and became, by the suffrages of a large ma¬ 
jority, Vice-President. We need hardly remind 
the reader, that there was no election of President 
by the people, and that Mr. Adams, without a plu¬ 
rality of the people’s votes, was the choice of the 
House of Representatives. As Mr. Calhoun ob¬ 
jected, on principle, to this mode of election, and 
held the opinion, that, when the choice did devolve 
upon the Representatives, they should be guided 
by the popular will, he now ranked with the oppo¬ 
sition. On the accession of General Jackson to 
the Presidency, Mr. Calhoun began his second term 
of office, as a supporter of the Chief Magistrate. 

The strong character of the new President, his 
tenacious grasp of his own opinions, and energetic 
action upon them, made it difficult for a man, him¬ 
self of so decided principles as Mr. Calhoun, to re¬ 
main in perfect harmony with him. Differences 
soon arose between the two highest officers of the 
nation, so important in their nature as wholly to 
alienate them from each other, both in their politi¬ 
cal and private relations. This hostility was em¬ 
bittered, when Mr. Calhoun took his stand as the 
champion of Nullification, and the President gave 
the whole strength of his arm to the support of the 
Union. But our narrative has now brought us to 
forbidden ground, where the embers of faction are 
still smouldering, and may scorch our feet, if we 
venture farther. In reference to Mr. Calhoun’s 
public life, we will merely add, that he left the 
office of Vice-President for a seat in the Senate, 
where he fought the battles of South Carolina with 
the great statesman of the North. Buf wp roffst 


not conclude without a tribute to his political integ 
rity, which—whether his judgment may have been 
right or wrong—is as unquestionable as his private 
honour. - 

Combustion of a Professor. —The American 
Journal of the Medical Sciences gives an account of 
the spontaneous combustion of the Professor of 
Mathematics in the University of Nashville. He 
felt a sharp pain in the ankle, and began to strike 
the spot smartly with the palm of his hand ; the 
pain, however, grew more acute, and compelled him 
to utter loud cries. On examining the spot, he dis¬ 
covered that his leg had actually caught fire, of 
its own accord, and that there was a flame of the 
bigness of a ten-cent piece, and of the colour of 
quicksilver. He extinguished the conflagration by 
pressing his hand forcibly upon the part; but an 
ulcer ensued, which was several months in healing. 
This occurred in January, 18.35. Heretofore, no 
instances of spontaneous combustion have been 
known, except of persons addicted to the use of 
alcohol; but the Professor is a gentleman of the 
strictest temperance, and in no respect of a fiery 
disposition. He is subject to derangement of the 
digestive powers, and has somewhat enfeebled his 
constitution by a too devoted pursuit of science. 
Should this strange accident often occur, it will be 
the part of prudent men to take out policies of in¬ 
surance against the Loss or Damage of their own 
persons by Fire. 


Juvenile Outcasts. —It has been computed 
that there are four thousand children of both sexes, 
in London, who rise in the morning from dens of 
vice and misery, without knowing how they shall 
procure food during the day, or where they shall 
lie down at night. They get their living, such as 
it is, by theft, and pride themselves on their dex¬ 
terity. As regards religious impressions, these poor 
children are on a level with the brutes ; in moral 
sentiment, they are beneath them. In the above 
estimate, only those between the ages of seven and 
fourteen are included. 


The English Bijou Almanac contains an annual 
calendar, six portraits of distinguished personages, 
and poetical illustrations of them; the length of this 
ponderous volume is one inch, and its breadth not 
quite so much. It would make a singular figure by 
the side of one of the vast folios, that were in fash¬ 
ion one or two centuries ago, each of which, if its 
solid contents were subdivided, would supply paper 
enough for at least five thousand such volumes as 
the Bijou. One of these books would adorn the 
library of Lilliput; the other, that of Brobdinag. 


Singular Substance.— On the surlace of the 
hot springs of Baden in Germany, and in several 
other places in Euro|)e and Asia, there is collected 
a singular substance resembling human flesh, and 
which, when analyzed, appears to be composed of 
the same ingredients as animal matter. The ques¬ 
tion is suggested, whether this fact docs not account 
for the stories of showers of human flesh, W'hich are 
related among the prodigies of antiquity. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


861 


THE VALLEY OF THE SWEET WATERS. 

[Commodore Porter’s ‘Constantinople.’] 

An old gentleman who lives at a village on the 
other side of the Bosphorus, asked me to come over 
to take breakfast with him, and promised me a dis¬ 
tant view from the top of the hill, of an assemblage 
of the females of the Turkish families of Constan¬ 
tinople and the neighbouring towns, as they gather 
together in the Valley of the Sweet Waters, every 
Friday, and there pass the day, amusing themselves 
variously. He said we could not approach them, 
but that the sight at a distance was worth seeing. 
I accordingly went to his house, where I was intro¬ 
duced to his wife, his eight or ten married daugh¬ 
ters, and their from six to eight children apiece, and, 
after enjoying the magnificent view from the hill at 
the back of his garden, proceeded to my kaick, and 
embarked for the Valley of the Sweet Waters, about 
a mile above us. 

A kaick is a long narrow light boat like an Indian 
canoe, but turning up at each end ; highly orna¬ 
mented by carved work and gilding, and rowed 
(that is the diplomatic ones,) by three sturdy Mus- 
suhnen dressed in white coarse shirts and trousers, 
their muscular arms bare to the shoulders, a small 
red skullcap with a blue tassel on their heads, and 
each rowing two pair of oars. The larger kind 
carry from four to five passengers, seated on carpets 
in the bottom of the after part of the boat, and they 
skim along with a velocity which is almost incredi¬ 
ble. They are beautiful things and perfect in their 
kind. At Buyuedere, a man’s rank is as well 
known by the number of his oars, as by the number 
of strokes on the bell. 

On our way to the Valley, we were joined by 
numberless kaicks filled with women, and in ad¬ 
dition to the usual compliment, as many children 
as they could stow away among them, and they ap¬ 
peared to take very good care that no room should 
be lost: Women are generally economical, and are 
so in Turkey, at least when boat hire is in question, 
so far as I could judge by appearances. We en¬ 
tered with them a narrow fresh water river, up 
which we proceeded for about a mile, when we 
came to a light and airy wooden bridge thrown 
across the stream, near which was a landing-place, 
and at it a multitude of kaicks, from the rank of 
three banks of oars down to one. 

A string of carriages, filled with women and 
children, was at the moment crossing the bridge to 
the place near where we had landed, which was the 
entrance to an extensive grove of trees of the larg¬ 
est kind ; some in clusters of three, four and five, 
others spreading their branches to an immense dis¬ 
tance, affording ample space and shelter from the 
sun for thousands. Here and there were seats, and 
a marble fountain, of clear and cold water, supplied 
the means of refreshment. 

The Turkish carriage is a curious vehicle. It is 
something in shape like our Jersey wagons, with¬ 
out springs or seats, and is drawn by two fat and 
beautiful light gray oxen, most gorgeously decorated 
on their flanks, backs, and shoulders with gold, and 
a rich fringe-work made of silk. On the face, from 
the horns to the nose, is a piece somewhat in the 
form of a shield, composed of innumerable small 


looking-glasses, set in gold and silk work. The 
carriage is called an araba, probably from the rich 
arabesques, with which the exteriour and interiour 
are covered, highly ornamented with gold, and 
rich paint work. It has a bow top covered with a 
woollen or silk cloth, generally red, with white silk 
or linen curtains neatly fringed. The entrance is 
at the back by a small ladder, and the persons within 
are seated in the Turkish manner, on rich and soft 
cushions. Each of these vehicles contained six or 
eight Turkish ladies dressed with oriental splendour; 
the curtains of most of them were open; many of 
the ladies had their faces exposed, at least long 
enough to give me a full view of them. They were 
of various ages; principally from fifteen to three or 
four and twenty, and the major part of them ex¬ 
tremely beautiful. Charmed with this unexpected, 
and singularly beautiful and picturesque spectacle, I 
followed the carriages up the Valley, where I saw 
seated in groups on rich Turkey carpets, spread on 
the grass in the shade of the wide-spreading trees, 
many hundreds of young and beautiful Turkish 
women, amusing themselves variously. Their car¬ 
riages were drawn up in lines near them; the oxen, 
under the charge of the keeper, were grazing on 
the smooth green lawn in the centre of the grove; 
the children, splendidly clad and beautiful as angels, 
chasing the butterflies and grasshoppers, while wan¬ 
dering minstrels, generally Greeks, enchanted with 
their music and love songs, groups of ‘ lights of the 
harem ;’ here and there a wandering Bohemian, or 
Hungarian, recounting some love adventure, or an 
Egyptian fortuneteller, examining the palms, and 
exciting the hopes of some believing fair one. 
Among other exhibitions for the amusement of the 
domestics and the children, was a large grisly bear 
which had been taught to dance, to wrestle, &c. 
led by a northern savage, more wild and grisly than 
his companion. Not a Turk was visible, except a 
small guard of soldiers at the landing-place to keep 
order among the boatmen. The women were as 
free as the air they breathed, and as unrestrained ; 
I went among them, made signs to them, for I could 
not speak; my companions, (I had two) talked to 
them; there was scarcely a face among them worth 
seeing, that I had not a full view of, and never in 
my life did I so much regret the want of a tongue 
to express myself. The scene of the Valley of the 
Sweet Waters was most lovely, and the situation in 
which I was placed, singular. I have no recollec¬ 
tion of any traveller mentioning this place, or notic¬ 
ing the extreme license given to Turkish women on 
their Sunday. They scarcely seemed to be aware 
of the impropriety of a departure from their usual 
concealment in our presence ; they gazed at us, and 
we gazed at them with equal curiosity. What 
struck me most, was their brilliant black eyes, their 
beautiful arched eyebrows, and their long and 
glossy black hair almost reaching the ground. The 
delicate fairness of their skins is owing doubtless to 
their confinement to their homes; of their figures I 
could not judge. Some of them have thrown off 
their clumsy yellow boots, and substituted the silk 
open-work stockings and slippers; handsomer ancles, 
and smaller and prettier feet, I have never secit. 
When a man buys a wife, if rich, he undoubtedly 

46 



362 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


chooses a handsome one. The Turks are a noble 
race of men, and the women being generally of 
Circassian origin, it is natural that the daughters of 
the Turks should be beautiful. 

About one o’clock, a boat laden with hampers of 
meat, and bales of wine of every description, arriv¬ 
ed at the landing, and soon after, the wife and 
daughters of my friend, who is of Venetian paren¬ 
tage, and whose ancestors came to this country 
some centuries ago. He and all his family speak 
Greek, French, and Turkish ; the ladies are intelli¬ 
gent, accomplished, handsome, and fashionable. 
We spread our carpet, over which we laid our table¬ 
cloth, with knives, forks, plates, spoons, &c. in the 
European style, and under the shade of a noble 
tree began our repast. This was a subject of won¬ 
der ; groups collected around us, and every thing 
appeared to astonish them ; eating with the spoon, 
instead of the fingers ! cutting the meat, instead of 
tearing it! drinking wine, and to one another! and 
above all, the gentlemen waiting on, and helping 
the ladies, instead of making the ladies wait on 
them ! ! It was wonderful; many among them ex¬ 
claimed, ‘ Mash Allah,’ God is great! Dancing bear, 
Greeks, Bohemians, Hungarians, and Gipsies were 
all deserted to go and see Christians eat! 

About four o’clock, the company began to move 
oft', those of the Asiatic side in their Arabas, those 
of the European in their Kaicks. The oxen were 
geared up, and the company seated, and in motion 
with scarcely a word spoken. We followed their 
example, and embarking in our kaicks, descended 
the Bosphorus about half a mile to a Kiosk of the 
Sultan’s, near which is a splendid Persian fountain 
of white marble, very highly ornamented. Here 
also is an extensive grove, and a large verdant mea¬ 
dow where the Sultan turns out his horses to graze 
and play. Here w'e found the same company, in 
augmented numbers, in groups under the trees, 
taking coffee, sherbets, and ice-creams, which were 
sold by persons hawking them about. There were 
many, also, who sold sweetmeats ; and pedlars, 
with fancy things, ribbons, laces, &c. 

I remained till sunset; how long the others re¬ 
mained I know not, but was told that it was not 
unusual to remain till midnight; and that sometimes 
the Sultan visits the place with the officers of his 
court, and his band of music (an excellent one and 
taught in the European manner.) In such cases 
they do not break up till nearly daylight. Not long 
since he paid a visit to this village at about eleven 
o’clock at night, with a long string of barges, filled 
with his gentlemen and guards, and preceded by 
his band, slowly moving along in front of the long 
stone quay, and playing in the best style. From 
thence he went back to the Kiosk, near the foun¬ 
tain and plain, where he remained with the com¬ 
pany until two o’clock in the morning, when he 
returned to Constantinople. 

The day to me was a day of uninterrupted en¬ 
joyment ; nothing whatever occurred to mar in the 
slightest degree the pleasures of it; every thing was 
unexpected and surprising. I had got into an en¬ 
tirely new world. I had seen the Turkish charac¬ 
ter in a new point of view; the film had dropped 
from my eyes, and I saw things with my own optics. 


not as described by others. The few hours I passed 
here were worth volumes of the creations of the im¬ 
agination of book-making travellers. The Turkish 
women are as free as any women in the world; 
they receive no attention from the men, it is true, 
and perhaps do not wish for the restraint of their 
presence. They have their customs, we have ours; 
and where is the Christian husband, so confiding in 
the prudence of his wife and daughters, as to per¬ 
mit their absence whole days and nights, without 
inquiring where they had been, and what they had 
been about? but this is permitted by Turkish hus¬ 
bands and fathers; for every Friday and Friday 
night, in fine weather, the same scenes I have de¬ 
scribed take place at the Valley of the Sweet Wa¬ 
ters, on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. 

Fashions at Hamburg. —The unmarried women 
of Hamburg wear their hair braided in two tails, 
hanging down their backs nearly to the ground. 
On the day of marriage, one of these tails is cut off; 
and if the lady survive her first husband, and be for¬ 
tunate enough to obtain a second, she loses the re¬ 
maining tail. In the same city there is a Hospital, 
which, besides accommodating thirteen hundred 
sick, afTords an asylum to aged persons, where, on 
payment of a small sum of money, they may be 
sure of a comfortable home for life. The police of 
Hamburg, had formerly a singular method of pun¬ 
ishing and reforming the idle. They were suspend¬ 
ed in a basket over the dinner-table in the House 
of Correction, and doomed to subsist merely on the 
smell of the victuals, till they chose to labour for 
more solid sustenance. 


Swedish Currency. —A traveller in Sweden 
mentions that his pockets were filled with no less 
than one hundred bank-notes. The value in spe¬ 
cie of this great bundle of paper-money was pre¬ 
cisely six dollars and sixty cents. The Swedish 
bank-notes are not generally of higher denomina¬ 
tions than from five to twenty cents. 

Native Silver. —In the royal museum of Co¬ 
penhagen, there is an enormous mass of native sil¬ 
ver, measuring five feet, and weighing five hundred 
pounds. - 

Tonquinese Soldiers.— A woman, being con¬ 
demned to death at Tonquin, underwent her pun¬ 
ishment with so much fortitude that the soldiers, 
who were present, devoured her body, hoping that 
this food would inspire them with similar courage. 

The Heights of Mountains may be ascertained 
with considerable accuracy by inserting a ther¬ 
mometer into boiling water. The heat of water at 
the boiling point is less, in proportion to the dis¬ 
tance above the earth. 


Arrow-Root is sometimes adulterated with starch, 
or the fecula of potatoes. Pure arrow-root is not so 
white as either of these mixtures; its grain is finer; 
and it contains small lumps that crumble between 
the fingers. The jelly which is made of it, and the 
water that is turned off, are inodorous; while those 
of the adulterations have a distinguishable smell 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


363 


AN ANNUAL FAIR, IN INDIA. 

[From Miss Roberts’s Work on Hindostan.] 

The town of Hurdvvar does not afford accommo¬ 
dation for a tenth part of the numbers who crowd 
to its fairs ; but Asiatics are independent of lodging- 
rooms ; the rich carry their canvass dwellings along 
with them, and the poor are contented with the 
shelter of a tree. The country round about is 
formed into one vast camp, in which Arabs, Cin¬ 
galese, Persians, Tartars, mingle with Seiks, people 
from Cutch, Guzerat, Nepaul, and all other provinces 
of India; while, a little removed from the din and 
clamour of this Babel-like assemblage, are to be 
seen the tents of European visitants, ladies, who 
venture fearlessly into the hubbub, sitting as much 
at their ease, as the dust, the myriads of flies, and 
the intolerable clamour, will admit. 

To give some idea of the valuable nature of the 
articles brought to Hurd war for sale, it may be 
interesting to state, that a necklace consisting of a 
row of alternate diamonds and emeralds was valued 
at five thousand pounds ; for another composed of 
splendid pearls, a fifth part of that sum was de¬ 
manded ; and those of wrought gold were from 
thirty to fifty pounds each. All sorts of brazen ves¬ 
sels are exposed for sale, and a great variety of idols 
of the same metal, which, previous to being conse¬ 
crated, may be purchased by the pound. After the 
Brahmins have shed the odour of sanctity upon 
them they increase prodigiously in price; persons, 
therefore, who only buy out of curiosity, should con¬ 
tent themselves with the least valuable articles. In- 
feriour trinkets, in the shape of beads, necklaces, 
bangles, armlets, and anklets of silver or of baser 
metal abound, together with real and mock coral, 
tinsel, and glass. There are mouth-pieces for pipes, 
of lapis-lazuli, agate, cornelian, and different kinds 
of marble ; and toys in ivory, stone, and mother of 
pearl. Rosaries and Brahminical cords in great 
abundance, with preserved skins of wild animals, 
and stuffed birds. Truffles are brought from the 
countries north of the Sutledge. The sherbets are 
the finest in the world, but the manufacture and the 
consumption of sweetmeats almost exceed belief. 
Every fourth shop at Hurdwar is a confectioner’s, 
and the process of baking goes on at all hours of 
the day and night. The articles intended for sale 
are arranged with more regard to convenience than 
taste; either strewed promiscuously upon the ground, 
or hidden in the tents; the various wild animals, 
which form a part of the merchant’s speculations, 
are openly exposed to public view, and, though 
gazed at with wonder and amazement by strangers 
from distant lands, are not rendered more profitable 
by being exhibited for money. The cattle depart¬ 
ment, at the Fair of Hurdwar, is the most attrac¬ 
tive, both to Europeans and natives, being consid¬ 
ered the best in India: Horses are brought from 
Hattiawar, Cutch, the countries north of the Sut¬ 
ledge river, Persia, and the shores of the Red Sea, 
perfect in blood and bone, proud in their bearing, 
swift as the wind, and suited to warriours and cav¬ 
aliers ; these fine animals are contrasted with a race 
less showy, but equally useful, the small, compact, 
and sturdy breeds of Cashmere and Cabul, and the 
mountain ghoouts, of which Jacquemont has lately 


made such honourable mention. Elephants also 
rear their gigantic forms in the encamping-grounds 
of the dealers. Like the horse, they are distin¬ 
guished by their good points; the tusks should be 
perfect, and they are greatly esteemed when the 
tail is of the orthodox dimensions, and furnished 
with a flat tuft of hair at its extremity. 

The difference of appearance betwixt an elephant 
destined for the pad, or as the caparisoned bearer 
of princes and nobles, is very great, but will bear 
no comparison with that displayed in the Camel. 
At Hurdwar, every description of this animal may 
be seen, from the uncomfortable looking, dejected 
beast of burden, to the thorough-bred hircarrah^ 
which can maintain its speed for a hundred miles 
without pause or rest; a winged messenger, which 
none but the best-trained and boldest riders can 
venture to mount. The camel and the dromedary 
were long supposed to be distinct animals, but mod¬ 
ern naturalists have decided that there is really no 
difference between them, the single and double¬ 
humped being merely a variety, and the fleetness 
and intelligence of both depending upon early edu¬ 
cation. Buffaloes, cows, and sheep, are likewise 
for sale, the list of domestic animals closing with 
dogs and cats, the beautiful races of Persia, so much 
sought for in India, appearing by the side of some 
huge elephant. Monkeys, occupying a sort of 
debateable ground between the wild beasts of the 
field and the quadrupeds which man has enlisted 
into his service, are brought in great numbers to 
Hurdwar: bears, leopards, and cheetas are also nu¬ 
merous, and deer of every kind, from the stately 
nylghau, to that diminutive species which can be 
so rarely preserved in captivity, even in India ; the 
Yak is also sometimes found, though but seldom, 
since it is unable to bear the heat of the plains. 
The most valuable articles of commerce at this fair, 
are the gems and precious stones of all kinds which 
lapidaries bring from every part of Asia: the shawls 
and cloths from Cashmere and Thibet, rank next; 
the same dealer may also have a stock of English 
woollens; and perfumery and bijouterie of every 
kind from London and Paris, find their way to this 
remote market. 

In speaking of the commodities to be met with, 
it may not be out of place to mention those which 
would be most likely to find purchasers at fair pri¬ 
ces. In cutlery, there should be scissors, penknives, 
and razors; next, common padlocks and all kinds 
of cheap locks. Red and blue broadcloths, and 
serge, with woollen caps, such as sailors wear, sell 
well. In cotton and silk, care should be taken to 
select articles which would make up readily into 
turbans and sarees; the former should be white, 
scarlet, or crimson, plain or flowered, twenty yards 
long by twelve inches; cloths for the duputtee, six 
yards long and one and a half wide, plain, or white, 
or those with coloured borders, which are much in 
request; also chintzes of gaudy patterns, which, as 
the fashions in India are unchangeable, would se¬ 
cure a constant sale. Stationary is also in consid 
erable demand, but it should consist of very cheap 
paper, both foolscap and post, French and Italian, 
it is said, answering best, being manufactured at a 
low price; quills, red wafers, and black lead pencils, 



364 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


complete the list in this department. The cata¬ 
logue of English books is rather amusing; in addi¬ 
tion to school dictionaries (that of Mylius, and that 
by Fulton and Knight, being recommended,) Mur¬ 
ray’s Grammar, Spelling Book, an English Reader ; 
the list contains an abridgment of the Spectator, 
Arabian Nights, Chesterfield’s Letters, whole or 
abridged; English Dialogues, the Young Man’s 
Best Companion, and the Universal Letter Writer. 
These are eagerly sought after, but as yet, for the 
generality of Indian students, the remaining portion 
of English Literature has been written in vain. 

Watches of silver or yellow metal, costing from 
thirty shillings to five pounds, are greatly in demand ; 
ako good spectacles, in cheap mountings of silver 
or metal, plated ware not selling readily in India ; 
small mirrors in plain frames, and lanterns of a com¬ 
mon sort, filled up with lamps for oil. Patterns of 
hard-ware manufactory, should be procured from 
India; for the natives will not eat or drink out of 
new-fangled utensils, however convenient they may 
be; plates, dishes, basins, and bowls, of iron, copper, 
and tin, should be fashioned after a peculiar manner, 
as also the lota, or jug, from which if an unprac¬ 
tised European were to attempt to drink, he would 
inevitably spill every drop of the liquor. In medi¬ 
cine, there is an incessant demand for the following 
articles: bark-powder and quinine, jalap and cream 
of tartar, essence of peppermint, brandy disguised 
as a medicine, eau de Cologne, lavender-water, and 
strong sweet water, such as eau de mille fleurs. 
This list appears very scanty; but the gentleman 
who furnished it assures us that it will not be expe¬ 
dient to add any thing to it for the purpose of sup¬ 
plying the wants of the interiour; he caused it to 
be examined and corrected by several opulent and 
respectable natives, well acquainted with the actual 
state of the country, and with what would sell most 
readily among the great mass of the people ; many 
of the most respectable classes being poor, and con¬ 
tent with the commonest conveniences of life. 

The English visitors at Hurd war are made to 
smile at the base uses to which the refinements of 
European luxury are degraded ; nothing appears to 
be employed for the precise purpose for which it 
was originally intended ; table covers of woollen 
with printed borders, black and crimson, or yellow 
and blue, figure upon the shoulders of the poorer 
classes, who have purchased them from next to 
nothing, tables being at present unknown in the 
houses of the natives; while prints are offered for 
sale upside down, and hung up in the same manner 
when purchased. A taste for the fine arts is still a 
desideratum in India, and it is difficult to explain 
the most obvious pictorial subject to an unedu¬ 
cated native. 


THE COMBUSTIBILITY OF THE DIAMOND. 

[From the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.] 

The first grand experiment to prove the combus¬ 
tibility of the diamond took place in the presence 
of Cosmo the Third, Grand Duke of Tuscany, 
wherein the diamond being exposed in the focus of 
the great lens (still in the Grand Duke’s laboratory 
at Florence), it was entirely volatilized. Guyton de 
Morveau, and others, consumed the diamond, and 


it was readily dissipated in the focus of the great 
mirror of Tchirnhausen, as we believe it subse¬ 
quently was in that of Parkei’s burning lens. In 
the year 1771, Macquer observed the diamond to 
inflame. Guyton de Morveau had proved that the 
diamond was destroyed when projected into red-hot 
nitre; and it was also burnt by means of melted 
nitre in a gold tube, by Mr. Tennant, When frag¬ 
ments of diamond were introduced into the brilliant 
arch of flame, evolved between points of charcoal 
in the galvanic batteries of the Royal Institution, 
consisting of 2000 double plates, and exposing a 
surface of 128,000 square inches, they rapidly dis¬ 
appeared, being completely volatilized. The dia¬ 
mond may be easily consumed by being placed in a 
cavity of charcoal, and urging on it the flame of a 
spirit-lamp, by means of a stream of oxygen. 

So far the combustibility of the diamond was 
completely ascertained, but its nature remained still 
undetermined. Lavoisier had proved and pointed 
out that carbonic acid gas was evolved as a product 
both in the combustion of the diamond and that of 
charcoal, and thus their identity was inferred. 
The researches of Clouet, Messrs. Allen and Pepys, 
and others, have confirmed this conclusion. Sir 
George Mackenzie converted iron into steel by 
means of powdered diamonds. Mr. Children’s im¬ 
mense battery consisted of twenty triads, each six 
feet long, by two feet eight inches broad, exposing 
a total surface of thirty-two feet; when iron, with 
diamond powder interposed, was exposed to its in¬ 
fluence, the iron w'as converted into steel, and the 
diamond disappeared ; and Mr. Smithson Tennant, 
having placed a diamond in a gold tube, supported 
in a state of incandescence, a stream of oxygen, by 
means of gentle pressure, was made to traverse it, 
and the result proved that the oxygen was trans¬ 
formed into an equal volume of carbonic acid gas, 
which was found in an opposite receiver resting over 
mercury. Sir Humphrey Davy, w hen at Florence, 
made some experiments with the Grand Duke’s 
burning lens, on the combustion of the diamond. 
He found that when the gem was introduced into a 
glass globe, supplied with oxygen, and kindled by 
the lens, it continued to burn after it was removed 
from the focus—the oxygen was supplanted by an 
equal volume of carbonic acid gas, while there was 
no deposit of aqueous vapour. On the other hand, 
when plumbago and charcoal were consumed under 
similar circumstances, there was a sensible diminu¬ 
tion of volume, and also a formation of watery va¬ 
pour, clearly proving that the latter contained hy¬ 
drogen. Experiment has thus unequivocally de¬ 
monstrated that the diamond is pure crystallized 
carbon. 


Czar Peter’s Statue. —The colossal statue. of 
the Czar Peter was erected by Catherine the Great, 
empress of Russia, in 1782. It is of bronze, and 
represents the Czar on horseback, with a composed 
and graceful mein, holding the reins in his right 
hand, and stretching forth the left, as if to bestow 
a benediction on his subjects. The pedestal of this 
statue is a solid rock, weighing 1600 tons, which 
was brought fifteen miles, by land and water, to 
St. Petersburg. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


365 


COINAGE. 

Coins have l>een made of pewter, brass, copper, 
silver, gold, and platinum. Money has recently 
been coined of the latter metal in Russia. Pewter 
coins were issued by King James II, during his 
wars in Ireland, after abdicating the English throne. 
Leathern coins, if such they n)ay be called, have 
been in use in some countries. The Spartans, we 
believe, used iron money. The most ancient pieces 
of coin were impressed by placing the blank metal 
under the die, and giving it a blow with a hammer. 
They appear to have been very carelessly manufac¬ 
tured ; for the blank piece of metal was often im¬ 
perfectly rounded, and sometimes was not placed 
directly underneath the die ; so that only a portion 
of the inscription or device was stamped upon the 
coin. Occasionally, coins were cast; and ancient 
moulds have been found with metal remaining in 
them. The form has generally been circular in all 
ages ; but we have seen specimens of coin from the 
East Indies in the shape of little copper cubes. 
The size of pieces of money varies extremely in dif¬ 
ferent ages and countries. Some Russian copper 
coins are almost big and heavy enough to crush a 
man, should they fall upon his head. The gold 
doubloon is a ponderous coin. On the other hand, 
there used formerly to be a coinage of silver pennies 
and half-pence, in England, which were so small 
that it was difficult to find one of them in the 
pocket. In fact, they could not have been much 
bigger than silver spangles, and must have looked 
as if they came from the royal mint of Lilliput. 
Medals, struck in honour of distinguished person¬ 
ages, or to commemorate remarkable events, are often 
several inches in diameter—the size of an ordinary 
saucer. 

Gold bullion for the English coinage is imported 
by the Bank of England, and transmitted to the 
mint in the shape of ingots. It is there melted in 
black lead crucibles, each of which will contain 
about a hundred pounds of metal. When in a state 
of fusion, the gold is stirred with a stick of black- 
lead, in order to mingle the pure metal with the al¬ 
loy, the proportion of which is two carats to twenty- 
two. It is then poured into moulds, which give it 
the shape of bars, ten inches long, seven wide, and 
one thick. Silver bullion is imported in ingots, of 
from fifty to sixty pounds troy-weight. At the mint, 
it is melted in very strong cast-iron pots, shaped 
like the letter U, each containing from four hundred 
to four hundred and fifty pounds of the metal. Af¬ 
ter being mixed with alloy, at the rate of eighteen 
penny weights to every eleven ounces and two 
penny weights, it is cast into iron ingot moulds. 
The bars of silver must then be annealed, by heat¬ 
ing them red-hot. Gold does not undergo this 
process. 

Having been thus prepared, the bars of silver 
and gold are passed between rollers, in order to re¬ 
duce them to sheets of the necessary thickness for 
coinage. These sheets are cut into slips, each of 
the bigness of two coins; and pieces of a circular 
form are struck out, which must be sized, or brought 
to the standard weight, by filing the heavier ones, 
and throwing the light ones aside to be re-melted. 
This process of sizing is rendered much less trouble¬ 


some than formerly, by the great perfection of the 
machinery which is now used for flattening the 
bars, and cutting out the circular pieces. After be¬ 
ing sized, the pieces, or blanks, as they are called, 
are heated red-hot, and are then pickled, by boiling 
them in sulphuric acid, which renders them clean 
and brilliant. The next operation, is milling; the 
use of which is, to preserve the coins from being 
filed or clipped round the edges. Lastly, they are 
stamped on both sides at once, by means of a screw- 
press. Such is the accuracy with which coin is now 
manufactured in England, that, of 1000 sovereigns, 
500 were found to be perfectly correct, 200 varied 
only half a grain from the standard, 100 varied 
three-fourths of a grain, and the remaining 100, in 
the aggregate, one grain. Medals are produced by 
a succession of operations, similar to the above. 
When they are very large, and the figures are to be 
much elevated above tlie surface, it is sometimes 
necessary to give them fifteen or twenty strokes 
of the die. Some have been cast in plaster moulds. 
They have also been cast in sand, and finished by 
striking with the die. 

In this country, the earliest coinage was that of 
shillings, in Massachusetts, in 1652. By manufac¬ 
turing and issuing these coins, the government of 
the colony infringed a royal prerogative, and made 
themselves liable, for aught we see, to the pains and 
penalties of forgery. King Charles the Second took 
umbrage at tlie fact, but was pacified by being 
shown one of the coins, whereon was represented a 
tree, which his Majesty mistook for the Royal Oak 
that had concealed him from his enemies ;—the 
truth being, that the New England coiner had 
done his best to give the image of a pine-tree. 
There is a well-known story, that the mint-master 
grew very rich by his contract with government; 
and at the marriage of his daughter, a stout, plump 
lass, he put her into one side of a pair of scales, 
and heaped Massachusetts shillings into the other, 
till they weighed her down. This was the girl’s 
portion. If young ladies of modern times were to 
be thus portioned according to their weight in sil¬ 
ver, a slender waist would stand but a poor chance 
in the matrimonial market. 


Snoring. —‘Snoring,’ says a writer in the Ameri¬ 
can Journal of Science, ‘ is caused by the inactivity 
of the muscles of the extremities, in consequence of 
which the blood returns more sluggishly to the 
heart. Some of the muscles of respiration are thus 
impeded, and the remainder labour more violently, 
to overcome the deficiency ; for the lungs require a 
certain quantity of air, in order to the performance 
of their functions. What they fail to receive in the 
regular inspirations they make up by more frequent 
inhalations; and what they want in frequency, they 
endeavour to compensate by the quantity admitted 
at once. In snoring, the mouth is besides but 
slightly extended, the palate is depressed, and a 
large volume of air is admitted into the nose. Hence 
the peculiar nasal resonance.’ 

Bullets. —In the early days of this country, 
when there was scarcely any coin, musket-bullets 
passed current instead of farthings. 





366 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


TOWER OF BABEL. 

On the banks of the Euphrates is the site of a 
ruined city, which is supposed to have been Babylon, 
that mighty capital of ancient Chaldea. Among 
the ruins, and about four miles from the river, there 
is an immense mound, to which the Arabs have 
given the name of El Mujellibah, or ‘ The Over¬ 
thrown.’ Scholars, deeply versed in ancient his¬ 
tory and geography, are of opinion that this mound 
was the foundation of the Tower of Babel. In 
shape, it is a vast oblong square, and is composed of 
sun-dried and kiln-burnt bricks, which are laid in 
regular courses, with layers of unbroken reeds be¬ 
tween each course. The material of most of the 
bricks appears to have been mud, which was beaten 
up with chopped straw, and baked in the burning 
sun of that Eastern clime. This was the sort 
of brick which the Israelites were compelled to 
make without straw—a very difficult task ; for the 
straw was necessary to keep the mud or clay from 
crumbling to pieces. Instead of mortar, asphaltus 
or bitumen was used ; this is the slime which is re¬ 
ferred to in the following passage from Scripture— 
‘ And they had brick for stone, and slime had they 
for mortar.’ Such of the bricks as remain entire 
are thirteen inches square and three inches thick, 
and are generally marked with ancient characters. 

The mound is a solid mass, the sides of which 
face the four cardinal points. The northern side is 
274 yards in length; the southern 256 ; the eastern 
226 ; and the western 240. In its most elevated 
part, the ruin is 1.39 feet high. The summit is an 
uneven surface, strewn with whole and broken 
bricks, some of which are vitrified or petrified, and 
with pottery, bitumen, shells, and glass. The base 
of the mound is greatly injured by time and the ele¬ 
ments. Towards the southeast, it is cloven asun¬ 
der by a deep furrow, extending from top to bot¬ 
tom. In the sides of the structure deep cavities 
are visible, which have been partly worn by the 
weather, but chiefly hollowed out by the Arabs, in 
search of bricks and other antiquities. Within these 
caves, there is an offensive smell, and they are 
strewn with the bones of sheep and goats, which 
have been dragged thither and devoured by 
jackals. Numberless bats and owls inhabit their 
dismal recesses. Lions have been said to make 
their lair among the ruins; but it is believed that 
there are no lions in that part of the East. The na¬ 
tives can hardly be prevailed on to follow strangers 
into the cavities of the wall, or to remain in the 
vicinity of the mound after sunset, for fear of the 
demons with whom their superstitious fancies have 
peopled this place of mystery and decay. Beside's 
its name of El Mujellibah, the mound is also called 
Haroot and Maroot, from a tradition that two rebel 
angels, who bore those appellations, are confined 
thereabouts in a certain invisible well, within which 
they have been hanging by their heels for ages, and 
will continue so to hang till the day of judgment. 
It is natural that legends of this character should be 
connected with the ruins, and throw a shadowy 
dread around them ; but the only real danger, in¬ 
curred by a visit to El Mujellibah, is that of being 
stung by the venomous reptiles which infest the 
spot. The situation of this, and other parts of the 


once magnificent and populous city of Babylon, cor 
responds well with the prophecy of Jeremiah.— 
‘And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place 
for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, without 
an inhabitant.’ The traveller in the East finds, at 
every step, proofs equally strong of the prophetic 
truth of the Bible. It is not too much to say, that 
all the countries, where the old prophets dwelt, are 
now strewn with accomplished prophecies. 

This is not the place for an erudite discussion, 
whether the ruinous mound of El Mujellibah—The 
Overthrown—be really the remains of the Tower of 
Babel, where mankind, till then constituting one 
race and people, were first divided into nations of 
various tongues. But there is nothing, either in 
the structure itself, or its local situation, to contro¬ 
vert that opinion ; and if any person, by adopting 
it, will gain a livelier faith in Scripture history, there 
are fair and reasonable grounds for him to do so. 

Russian Police. —Foreigners, who arrive in Pe¬ 
tersburg, are not permitted to leave the city, till 
their names have been three times published in the 
Gazette. As this newspaper appears only twice a 
week, all travellers are compelled to remain at least ten 
days. After the regulation has been complied with, 
they are at liberty to depart at any time, within 
twelve days; but if they exceed that period, the 
whole ceremony of publication must be repeated. 
The supposed object of this singular ordinance is, 
to prevent strangers from going off* in debt, without 
due notice to their creditors. 


The Knout. —There is a large open space in 
the suburbs of St. Petersburg, where the punish¬ 
ment of the Knout is inflicted, generally on Sabbath 
mornings, and on females as well as men. Such is 
the severity of its stroke, that the executioner, if he 
be so ordered, can inflict death with it in the course 
of twenty lashes. The instrument is composed of 
the dried skins of fishes. Peter the Great, it is said 
used to lay it over the backs of the noblemen and 
ladies of his court, with his own hand. 


Stage-Coaches. —Lord Clarendon, speaking of 
the change iij the mode of travelling, says—‘ Where¬ 
as we were wont, in any great road, to meet a hun¬ 
dred horsemen in a day, we now see not ten ; the 
Lawyer and his Clerk, the Citizen and his Appren¬ 
tice, and the Lady and her Maid, being all crowded 
together into one Coach.’ This was written more 
than a hundred and fifty years ago. Stage-Coaches 
are now, in their turn, beginning to go out of 
fashion. - 

Covered Heads.— It used formerly to be the 
custom to sit with the hat on at table. Lord Cla¬ 
rendon, in one of his tracts, introduces a person as 
saying that he never sat covered in his father’s pre¬ 
sence, till he was thirty-three or four years old, 
married, and had children; and then only at meal¬ 
times. Pepys, also, in his Diary, alludes to the 
custom. - 

Saint Ursula. —Such was the purity of St. Ur¬ 
sula, that, if any unclean carcass were buried near 
her grave, the earth, it is said, would throw it up 
again. 








367 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


GREENOUGH, THE SCULPTOR. 

[In a Letter from H, Greenough, Esq.] 
[Dunlap’3 History of the Arts of Design.] 

He was born in Green Street, Boston, on the 6th 
of September, 1805. At an early age he was plac¬ 
ed at school, to be instructed in the course of his 
studies in the branches necessary to fit him for a 
collegiate education. His instructors were changed 
from time to time as he advanced, or as more eligi¬ 
ble situations presented themselves. Most of these 
were masters of country academies, at some dis¬ 
tance from Boston. I myself recollect twelve dif¬ 
ferent persons, under most of whom we studied 
together. He was distingui.shed for his proficiency 
in the classics, and especially for his excellent 
memory ; having once obtained a prize for having 
committed in a given time, more lines of English 
poetry, than any of his competitors, by a thousand 
and odd. To mathematics he had always a repug¬ 
nance, and made little show; though the taste, I 
suspect, rather than the talent, was wanting. 

Being generally robust, and of an active and san¬ 
guine temperament, he usually entered with great 
ardour into all the games and amusements at school. 
In the athletic exercises, as running, jumping, and 
swimming, he excelled most of his age. But many 
of his amusements were of a nature to show a de¬ 
cided propensity for the profession which he finally 
chose. 

Although seeing an elder brother constantly en¬ 
gaged in drawing and painting might have induced 
him to do the same, from mere imitation ; yet, in 
the manufacture of his playthings, a love of the 
beauty of form early manifested itself. His school¬ 
fellows often begged of him to carve them wood 
cimeters and daggers, as every one he made sur¬ 
passed the last in beauty. I recollect in particular, 
a small pocket pistol of his manufacture, which was 
cast of lead, and mounted on a very gracefully form¬ 
ed stock, inlaid with flowers and ornamental work, 
of thin strips of lead, which had, when new, the 
appearance of silver. On several occasions, when 
detected in manufacturing playthings in school 
hours, his performances procured him praise for 
their ingenuity and beauty, instead of the intended 
reprimand. 

I might mention numerous instances of this kind, 
but will merely speak of one more favourite amuse¬ 
ment. This was the manufacture of little carriages, 
horses, and drivers, of beeswax of different colours, 
which, being very small, (the wheels of the circum¬ 
ference of a cent) were the admiration of all our 
visitors, from their beauty and delicacy. The car¬ 
riages were formed on exceedingly graceful models, 
trimmed and lined with bits of silk and gold cord, 
and with the horses, which were very well modelled, 
had quite the air of the equipages of some Lillipu¬ 
tian noble. 

A small room was, by the consent of our parents, 
appropriated for the manufacture and preservation 
of these articles, and invention soon suggested the 
idea of laying out, on long pine tables, estates for 
the supposed proprietors of these equipages. The 
houses and tables were laid out, as it were, on a 
ground plan merely, the apartments being divided, 
like pews in a church, by partitions made of draw¬ 


ing paper, and furnished with miniature articles of 
similar manufacture; and, in this room, and with 
these puppets, adventures were dramatically gone 
through, with great enthusiasm, in play hours, for 
nearly two years, when the system, having arrived 
at what seemed the ‘ne plus ultra,’ was abandoned 
for some new project. 

I have often heard him attribute his first wish to 
attempt something like sculpture to having con¬ 
stantly before his eyes a marble statue of Phocion, 
a copy from the antique, which my father caused to 
be placed, with its pedestal, as an ornament to a 
mound in the garden. His first attempts were 
made in chalk, on account of its whiteness and soft¬ 
ness. He soon attempted alabaster, or rather rock 
plaster of paris, (unburnt,) with equal success; and 
within a few weeks of his first attempt, he had been 
so assiduous as to transform his chamber to a re<iu- 
lar museum, where rows of miniature busts, catved 
from engravings, were ranged on little pine shelves. 

I recollect, in particular, a little chalk statue of 
William Penn, which he copied from an engraving 
in the ‘ Portfolio,’ from the bronze statue in Phila¬ 
delphia. A gentleman who saw him copying, in 
chalk, the bust of John Adams, by Binon, was so 
pleased with his success, that he carried hitn to the 
Athenaeum and presented him to Mr. Shaw, I be¬ 
lieve the first founder of the Institution, and at that 
time the sole director. My brother was then about 
twelve years old, and of course was much edified 
by Mr. Shaw’s conversation, who assured him, as 
he held the chalk in his hand, that there were the 
germs of a great and noble art. He then showed 
him the casts there, and promising him he should 
always find a bit of carpet, to cut his chalk upon, 
whenever he wished to copy any thing, gave him a 
carte blanche to the fine arts room, with its valua¬ 
ble collection of engravings, &c. He may be con¬ 
sidered from this time as studying with something 
like a definite purpose, and with some system. 
The friendship of Mr. Solomon Willard, of Boston, 
soon initiated him into the mysteries of modelling 
in clay, w'hich he had unsuccessfully endeavoured 
to acquire from directions in the Edinburgh Cyclo¬ 
pedia ; and Mr. Alpheus Cary, a stone-cutter, of 
Boston, gave him a similar insight into the manner 
of carving marble, so as soon to enable him to rea¬ 
lize his wishes in the shape of tlie bust of Bacchus. 
He profited much also by the friendship of Mr. 
Binon, a French artist then in Boston, going daily 
to his rooms, and modelling in his company. 

Plis progress was so rapid, that his father no 
longer opposed his devoting most of his time to 
these pursuits ; insisting only on his graduating at 
Harvard University, Cambridge, on the ground that 
if he continued in his determination, a college edu¬ 
cation would only the better fit him for an artist’s 
life. He accordingly entered college at the age of 
sixteen, A. D. 1821. His time was now almost 
exclusively devoted to reading works of art, and to 
drawing and modelling, and the study of anatomy. — 
Professor Cogswell, the Librarian of the University, 
assisted him in the former by the loan of a valuable 
collection of original drawings, as well as by his 
counsel and criticisms : and to Dr. George Parkman, 
of Boston, he was indebted for most of his anatomi- 




368 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


cal knowledge, learned from his books, skeletons, 
and preparations. These are, however, not the 
only gentlemen to whom he was indebted for such 
real services, and of whom he alw'ays speaks with 
affection and gratitude ; but as the object of the 
present communication is merely to trace the order 
of his studies and works as an artist, I have avoid¬ 
ed mentioning names, excepting as tending to show’ 
how any main object of study had been effected. 

Notwithstanding the benefit he must be sensible 
of having derived from his studies at Cambridge, I 
have heard him say he estimated them little in com¬ 
parison to what he obtained from the friendship of 
Mr. Washington Allston, whose acquaintance he 
made at the house of Mr. Edmund Dana, the 
brother of Mr. R. Dana, the Poet. With Mr. 
Allston much of his time, during his junior and 
senior years, was spent. By him his ideas of art 
were elevated, and his endeavours directed to a 
proper path. 


MOORISH PECULIARITIES, 

TAKEN AT RANDOM. 

Tangier is a good specimen of a Moorish city; at 
a distance, its mosques, lofty towers, and the battle¬ 
ments and turrets of the Alcassaba, or castle, give 
it an imposing appearance; but within the walls, 
the stranger sees a miserable collection of houses, 
looking the shabbier by contrast with two or three 
splendid mansions belonging to foreign consuls. 
The shops are mere stalls. The streets are so nar¬ 
row, that a passenger in the middle can easily touch 
the walls on each side; and the houses so low, that 
he can reach the roofs without standing on tijitoe. 
The inhabitants are very subject to Elephantiasis. 
In ancient times, this disease used to cause the joints 
to separate, and the limbs to drop off; so that only 
the trunk and head remained. The countenance 
assumed the savage and frightful aspect of a wild 
beast. At present, the legs only are affected; they 
swell to the size of an elephant’s ; and the similarity 
gives the disease its name. From the knee down- 
w'ard, the leg is discoloured and ulcerated, and the 
skin thick and rough, crackling like parchment. 
The general state of health does not appear affected, 
and the disorder is so common that it occasions 
little anxiety. Its causes are supposed to be poor¬ 
ness of living, dampness, and the bad quality of 
w’ater. 

In Tangier, and throughout Morocco, the Sultan 
alone has the privilege of carrying an umbrella. 
Should any inferiour person venture abroad with 
one, it w’ould be high treason, and his head would 
be the forfeit. The habitation of Moorish saints 
are distinguished by a small white flag, or rag, stuck 
on a pole; and Christians must keep their distance 
from the sacred precincts. A military patrol walks 
all night through the streets of Tangier, shouting 
the watchword every five minutes. Before day¬ 
light, the Mueddin bellows, with a sepulchral cry, 
from the summit of a mosque, enjoining the true 
believers to awake and pray; this vociferation is 
three times repeated. The Moorish Judges often 
hear causes in the open street; little deliberation is 
used; and the sentence, whatever it be, is imme¬ 
diately carried into execution. The bastinado is 


the ordinary punishment for slight offences; and 
decapitation for more serious crimes. When a per¬ 
son is to be decapitated, he is stretched on his back, 
his arms and legs are held down, and the executioner, 
with the dexterity of frequent practice, passes a 
long and sharp knife through his neck. So many 
undergo this death, that it has lost its terrours. 
There is, or was formerly, a mode of punishment 
by tossing the criminal into the air. Three or four 
stout negroes were the executioners, and performed 
their office with such skill, that he was sure to come 
down on his head, shoulder, or in any other posi¬ 
tion that had been prescribed by the sentence. 

In some of the cities of Morocco, the streets are 
roofed over, and thus form a succession of long, 
dark, narrow passages. The shop-keepers sit cross- 
legged among their goods, so that they can lay 
their hands upon any article, without the trouble of 
getting up. The Jews suffer great persecutions in 
the Moorish cities. They are distinguished by 
small black scullcaps on their shaven heads. A 
Moorish child may often be seen to kick an old 
gray-bearded Jew, or smite him on the cheek ; while 
the Jew addresses the little fellow as his lord or 
master, and entreats permission to pass on. Were 
he to return a blow for those which he receives, his 
hand would be cut off. Many of the Jews are 
good mechanics, but almost all are miserably poor. 
Renegadoes, or deserters from Christianity, are in 
even a worse condition, and are despised equally 
by Moors, Christians, and Jews. On the death of 
one of these wretches, neither Christians nor Moors 
would own him ; and his body lay long in the street 
unburied. 

In one of the Moorish cities, there are seventeen 
Jewish synagogues. The Jews keep a yearly festi¬ 
val, in commemoration of the sojourn of their fath¬ 
ers in the wilderness. During eight days, it is un¬ 
lawful for them to sleep under a roof. The Jewish 
women are very beautiful; they dwell in greater 
seclusion than the Moorish females; and many of 
them, till the age of eighteen or twenty, are never 
seen in the street, and perhaps do not once cross 
the threshold of their homes. Yet they seem cheer¬ 
ful and happy—probably because they are never 
idle. The Moorish ladies, when they go abroad, 
are enveloped in a white hayk, somew^iat resem¬ 
bling a shroud ; it completely conceals their face 
and form, but discloses their bare legs—contrary to 
the fashion of Europe, where ladies conceal their 
legs, but show their faces. Beauty among the 
Moors consists in corpulency, and a wife is valued 
according to her weight, and the circumference of 
her waist. A lady who weighs a ton, and whose 
girth is equal to that of a hogshead, may aspire to 
be Sultana. 

There are no wheel-carriages in Morocco, nor 
any roads suitable to them ; and all the travel is 
performed with camels, horses, or mules. The 
camel goes only half as fast as the horse or mule, 
and his motion is not easy to the rider. In travel¬ 
ling, it is necessary to take a tent, or perhaps two, 
with bed and bedding, provisions, and a load of 
articles for presents, and to be attended by a mili¬ 
tary escort. In the villages, the houses are com¬ 
posed of low walls of stone or plastered reeds, with 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


369 


loosely thatched roofs. Large troops of ferocious 
dogs are kept in every village, not from any liking 
which the Moors entertain towards these brutes, 
whom, on the contrary, they abhor as unclean ani¬ 
mals ; but they are necessary as a defence against 
the Arabs and Breber robbers. Wandering tribes 
of Bedouins are frequently met with, dwelling in 
tents; they possess flocks of sheep and goats. Such 
is the scarcity of water, that the situation of a well 
is as universally known, as that of a city in other 
parts of the world. In the Moorish country, there 
IS a singular method of preserving grain. A cellar 
is dug to the depth of seven or eight feet; the floor 
is covered with mats and straw; the sides are lined 
with reeds; a layer of straw is placed on top, then 
a slab of stone, and lastly the earth is heaped in a 
mound over the whole. In these granaries, which 
are called Mataiuores, wheat or barley may be kept 
perfectly good for five years, and other sorts of 
grain even longer. There is but a very imperfect 
knowledge of agriculture, and no more food is rais¬ 
ed, than barely suffices for the scanty population. 
Famines have occurred, during which the half- 
starved wretches were compelled to eat dogs, cats, 
rats, roots, bones, and the most disgusting oflTals. 

In the streets of the cities may be seen auction- 
iers—^jugglers playing various tricks—story tellers, 
surrounded by an audience—and Moors seated at 
chess. At funerals, the body is borne on a bier, in 
a coffin resembling a large chest of varnished wood ; 
and the mourners follow, chanting a sepulchral 
verse. If the dead person be of the poorer class, 
he is enveloped in a white cloth, and buried with¬ 
out a coffin. In cases of illness, a conjurer is some¬ 
times called in. He writes his prescription on a 
white plate; the ink is suffered to dry, and is then 
washed off with water, which must be drank as a 
medicine. It may be said in favour of this custom, 
that it is one of the safest possible ways in which a 
doctor’s prescriptions can be swallowed. 

The Brebers, who infest Morocco, and are hated 
by the Moors, are supposed to have come originally 
from Syria, and to be descendants of those Philis¬ 
tines who were driven from their country by David, 
when he slew Goliath of Gath. 


TURTLE. 

At the island of Ascension, turtle are so nume¬ 
rous that 2500 have been taken in a year, several 
of which weighed from six to eight hundred pounds 
a piece. They are kept in two large ponds, with¬ 
out food, and are preserved in good condition by 
an occasional change of water. They are served 
out to the crews of the vessels which touch at the 
island, instead of fresh meat, and are cooked in the 
same manner as beef or mutton. Prepared in this 
simple style, turtle is a more delicious food than the 
most elaborate art of cookery can render it in Eu¬ 
rope, where the animals arrive in a sickly and dying 
condition, having lost much of their original rich¬ 
ness of flavour. On the island of Arptola, in the 
Persian Gulf, they are taken by the Arabs in such 
numbers, that the smell of their decaying bodies 
pollutes the air to a considerable distance. The 
Arabs do not use them as food, but capture them 
only for their shells, which are carried to China. 


Lieutenant Kempthorne, who has recently surveyed 
the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, gives a cu¬ 
rious description of the turtle fishery on the above- 
mentioned island. The turtle come thither by 
night, to deposit their eggs in the sand of the 
beach. When attacked by an enemy, their mode 
of defence is to throw up a cloud of sand with their 
flippers, under cover of which, they make their re¬ 
treat. They can be secured only by turning them 
on their backs—a feat which requires the united 
strength of three or four men. One of Lieutenant 
Kempthorne’s men, while at a distance from his 
companions, attempted singly to turn a large turtle. 
The turtle, however, resisted, and contrived to get 
the man’s hand between his shell and neck ; then 
drawing in his head, he held the poor fellow fast, 
and began to move towards the sea, dragging his 
prisoner along with him. The other sailors were 
alarmed by their shipmate’s cries, just in time to 
rescue the captive, and capture the conquerour. 
Six large turtle were taken, on this occasion, and 
converted into soup, cutlets, and steaks ; and the 
eggs were eaten with boiled rice, instead of butter— 
which they considerably resembled. These eggs 
are round, two or three inches in diameter, and 
covered by a thin membrane, like parchment. 
Twice or thrice a year, the female turtle deposits 
about a hundred of them in a hole, a foot wide and 
two feet deep, in the sand, where they are hatched 
by the warmth of the sun. The young ones break 
the shell at the end of a month, and crawl to the 
sea in ten or twelve days more. 

The Camel’s Thorn. —This lowly shrub abounds 
in the deserts of Arabia, India, Africa, Tartary, and 
Persia, where it constitutes the chief or only food 
of the camels. It has small oval leaves, and bears 
beautiful crimson flowers. Its tough roots pene¬ 
trate deep into the desert sands, and collect all the 
scanty moisture which they can supply. The Arabs 
take a singular advantage of this property, possessed 
by the Camel’s Thorn, of secreting moisture within 
its stalk from the sun-parched soil. In the Spring, 
they divide the stem close to the root, put a single 
v^ater-melon seed within the fissure, and replace the 
earth about it. The seed sprouts, and becomes a 
vine, which is abundantly supplied with nourish 
ment by its foster-parent, the Camel’s Thorn, and 
produces water-melons, as full of delicious juice 
as if they grew in a happier clime. This is the 
only process by which such fruit could be raised in 
the desert; for the roots of the water-melon are 
fitted to imbibe nourishment only where moisture 
is abundant; nor is it probable that the seed, if 
planted in the usual way, would even sprout above 
the sand. - 

Public Loans. —The system of public loans, by 
which war is carried on, is founded on the principle, 
that future generations ought to sustain a part of the 
burden, which is supposed to be incurred for their 
benefit. No country can make war with merely its 
habitual revenue. - 

In the city of Vienna, there is a private Peniten¬ 
tiary, to which parents, in a respectable rank of life, 
send their children, when their own authority is in¬ 
adequate to controul them. 

47 








PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


870 



7l«w of PeaHsylvania HoipitaL, 




























































































































































































































































































































































































































371 


OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 

This Institution had its origin in the charity of 
private individuals, and was the first of the kind in 
the Anglo-American dominions; although, at an 
earlier date, there were probably hospitals under 
the direction of the Catholic priesthood, in the 
French colonies. The corner-stone of the eastern 
wing was laid in the year 1755. As since enlarged 
and completed, it consists of a central part and of 
two wings, which are united to the main structure 
by two buildings, each eighty-one feet in length. 
The central part is sixty-three feet long, and sixty- 
one in depth ; the wings extend each about thirty 
feet in front, by one hundred and eleven feet deep; 
and the length of the whole edifice is two hundred 
and eighty-five feet, fronting southward, on Pine 
street. There are other buildings belonging to the 
Hospital; and the space of ground, covered by its 
edifices, its groves, and gardens, is nearly fifteen 
acres, and occupies the entire square between 
Spruce and Pine, and Eighth and Ninth streets. 
Venerable trees throw their shadow round about 
the structure, and a statue of the illustrious Quaker, 
William Penn, presented by his grandson, stands 
on a pedestal in front. In all respects, the exte- 
riour of the Hospital is on a scale of magnificence 
and beauty, that fills the beholder’s mind with the 
pleasantest impressions, in spite of the associations 
of human misery, connected with a remembrance of 
the objects to which this stately structure is devoted. 

The internal arrangements are equally admirable. 
The central edifice contains a library of six thousand 
volumes ; an apothecary’s establishment; an amphi¬ 
theatre for surgical operations and lectures ; a lying- 
in ward ; a female sick ward ; chambers for the re¬ 
sident physicians ; and apartments for the steward’s 
family. The western part of the Hospital is occu¬ 
pied exclusively by insane patients, one hundred of 
whom can there be accommodated. On the east of 
the central edifice are the medical and surgical 
wards, calculated for the reception of one hundred 
and sixty patients. From the foundation of the 
Hospital, down to the year 1828, the number of in¬ 
dividuals, admitted within its walls, had been hardly 
less than twenty-five thousand. 

The foundation of Hospitals was an early result 
of Christianity, until the appearance of which, there 
was no such thing as systematic benevolence on 
earth. In the first years of the Church, the bishops 
provided for the poor, both in health and when dis¬ 
eased ; and after the priesthood had acquired a 
stated revenue, one fourth of the whole was appro¬ 
priated for similar purposes. The Catholic religious 
institutions, although greatly perverted from the 
pristine purity of their origin, accomplished a vast 
deal of good, during the dark and bloody centuries 
in which they flourished. The only friends of the 
sick and miserable were then to be sought under 
the hood of the monk and the veil of the nun. In 
course of time, many persons, when conscious of 
the approach of death, devoted their wealth to the 
foundation of Plospitals, thus hoping to perpetuate 
their names and memory, which would otherwise 
have been lost for want of children—or perhaps to 
make amends for an evil life, by applying to this 
sacred purpose their unjust gains, which they could 


no longer hoard in their coffers, nor spend upon 
themselves. Other Hospitals were endowed by 
governments; others, as in the present instance, by 
the contribution of charitable individuals. At the 
present day, there are few or no civilized countries, 
where the homeless sick may not find the shelter of 
a roof, the skill of a physician, the care of a nurse, 
and a pallet to stretch their wasted forms upon ;— 
every thing, in short, save the sedulous affection 
which, at a sick bed, is worth them all. 

The most powerful description of a Hospital that 
ever was, or can be given, is contained in Milton’s 
Paradise Lost. The Archangel Michael leads Adam, 
after his fall, to the summit of a high hill, and 
brings before him a series of pictures, portraying 
the future destinies of the world ;—and among the 
rest, the following,—the dark and fearful painting of 
which is worthy of (he pencil that had successfully 
depicted the torments of the fallen angels ;— 

‘ Immediately a place 

Before his eyes appeared, sad, noisome, dark, 

A Lazar-House it seemed, wherein were laid 
Numbers of all diseased, all maladies 
Of ghastly spasms, or racking torture, qualms 
Of heart-sick agony, all feverous kinds, 

Convulsions, epilepsies, fierce catarrhs. 

Intestine stone and ulcer, colic pangs. 

Demoniac frenzy, moping melancholy. 

And moon-struck madness, pining atrophy. 

Marasmus, and wide-wasting pestilence. 

Dropsies, and asthmas, and joint-racking rheums. 

Dire was the tossing, deep the groans; Despair 
Tended the sick, busied from couch to couch; 

And over them triumphant Death his dart 
Shook, but delayed to strike, though oft invoked 
With vows, as their chief good, and final hope. 

Sight so deform what heart of rock could long 
Dry-eyed behold ? Adam could not, but wept. 

Though not of woman born; compassion quelled 
His best of man, and gave him up to tears.’ 

No marvel that Adam wept!—no marvel, if he 
failed to discern, in this dreadftil misery of his de¬ 
scendants, the hand of a beneficent Creator ! But 
Michael tells him, in substance, that these many 
varieties of loathsome sickness were the punishment 
of intemperance and ungoverned appetite. Adam 
inquires, if there be no easier mode of death than 
those which he beholds in the Lazar-House; and 
receives the following answer.— 

‘ There is, said INIichacl, if thou well observe 
The rule of not too much, by temperance taugbt. 

In what thou eat’st and drink’st, seeking from thence 
Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight, 

Till many years over thy head return; 

Po may’st thou live, till like ripe fruit thou drop 
Into thy mother’s lap, or be with ease 
Gathered, not harshly plucked, for death mature.’ 

The above lines contain the whole doctrine of 
Temperance, and are worthy of the Archangers 
lips. And were mankind wise enough to seek, in 
their food and drink, ‘due nourishment, not glut¬ 
tonous delight,’ there would be many a vacant bed 
in the wards of the Pennsylvania Hospital. 

Polygamy. —The Mahometans attempt to justify 
their custom of marrying a plurality of wives, by the 
fact, that the Eastern women grow old much faster 
than the men. A girl is marriageable at thirteen, 
in her prime at fifteen, and old at twenty-five; 
while the males retain their vigour as long as in 
other countries. 




372 


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SCENES OF WAR. 

Captain George Cooke, who has published his Ad¬ 
ventures in the Peninsular War, gives an account 
of many ghastly wounds, and other horrible sights, 
which he witnessed in the course of his military 
service. We take the following from various parts 
of the volume:— 

Among the soldiers who were blown up at the 
storming of Cindad Rodrigo, there was one whose 
face, hands, and body, were as black as a coal, and 
incrusted with a black substance like a shell; his 
hair was singed off, and his features were entirely 
indistinguishable—and yet the poor fellow was alive. 
The top of the head of one of the soldiers was split 
in twain, from the forehead backward, leaving the 
cavity of the skull completely emptied of brains. 
Another sat with his head bent forward, his chin 
resting on his breast, his eyes open, and an agree¬ 
able smile upon his lips; in this peaceful guise, his 
spirit had passed from the scene of strife. A dra¬ 
goon was observed, with his jaw separated from the 
upper part of his face, and hanging down on his 
breast; in which terrible condition, he was attempt¬ 
ing to drink. A French officer stood on the top of 
a precipice, nearly one hundred feet high, with both 
eyes hanging on his cheeks; they had been forced 
from their sockets by a musket ball; and, in his 
blinded condition, he dared not move, lest he should 
tumble down the precipice. A naked man was lying 
on his back, with no appearance of a wound ; and 
a Spaniard, curious to know what had killed him, 
laid hold of the dead man’s hair, and was surprised 
at the extreme lightness of the head ; it proved, on 
examination, that the whole back part of his head 
had been shot away by a cannon ball, leaving only 
the scalp and face. About four months after a bat¬ 
tle, the dead bodies of many French soldiers were 
discovered in a valley, unburied, and in as perfect 
a state of preservation as on the day when they 
were killed ; their skins were blanched white, like 
parchment, by the sun and rain, and were so hard 
that they sounded like a drum. After the battle of 
Salamanca the bodies of the slain were blistered by 
the scorching sun, and swelled to a horrible size, 
appearing like gigantic monsters. It was remarked, 
throughout the whole war, that those dead bodies, 
which were exposed to the sun, immediately became 
a mass of corruption ; but those which lay in the 
shade, and were moistened with the rain and dew, 
remained undecayed during a great length of time. 
Their skins became hard and tough, like leather. 
The vultures who took possession of every field of 
battle as soon as the victors and vanquished had 
deserted it, would not feed upon human bodies, 
but gorged themselves upon the dead horses, and 
grew so fat that they could hardly rise from the 
ground. In riding over a field of battle, the motion 
of a horse is the gentlest and easiest that can be 
conceived ; he pricks his ears, snorts, looks down¬ 
ward, plants his feet before him, and proceeds with 
a light and springy step, as if fearful of trampling 

on the (lead.- 

DIRT-EATING. 

This singular disease is prevalent in the West- 
India islands, in Guiana, and Surinam. Those af¬ 
fected with it are listless and stupid, almost to 


idiocy, in reference to things in general, yet evince 
a very remarkable cunning, in satisfying their de¬ 
praved appetites. All ages and classes are liable to 
it, but chiefly negroes, who were formerly supposed 
to eat dirt wilfully, as a mode of committing suicide. 
But physicians now say, that the devouring of char¬ 
coal, chalk, dried mortar, mud, clay, sand, shells, 
rotten wood, shreds of cloth, and all such indigesti¬ 
ble substances is merely a symptom of disease, and is 
just as involuntary as the shivering-fit of a fever. 
Negroes eat their tobacco pipes, their garments, 
their own hair or wool, and swallow young rats or 
mice alive. The city of Paramaribo stands on a 
bed of marine shells, heaps of which are often dug 
up, for the purpose of mending the streets; this is 
a dainty precisely suited to the taste of the dirt- 
eaters, who may be seen feasting greedily on the 
heaps. The disease, when once seated, is incura¬ 
ble : The bodies of the patients become ulcerated ; 
and death ensues. The only possible method of 
restraining a dirt-eater from his pernicious habit, is 
to confine his mouth in a metallic mask, secured 

bv a lock. - 

AMERICAN GIPSIES. 

Gipsies are known in almost all countries of Eu¬ 
rope—an idle, vagabond race, without settled homes, 
living by theft, beggary, fortune-telling, and the 
mending of pots and kettles. They are of uncer¬ 
tain origin, but show the same characteristic marks, 
wherever they are found. No attempts have hith¬ 
erto succeeded in reducing the Gipsies of Europe 
to the habits of civilized lil’e. It has been supposed 
that there are none of this singular race in America, 
where, in our woods and wildernesses, their w'an- 
dering propensities might have had boundless space 
for exercise. Yet, in fact, there is a colony of Gip¬ 
sies, who were brought to America by the French, 
in early times, and whose posterity now live and 
flourish on the shores of Biloxi bay, in Louisiana. 
A philosopher, contemplating the points of simi¬ 
larity between the European Gipsy and the Ameri¬ 
can Indian—both untameable—one the wild man 
of civilized countries and the other of the forest— 
might have imagined that the two races would at 
once have mingled, and the Gipsy have found a 
home in the Indian wigwam. On the contrary, 
ever since their settlement on this side of the At¬ 
lantic, the Gipsies appear to have thrown off their 
hereditary characteristics. No difference can be 
perceived between them and other descendants of 
French colonists, except in personal appearance; 
their complexion is much darker, and their hair is 
coarse and straight. They still call themselves Gip¬ 
sies, or Egyptians, but are industrious, orderly in 
their habits, and retain nothing of their ancestry, 
except the name. 


The Looking-Glass.— In her youth, a woman 
goes to the glass to see how pretty she is; in her 
age, she consults it, to assure herself that she is not 
so hideous as she might be. She gets into a pas¬ 
sion with it, but dies before she can make up her 
mind to break it. 


The Spanish milled dollar is probably current in 
more regions of the globe than any other coin. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


873 


WILD DUCKS. 

The two engravings, annexed to this article, 
represent the method of taking wild ducks in the 
fens of Lincolnshire, England. In the most solitary 
part of the shores ot llie lakes, or ])onds, whither 
the ducks resort, a ditch is dug, about four yards 
wide at the entrance, and gradually growing nar¬ 
rower towards the farther end, which is not more 
than two feet in width. Along each side of the 
ditch, poles are driven into the ground, the tops of 
which are bent over, and tied together, so as to form 
an arch. This arch is about ten feet high at the 
entrance, and decreases to the height of about 
eighteen inches, at the farther end. The arched 


poles are placed at the distance of six feet from each 
other, and are connected by poles laid lengthwise 
and fastened together, thus forming a frame work, 
over which is thrown a net. At the farther end of 
the ditch is placed a ‘tunnel-net,’ connected with 
the termination of the arch, and distended by a 
number of small hoops. The nature of the whole 
contrivance may be better understood by examining 
the first cut, where a person is seen driving the ducks 
into the net. The upright fences, which might be 
mistaken for folding doors at the entrance of the 
arch, are composed of woven reeds, and are intended 
to conceal the fowler from the ducks on the outside 
of the net, while he is driving those within. 



To entice the ducks, that are swimming on the 
lake, to enter the arch, hemp-seed is sometimes 
thrown upon the water. The assistance of a dog, 
trained for the purpose, is indispensable. Tame 
ducks may also be used, who will come at the keep¬ 
er’s whistle, eat the hemp-seed which they find 
floating on the water, and lead the way under the 
arch, followed by the flock of wild fowl. When a 
sufficient number have been decoyed within the arch, 
the keeper shows himself and waves his hat, thus 
frightening the ducks, who fly forward, and creep 
into the tunnel-net. The tame ducks, being accus¬ 
tomed to the sight of the keeper, do not follow their 
wild companions, but return back safe into the pond. 
When the wild ducks are all enclosed in the tunnel- 
net, the man gives it a twist, in order to prevent 
their escape; then removes the net from the end of 
the arch, and wrings the necks of his prisoners. 


Five or six dozen of wild fowl are sometimes taken, 
in this manner, at one haul. By an act of Parlia 
ment, the method is prohibited from being used, 
except from the latter part of October till February 
(See cut at top of the next page.) 

In different countries, there are various other modes 
ofcapturingthistimidandcautiousfowl. In our own 
country, wooden figures of ducks are set affoat, or 
anchored in a favourable spot, and attract passing 
docks, which alight near them, and are slaughtered 
by the shot of the concealed sportsmen. On the 
Delaware, when scattered masses of ice are ffoating 
on the river, the gunner lies down in the bottom of 
a skiff painted white, and thus approaches a covey 
of ducks, often committing great ha vock amongthem. 
They are sometimes surprised asleep, with their 
heads under their wings. Another method is to 
sink a large hogshead in the marsh or mud, near 



























































































































374 


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the haunts of the wild ducks, and to cover the top 
with grass, reeds, or sedge. The fowler hides him¬ 
self within, and watches his opportunity to pour a 
destructive discharge into the centre of the flock. 
In the East Indies and China a man covers his head 
with an empty calabash, and wades into the water 
among the ducks, who have no suspicion of the 
mischief that is at hand, under the guise of a float¬ 
ing calabash. Arriving in the midst of the flock. 


the fowler draws them under water by the legs, 
fastens them to his girdle, and returns ashore with 
as many as he can carry, leaving the rest entirely 
unsuspicious of their danger or escape. Where the 
object is profit, any or all of these methods may be 
good ; but, for the pleasure of the thing, it is far 
preferable to take no treacherous advantage of the 
poor ducks, but to dodge them along the shore, and 
pepper away at them when they give you a chance. 


gratitude of animals. 

[From Jesse's Gleanings.] 

It is impossible to view the cheerfulness and 
happiness of animals and birds without pleasure. 
The latter especially, appear to enjoy themselves 
during the fine weather in Spring and Summer with 
a degree of hilarity which might be almost envied. 
It is astonishing how much man might do to lessen 
the misery of those creatures which are either given 
to him for food or use, or for adding to his pleasure 
if he was so disposed. Instead of which, he often 
exercises a degree of wanton tyranny and cruelty 
over them which cannot be too much deprecated, 
and for which, no doubt, he will one day be held 
accountable. Animals are so capable of showing 
gratitude and affection to those who have been kind 
to them, that I never see them subjected to ill treat¬ 
ment without feeling the utmost abhorrence for those 
who are inflicting it. I know many persons, who, 
like myself, take a pleasure in seeing all the animals 
about them happy and contented. Cows will show 


their pleasure at seeing those who have been kind 
to them, by moving their ears gently, and putting 
out their wet noses. My old horse rests his head 
on the gate with great complacency when he sees 
me coming, expecting to receive an apple or a piece 
of bread. I should even be sorry to see my poultry 
and pigs get out of my way with any symptoms of 
fear. 

The following little anecdote will show the grati¬ 
tude of an animal and its recollection of the kind¬ 
ness shown to it. A young lady in this neighbour¬ 
hood (who, if she should ever read this anecdote^ 
will not, I hope, object to this record of her humane 
disposition) brought up a calf whose mother had 
died soon after it was born. She made a pet of it; 
but, when it became a heifer, for some reason it was 
parted with, and she lost sight of it for about two 
years. At the end of that time, as she was walking 
with a friend in a lane, she met some cows, when 
one of them left the herd and came up to her, 
showing evident symptoms of pleasure at seeing her 
























































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


375 


She immediately knew and patted her old acquaint¬ 
ance, who, after being satisfied by these marks of 
her favour that the recognition was mutual, quietly 
turned away and joined her companions. 


THE DOCTRINE OF COLOURS. 

[Brewster’s Life of Newton.] 

If the objects of the material world had been illu¬ 
minated with white light, all the particles of which 
possessed the same degree of refrangibility, and 
were equally acted on by the bodies on which they 
fall, all nature would have shone with a leaden hue, 
and all the combinations of external objects, and all 
the features of the human countenance, would have 
exhibited no other variety but that which they 
possess in a pencil sketch or a China-ink drawing. 
The rainbow itself would have dwindled into a nar¬ 
row arch of white light,—the stars would have shone 
through a gray sky,—and the mantle of a wintry 
twilight would have replaced the golden vesture of 
the risins and the setting sun. But he who has 
exhibited such matchless skill in the organization of 
material bodies, and such exquisite taste in the forms 
upon which they are modelled, has superadded that 
ethereal beauty which enhances their more perma¬ 
nent qualities, and presents them to us in the ever- 
varying colours of the spectrum. Without this, the 
foliage of vegetable life might have filled the eye 
and fostered the fruit which it veils,—but the youth¬ 
ful green of its Spring would have been blended with 
the dying yellow of its Autumn. Without this, the 
diamond might have displayed to science the beauty 
of its forms, and yielded to the arts its adamantine 
virtues; but it would have failed to shine in the 
chaplet of beauty, and to sparkle in the diadem of 
princes. Without this, the human countenance 
mighthave expressed all the sympathies of the heart, 
but the ‘ purple light of love’ would not have risen on 
the cheek, nor the hectic flush been the herald of 
its decay. 

The gay colouring with which the Almighty has 
decked the pale Siarble of nature, is not the result 
of any quality inherent in the coloured body, or in 
the particles by which it may be tinged, but is merely 
a property of the light in which they happen to be 
placed. Newton was the first person who placed this 
great irnlh in the clearest evidence. He found that 
all bodies, whatever were their peculiar colours, 
exhibited those colours only in w'hite light. When 
illuminated by homogeneous red light they appeared 
red, by homogeneous yellow WgUi, yelloio, and so on, 
‘their colours being most brisk and vivid under the 
influence of their own day-light colours.’ The leaf 
of a plant, for example, appeared green in the white 
light of day, because it had the property of reflecting 
that light in greater abundance than anv other. 
When it was placed in homogeneous red light, it 
could no longer appear green, because there was 
no green light to reflect; but it reflected a portion 
of red light, because there was some red in the com¬ 
pound green which it had the property of reflecting. 
Had the leaf originally reflected a pure homogene¬ 
ous green, unmixed with red, and reflected no white 
light from its outer surface, it would have appeared 
quite black in pure homogeneous red light, as this 
light does not contain a single ray which the leaf 


was capable of reflecting. Hence the colours of 
material bodies are owing to the property which they 
possess of stopping certain rays of white light, while 
they reflect or transmit to the eye, the rest of the 
rays of which white light is composed. 

DUELS. 

[Library of Entertaining Knowledge.] 

Individual Bees of adjacent hives often engage 
in fatal duels. Sometimes a bee, while sitting 
peaceably on the outside of a hive, or walking about, 
is rudely jostled by another, when the combat imme¬ 
diately commences with such bitter violence, that 
they permitted Reaumer to examine them quite 
closely with a magnifying glass. They wrestle, turn, 
pirouette, and throttle each other; and after rolling 
about in the dust, the victor, watching the time 
when the enemy uncovers his body by elongating it 
in the attempt to sting, thrusts its weapon between 
the scales, and the next instant its antagonist stretches 
out its quivering wings, and expires; for the stroke 
of the sting, when it once penetrates the muscle 
is mortal. In these engagements the conqueror is 
not always able to extricate his sting, and then both 
perish. The duration of such duels is uncertain ; 
they sometimes last an hour, and are at others very 
soon determined ; and occasionally it happens that 
both parties, tired with their fruitless struggles, give 
up the contest and fly oflf. 


THE GARDENS OF ETAWAH, IN INDIA. 

[Miss Roberts’s ‘ Scenes and Characteristics of Hindostan.’] 

The gardens afford an agreeable method of pass¬ 
ing the short period of day-light which the climata 
will permit to be spent in the open air. They are 
large and well planted; but the gardeners are ex¬ 
tremely ignorant of the European methods of culti¬ 
vation, not having the same opportunity of acquiring 
knowledge as at larger stations. The Pomegranate 
is of little value except for its rich red flowers;—for 
the fruit—in consequence, no doubt, of either being 
badly grafted or not grafted at all—when ripe, is 
crude and bitter; it is greatly esteemed, however, 
by the natives, who cover the green fruit with clay 
to prevent the depredations of birds. The Pome¬ 
granates brought from Persia never appeared to me 
to merit their celebrity: whether any attempt has 
been made to improve them, by a graft from the 
Orange, I know not; but I always entertained a wish 
to make the experiment. Sweet Lemons, Limes, 
Oranges, and Citrons offer in addition to their 
superb blossoms and delicious perfume, fruit of the 
finest quality ; and Grapes, which are trained in 
luxuriant arcades, not only give beauty to a some¬ 
what formal plantation, but afford a grateful banquet 
at a period of the year, (the hot winds,) in which they 
are most acceptable. 

Amongst the indigenous fruits of these jungles is 
a wild Plum, which has found an entrance into the 
gardens, and which, if properly cultivated, would 
produce excellent fruit; in its present state it is' 
too resinous to be relished by unaccustomed palates. 
The Melons, which grow to a large size, and are 
abundant in the season, are chiefly procured from 
native gardens, and are left as well as Custard- 
Apples, Plantains, and Guavas, to the cultivation 






376 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


of the natives, the ground in the neighbourhood of 
a bungalow being chiefly appropriated to foreign 
productions. 

The seeds of European vegetables are sown after 
the rainy season, and come to perfection during the 
cold weather; Green Peas, Cauliflowers, and Cos 
Lettuce appear at Christmas, sustaining, without 
injury, night frosts which would kill them in their 
native climes. Either the cultivation is better 
understood, or the soil is more congenial to these 
delicate strangers, since they succeed better than 
the more hardy plants, Celery, Beets, and Carrots, 
which never attain to their proper size, and are fre¬ 
quently deficient in flavour. To watch the progress 
of the winter crop of familiar vegetables and to in¬ 
spect those less accurately known, cannot fail to 
be interesting, although the climate will not permit 
a more active part in the management of a garden. 

The Oleanders, common all over India, are the 
pride of the jungles, spreading into large shrubs, and 
giving out their delicate perfume from clusters of 
pink and white flowers. The Bambool also boasts 
scent of the most exquisite nature which it breathes 
from bells of gold ; the delicacy of its aroma renders 
it highly prized by Europeans, who are overpowered 
by the strong perfume of the Jessamine, and other 
flowers much in request by the natives. The Sensi¬ 
tive plant grows in great abundance in the gardens 
of Etawah, spreading itself over whole borders, and 
showing on a great scale the peculiar quality whence 
it derives its name ; the touch of a single leaf will 
occasion those of a whole parterre to close and 
shrink away j nor will it recover its vigour until sev¬ 
eral hours after this trial of its sensibility. Equally 
curious, and less known, is the property of another 
beautiful inhabitant of these regions ; the flowers of 
a tree of no mean growth arrive to nearly the size 
of a peony ; these flowers blow in the morning, and 
appear of the purest white, gradually changing to 
every shade of red, until, as the evening advances, 
they become of a deep crimson, and falling oflf at 
night, are renewed in their bridal attire the following 
day. When gathered and placed in a vase, they 
exhibit the same metamorphosis, and it is the amuse¬ 
ment of many hours to watch the progress of the 
first faint tinge, as it deepens into darker and darker 
hues. Around every shrub, butterflies of various 
tints sport and flutter, each species choosing some 
particular blossoms, appearing as if the flowers 
themselves had taken flight, and were hovering over 
the parent bough ; one plant will be surmounted by 
a galaxy of blue winged visitants, while the next is 
radiant with amber or scarlet. Immense winged 
grasshoppers, whose whole bodies are studded with 
emeralds which no jeweller can match; shining 
beetles, bedecked with amethysts and topazes, and 
others, which look like spots of crimson velvet, join 
the gay carnival. These lovely creatures disappear 
with the last sunbeams, and are succeeded by a less 
desirable race. Huge vampire bats, measuring four 
feet from tip to tip of their leathern wings, wheel 
round in murky circles; owls venture abroad, and 
the odious musk-rat issues from its hole. 

In no other part of India, with the exception of 
vbe hill-districts, are more brilliant and interesting 
specimens of birds and insects to be seen; extrerne- 


ly small brown doves, with pink breasts, appear 
amid every variety of the common colour, green- 
pigeons, blue-jays, crested wood-peckers, together 
with an infinite number of richly plumed birds, 
glowing in purple, scarlet, and yellow, less familiar 
to unscientific persons, flock around. A naturalist 
would luxuriate in so ample a field for the pursuit 
of his studies, and need scarcely go farther than the 
gardens to find those feathered wonders, which are 
still imperfectly described in works upon ornithology. 
Here the lovely little tailor-bird sews two leaves 
toge^her, and swings in his odorous nest from the 
pendulous bough of some low shrub. 

The fly-catcher, a very small and slender bird of 
a bright green, is also an inhabitant of the gardens, 
which are visited by miniature birds resembling 
those of paradise, white, and pale brown, with tails 
composed of two long feathers. Nothing can be 
more beautiful than the effect produced by the 
brilliant colours of those birds, which congregate in 
large flocks ; the ring-necked paroquets, in their eve¬ 
ning flight as the sun declines, show rich masses of 
green ; and the byahs, or crested sparrows, whose 
breasts are of the brightest yellow, look like clouds 
of gold as they float along. 

Numbers of aquatic birds feed upon the shores of 
the neighbouring Jumna, and the tremendous rush 
of their wings, as their mighty armies traverse the 
heavens, joined to other strange and savage sounds, 
give a painful assurance to those long accustomed 
to the quietude of sylvan life in temperate climates, 
that they are intruders on the haunts of wild ani¬ 
mals. There is one sound, which, though not 
peculiar to the jungles, is more wearying there than 
in more thickly inhabited places, on account of the 
extreme loudness of the note, and its never ceasing 
for a single instant during the day—the murmur¬ 
ing of doves ; the trees are full of them, and my ear, 
at least, never became reconciled to their continual 
moaning. At sunset this sound is hushed ; but the 
brief interval of repose is soon broken by the innu¬ 
merable night cries of the untamed forest. 

Duration of Human Life.— Naturalists have 
settled it as a general rule, that animals live eight 
times the length of the period from their birth to 
their maturity. Now as man does not arrive at 
physical perfection till about the age of twenty-five, 
his life ought to have a duration of two hundred 
years. There is little doubt, that simple and tem¬ 
perate habits, if universally diffused, might extend 
the ordinary term of human life to at least one 
century. In order to effect this, the simplicity of 
the savage state must be combined with the refine¬ 
ments of civilisation. 


Gardens on House-tops.— In Sweden, it is not 
uncommon to observe houses, in the country, and 
in small villages, the roofs of which are covered with 
grass, and afford pasture to a goat. In Norway, 
trees are planted on the turf that covers the roof, 
so that the village, at a distance, resembles a small 
wood. Kitchen gardens on the house-tops are 
very common. - 

A Whale can suspend its respiration twenty min¬ 
utes, and sink to the depth of a mile in the ocean. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


377 


RED JACKET. 

*I have received,’ says Mr. Dunlap in his History 
of the Arts of Design, ‘a communication from Dr. 
J. W. Francis^ on the subject of Red Jacket’s inter¬ 
view with the painter Weir. I have room only for 
the following paragraph. ‘ It becomes not me,’ says 
Dr. Francis, ‘ to speak of the peculiar merits of the 
painting of Red Jacket fSaguoaha,or Keeper awake,) 
by Weir. It is admitted, by the competent, to 
eclipse all other delineations of our Indian chiefs, 
and demands, as a work of art, no less regard than 
the subject himself, as one of preeminent considera¬ 
tion among our aborigines. The circumstances, 
however, which gave the artist the opportunity of 
portraying the distinguished warrior and great orator 
of the Seneca nation, deserve at least a short notice. 
An acquaintance of some years with Red Jacket, 
which was rendered, perhaps, more impressive in 
his recollection by occasional supplies of tobacco, 
led him to make an appointment with me to sit for 
his picture upon his arrival in the city. When he 
came to New York, in 1828, with his interpreter, 
Jamieson, he very promptly repaired to the painting- 
room of Mr. Weir. For this purpose he dressed 
himself in the costume which he deemed most 
appropriate to his character, decorated with his 
brilliant over-covering and belt, his tomahawk and 
Washington medal. For the whole period of near¬ 
ly two hours, on four or five successive days, he was 
ns punctual to the arrangements of the artist as any 
individual could be. He chose a large arm-chair 
for his convenience, while his interpreter, as well as 
himself, was occupied, for the most part, in survey¬ 
ing the various objects which decorated the artist’s 
room. His several confederates, adopting the 
horizontal posture, in different parts of the room, 
regaled themselves with the fumes of tobacco to 
their utmost gratification. Red Jacket occasionally 
united in this relaxation ; but was so deeply absorbed 
in attention to the work of the painter, as to think 
perhaps of no other subject. At times he manifest¬ 
ed extreme pleasure, as the outlines of the picture 
were filled up. The drawing of his costume, which 
he seemed to prize as peculiarly appropriate, and 
the distant view of the Falls of Niagara, (scenery 
nigh his residence at the Reservation,) forced him 
to an indistinct utterance of satisfaction. When 
his medal appeared complete, he addressed his 
interpreter, accompanied by striking gestures; and 
when his noble front was finished, he sprang from 
his seat with great alacrity, and, seizing the artist by 
the hand, exclaimed, with great energy, ‘ Good! 
Good !’ The painting being finished, he parted with 
Mr. Weir with a satisfaction apparently equal to 
that which he doubtless, on some occasions had felt, 
in effecting an Indian treaty. Red Jacket must 
have been beyond his seventieth year when the 
painting was made ; he exhibited in his countenance 
somewhat of the traces of time and trial upon his 
cons-titution ; he was, nevertheless, of a tall and erect 
form, and walked with a firm gait. His character¬ 
istics are preserved by the artist to admiration; and 
his majestic front exhibits an altitude surpassing 
every other that I have seen of the human skull. As 
a specimen for the cranioligist. Red Jacket need not 
yield his pretensions to those of the most astute philoso¬ 


pher. He affirmed of himself, that he was horn an 
orator. He will long live by the painting of Weir, 
in the poetry of Halleck, and by the fame of his 
own deeds.’ 


Influence of the Seasons. —A French writer 
states, that the number of deaths in Winter is 
greater than in Summer, in the proportion of three 
to two. It is the same with the births; there being 
three in January or February, where there are two 
in July. The inffuence of the seasons on the 
human constitution varies according to the period 
of life. In infancy, the liability to death in Winter 
is threefold what it is in Summer; but this liability 
decreases, till, at the age of ten or twelve, it is al¬ 
most nothing. From that period till manhood, the 
vital heat being much increased, the influence of 
Summer is more to be dreaded than that of Winter. 
After the age of forty, the effects of Winter again 
become perceptible ; and persons beyond sixty suffer 
almost as much as young infants, from its influence. 
Of Octogenarians, and upwards, three or four die 
in Winter, for one in Summer. 

The growth of the body in Summer is consider¬ 
ably greater than in Winter. There is a stronger 
tendency to mental alienation in warm weather 
than cold. The inffuence of Summer in exciting 
the passions of men may be estimated from the fact, 
that crimes against the person—that is to say, deeds 
of personal violence—are then twice as frequent a.s 
in Winter. 


I REMEMBER,—I REMEMBER.— by t. hood. 

I remember, I remember 

The house where I was born; 

The little window where the sun 
Came peeping in at morn; 

He never came a wink too soon. 

Nor brought too long a day; 

But now, I often wish that night 
Had borne my breath away! 

I remember, I remember. 

The roses, red and white. 

The violets, and the lily-cups. 

Those flowers made of light!— 

The lilacs where the robin built. 

And where my brother set 
The laburnums on his birth-day,— 

The trees are living yet! 

I remember, I remember. 

Where I was used to swing, 

And thought the air must rush as fresh 
To swallows on the wing; 

My spirit flew in feathers then. 

That is so heavy now. 

And summer pool could hardly cool 
The fever on my brow! 

I remember, I remember. 

The fir-trees, dark and high; 

I used to think their slender tops 
Were close against the sky; 

It was my childish ignorance,— 

But now ’t is little joy 
To know I’m farther off from heaven 
Than when I was a boy. 

Yew-trees. —A section of a yew-tree has been 
exhibited in England, which bore the marks of being 
upwards of five hundred years old. There is a stump 
of a yew, near Bangor (Eng.) which is computed to 
be of an earlier date than the Christian era. 

48 






378 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


DRESS OF MIDSHIPMEN. 

[‘ Public and Private Economy.’—By Theodore Sedgwick.] 

I shall, for the present, mention one instance only 
of the expenditure of the public money for fashion’s 
sake, and that is in the dress of a midshipman in the 
American navy. When he enters, as midshipman, 
he must be fourteen years of age, and is, perhaps, 
the son of a poor mechanic, farmer, or clergyman. 
His annual pay, (including rations,) amounted to 
three hundred and eighteen dollars, previous to the 
last Winter, (1835,) when it was increased by ac< 
of Congress. 

In the year 1830, the then Secretary of the navy 
issued an order, regulating the costume of several of 
the officers ; accompanying these orders were pat¬ 
terns of the dresses required, of the swords, &c. 
The midshipman’s coat, (full dress,) is particularly 
prescribed ; it must be an embroidered coat. It is 
proper that those who pay the expense should know 
what is meant by an embroidered coat. It is made 
by working a profusion of silk braid upon the sleeves 
and other parts of it. This coat cost, at the shop 
of a fashionable tailor, in New York, in the year 
1832, fifty dollars ; the embroidery on it, as a part 
of that fifty, fifteen. It was said, at that time, that 
the entire full dress cost one hundred dollars. 

Here is a boy, then, that cannot be known as the 
servant of his country, without an embroidered coat, 
which is not worn by the President, nor any mem¬ 
ber of Congress, nor any private gentleman in the 
country. Neither is it worn by any member of the 
House of Commons, or of the House of Lords, upon 
ordinary occasions. These are declared to be the 
most simply dressed gentlemen in England. The 
first lesson taught to this boy is a lesson of profusion, 
to spend what he never earned, and more than he 
ever spent before, and for no better reason, than 
that this is the warlike fashion ; and still the sensible 
gentlemen of the navy despise this finery, and object 
to it for the same reason that a farmer or mechanic 
should. The money that a country pays its public 
officers should be mainly for good works and noble 
deeds; these are always entitled to good wages. 
Little do the people know of the immense amount 
of their money paid by government in follies of this 
kind. 


L.\KE SUPERIOUR. 

The Indian name of this lake was Gitchigomi, 
which was contracted toChigomi,and thence tolgomi. 
It covers about 30,000 square miles of surface, and 
is situated six hundred and forty feet above the 
level of the sea. Its waters are remarkable for their 
depth and purity, and abound with white-fish, stur¬ 
geon, salmon-trout, and other varieties of the finny 
tribe. Grand Island, and Royal, and Magdalen, 
are the largest of its numerous islands. The shores 
of the lake are, in some places, of yellow or iron 
sand ; elsewhere they are pebbly, and bestrewn with 
boulders, or large insulated stones; and in other 
parts, they are precipitous walls of rock. To the 
southwa.'d there are mountains of considerable 
height. Masses of native copper have been found 
o.' the shores of Lake Superiour. Mr. Schoolcraft, 
froi.^ whose description we have abstracted these 
particulars, estimated the Indian population, three 


or four years ago, at 1006, inhabiting the immedi¬ 
ate vicinity of the lake. Reckoning the Indians 
who dwell along the streams that empty into Lake 
Superiour, the number will be about 5,000. A 
mission for the benefit of the red men has recently 
been established on Magdalen island. In passing 
from one extremity of the lake to the other, boats 
and canoes do not venture into the open sea, as we 
may well term it, but coast along the shores, em¬ 
ploying about twenty-six days in the passage. The 
distance is 580 miles. Furs and peltries constitute 
the chief commerce of Lake Superiour. 


MEMORY.- BY WORDSWORTH. 

A pen—to register; a key 

That winds through secret wards, 

Are well assign’d to Memory 
By allegoric bards. 

And not inaptly might be given 
A pencil to her hand,— 

That, softening objects sometimes even 
Outstrips the heart’s demand; 

That smooths foregone distress—the lines 
Of lingering care subdues, 

Long-vanished happiness refines. 

And clothes in brighter hues; 

Yet, like a tool of fancy, works. 

Those spectres to dilate 
That startle conscience as she lurks 
Within her lonely seat. 

O, that our lives, which flee so fast. 

In purity were such 
That not an ima;«l* of the past 
Should fear that pencil’s touch! 

Retirement then might hourly look 
Upon a soothing scene; 

Age steal to his allotted nook 
Contented and serene. 

With heart as calm as lakes that sleep 
In frosty moonlight glistening; 

On mountain rivers, where they creep 
Along a channel smooth and deep. 

To their own far-off murmurs listening 

Scorched Leaves. —In the Summer, after some 
days of fine weather, during the heat of the day, if 
a storm occurs, accompanied with a few light show¬ 
ers of rain, and the sun appears immediately after 
with his usual splendour, it burns the foliage and 
the flowers on which the rain had fallen, and destroys 
the hopes of the orchard. The intense heat, which 
the ardour of the sun produces at that time on the 
leaves and flowers, is equal to that of burning iron. 
Naturalists have sought for the cause of this strange 
effect, but they have said nothing which satisfies a 
reasonable mind. This is, however the fact; in the 
serene days of Summer it is visible that there gathers 
on the foliage and the flowers, as, indeed, on every 
other part, a little dust, sometimes more and some¬ 
times less, scattered by the wind. When the rain 
falls on this dust, the drops mix together, and take 
an oval or a round form, as we may frequently ob¬ 
serve in our houses on the dusty floor, when servants 
scatter water before they sweep. These globes of 
water form convex lenses, which produce the same 
effect as burning mirrors. Should the rain be heavy 
and last long, the sun would not produce this burn¬ 
ing heat, because the force and duration of the rain 
will have destroyed the dust that formed these drops 
of water; and the drops, losing their globular form, 
in which alone consisted their caustic power, will be 
(^ispersecj.— Huet. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


379 


DR SAMUEL COOPER. 

[Sullivan’s Familiar Letters.] 

Dr. Samuel Cooper died during the early years of 
Gov. Hancock’s magistracy (Dec. 1783,) at the age 
of fifty-nine. Dr. Cooper was one of the great men 
in revolutionary days. He was learned and elo¬ 
quent, and one of the most finished gentlemen of 
that age, and one of the ablest divines of any age. 
He was singularly neat in his dress. He wore a 
white bushy wig, a cocked hat, and gold-headed 
cane. He was tall, well formed, and had an un¬ 
commonly handsome, intelligent, and amiable face. 
One could not fail to remember him well who had 
ever seen him. He was as much of a politician as 
a divine, and a powerful writer on the patriot side; 
but there are no writings of his preserved, except 
sermons, and newspaper essays, which cannot now 
be distinguished as his. He is supposed to have 
sacrificed his life to the inordinate use of Scotch 
snuff. His brain was first seriously affected, and 
his mind was much impaired before his physical 
powers failed. He told a friend who visited him a 
short time before the close of his life, ‘ when you 
come again, bring with you a cord; fasten an end 
of it in each corner of the room ; let the cords cross 
in my head to keep it steady.’ There are repre¬ 
sentations of the personal appearance of Dr. Cooper, 
having inscribed on them this notice of his eloquence, 
melle dulcior jluebat oratio. The most distin¬ 
guished men of that time were his parishioners, and, 
among others, Governours Bowdoin and Hancock. 

CUSTOMS FIFTY YEARS SINCE. 

[Sullivan’s Familiar Letters.] 

It may not be uninteresting to sketch the condi¬ 
tion and usages of society about the time of the 
adoption of the Constitution, according to the im¬ 
pression now retained of them. There were fami¬ 
lies who were affluent and social. They inter¬ 
changed dinners and suppers. The evening amuse¬ 
ment was usually games at cards. Tables were 
loaded with provisions. Those of domestic origin 
were at less than half the cost of the present time. 
The busy part of society dined then, as now, at 
one, others at two o’clock ; three o’clock was the 
latest hour for the most formal occasions. There 
were no theatrical entertainments; there was a posi¬ 
tive legal prohibition. There were concerts. About 
the year 1760, Concert Hall was built by a gentle¬ 
man named Deblois, for the purpose of giving con¬ 
certs ; and private gentlemen played and sang for 
the amusement of the company. There were sub¬ 
scription assemblies for dancing, at the same place, 
and it required a unanimous assent to gain admis¬ 
sion. Dress was much attended to by both sexes. 
Coats of every variety of colour were worn, not ex¬ 
cepting red; sometimes the cape and collar were of 
velvet, and of a different colour from the coat. 
Minuets were danced, and centre dances. Cotil¬ 
lions were of later date. They were introduced by 
the French, who were refugees from the West In¬ 
dia islands. A very important personage, in the 
fashionable world, was Mrs. Haley, sister of the 
celebrated John Wilkes. She came over in the 
year 1785, and purchased the house in which the 
late Gardiner Greene lived, at the head of Court 
street. She was then advanced in life, of singular 


personal appearance, but a lady of amiable deport¬ 
ment. She afterwards married a gentleman who 
was the uncle of a celebrated Scotch reviewer; but 
after some years returned to England. Her house 
was a place of fashionable resort. Marriages and 
funerals were occurrences of much more ceremony 
than at the present day. The bride was visited 
daily for four successive weeks. Public notice was 
given of funerals, and private invitations also. At¬ 
tendance was expected ; and there was a long train 
of followers, and all the carriages and chaises that 
could be had. The number of the former in town 
was not more than ten or twelve. There were no 
public carriages earlier than the beginning of 1789; 
and very few for some years afterwards. Young 
men, at their entertainments, sat long and drank 
deep, compared to the present custom. Their 
meetings were enlivened with anecdote and song. 

Among tiie remarkable visiters of this country 
was Brissot de Warville, in 1788, afterwards chief 
of a faction in the French Revolution, called the 
Girondists. He was executed in Robespierre’s 
time, at the age of thirty-eight. He came over to 
learn how to be a republican. He was a handsome, 
brisk little Frenchman, and was very well received 
here. He wrote a book on this country. He was 
much delighted with the Quakers, and is said to 
have respected their simplicity of dress, and to have 
introduced, in his own country, the fashion of wear¬ 
ing the hair without powder. 

There are more books, more reading, more think¬ 
ing, and more interchange of thoughts derived 
from books, and conversation, at present, than there 
were fifty years ago. It is to be hoped that society 
is wiser, and happier than it w’as, from being better 
instructed. The means of education have greatly 
improved. There were then two Latin Schools. 
One in School street, and one at the north part of 
the town. The only Academies recollected, were 
one at Exeter, (New Hampshire,) and one at An¬ 
dover, at which boys were prepared for college. It 
was a common practice for clergymen to receive 
boys into their families to prepare them for college. 
The means of educating females were far inferiour 
to those of the present time. The best were 
‘ hoarding schools,’ and there were but two or three 
of these. The accomplishments acquired were in¬ 
feriour to those which are common among hundreds 
of young females at the present time. The sum of 
acquirements now, in the process of education, 
greatly surpasses that of forty years ago in both 
sexes. The moral condition of society, among the 
well-informed, (so far as is seen on the surface,) is 
greatly improved. There is more occupation of 
various sorts. Society, collectively, is undoubtedly 
better. Whether its members, in all things then 
and now, innocent, are happier or not, one cannot 
judge from youthful impressions. In one respect 
there is a change of immeasurable value; that is, 
in the intercourse of parents and children. It is 
very possible that there are some who prefer the 
strict discipline of former days; and who believe 
that as much of substantial benefit has been lost as 
gained, in the changes which have occurred. If 
this be so, it arises from the quality of education, 
and not because there is more of it. 




380 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE LUMBERERS OF MAINE. 

[North American Review.] 

We cannot permit ourselves to pass over the tes¬ 
timony which Mr. Audubon bears in favour of the 
Lumberers of Maine. As a lover of nature, he 
was delighted to witness their humanity to their 
cattle; and though it seems like an incredible Ar¬ 
cadian description, he avers that the drivers neither 
beat nor cursed them,—a kind of unusual self-de¬ 
nial, which says much in their praise. The expla¬ 
nation is not distant; for he tells us that in many 
of the villages of Maine, when he applied for bran¬ 
dy, rum, or whisky, he could not obtain one drop; 
insomuch that he, temperate as he is, could not help 
feeling as if the temperance amounted to excess. 

He gives an interesting account of the habits of 
these hardy men. They go forth in parties to the 
spot, which they are soon to make desolate with 
their axes, ai>d begin by providing a shelter for 
their cattle; then they construct their own log hut, 
making bedsteads of the rudest cabinet-work, in 
the corners, and a ‘ rung chimney,^ as it was called 
by our forefathers, on one side, meaning a chimney 
formed, by securing together four ladders, filled in 
with clay between the rounds. In the neighbour¬ 
hood of the camp, they set their ‘ steel traps‘ dead 
falls,’ and ‘ spring guns,’ to catch the bears which 
are apt to prowl round such establishments,—guests 
unbidden and unwelcome, save that their skins an¬ 
swer good purpose for raiment, and their flesh is 
no contemptible food. The appearance of one of 
these woodmen is sufficiently odd, with a rackoon’s 
skin over his head and brow, and moose-skin ‘ leg- 
gins ’ reaching up to the girdle round his waist, 
stalking forth on snow-shoes, to cut down the noble 
pines, and destroy the growth of centuries in an 
hour. These trees are sawn into measured logs, 
and drawn by the cattle, to be left on the ice of 
the rivers; so that when the winter breaks up, 
they may be ready to float down the stream. 

When the labour of the season is completed, 
they devote themselves to pleasures; not, however, 
of the unprofitable kind, as the deer, bears, sables 
and martens, will bear witness; the moose-hunt, 
also, is recommended to them by the dignified asso¬ 
ciations of hardship and danger; this large and 
powerful animal makes his way through snows sev¬ 
eral feet in depth, faster than the hunters can follow 
him on their snow-shoes. A veteran hunter knows 
the direction in which to pursue them, by the marks 
of their teeth on the branches, left in browsing; 
these are found more distinct and frequent, as he 
draws near them ; but the moose have senses so 
acute, that before the hunter can reach them, they 
have taken the alarm and moved away. They have 
surprising strength and activity in overcoming ob¬ 
stacles in their flight; when hard pressed, they will 
turn and defend themselves with great fury. Mr. 
Audubon’s party took a young one, which was so 
exhausted, that it made no opposition when it was 
led to the camp ; but on the next day it was so 
powerful and violent, that it was found impossible 
to preserve it alive. The common deer, which but 
a few years ago, were found in Massachusetts, are 
now hardly seen in New England, except in Maine, 
and the northern parts of New Hampshire. The 


newspapers of the last 'Winter gave us an example 
of the danger to which these Lumberers are some¬ 
times exposed, from the burning of their camps; 
and Mr. Audubon has given us an account, as he 
received it from the lips of a forester, of one of 
these conflagrations of the woods. They are some¬ 
times thought to be kindled by the Indians ; others 
ascribe them to the friction of dry trees upon each 
other; but where so many fires are made, and this 
element is treated as cavalierly as it generally is in 
new countries, it is not wonderful that these acci¬ 
dents should abound, since insects often destroy 
trees in vast numbers, and leave their dry remains 
in a fit state to receive the flame. This man, with 
his family, was awakened one night by the outcry 
of their cattle, and, starting from their beds, they 
saw the glare and heard the crackling of the fire; 
they arose and fled for life on their horses; but the 
flames pursued so fiercely that they could feel the 
withering heat; their only resource was to gain a 
lake, and secure themselves on the lee side of it; 
there they released their horses, which they never 
saw again, and threw themselves down among the 
rushes on the water’s edge. The frightened wild 
beasts dashed into the water, swam across to the 
place where they were, and stood still at their side. 
Perhaps no condition in life can be imagined, more 
full of horrour and dismay than this, and yet it is 
not uncommon in the forest regions of our country. 

Many of the logs sent down by the Lumberers 
do not reach their destination ; they linger in large 
heaps, within tlie banks of the stream, where they 
are suffered to remain, till the miller has done his 
office upon those that have reached him. Mr. Au¬ 
dubon has given an animated account of the opera¬ 
tion, by which these wayfarers are brought down. 
Vast numbers of them were lying in the gorge of a 
stream, which, though broad and powerful in the 
Spring, was then shrunk to the centre of its dusty 
bed, and had left the logs white in the sun. A 
dam was made at the outlet of another gorge above, 
which slowly filled itself with the diminished waters 
of the stream, and formed a broad sheet of water, a 
mile in length, with a depth of ten feet. When it 
was filled, the temporary dam was torn away, and 
the waters were suffered to pass into the gorge 
choked with logs below. They flowed out with 
conscious power; presently a slow, ponderous mo¬ 
tion was seen, as if a monster beneath was strug¬ 
gling to throw off a weight; then, the logs rose in 
masses, lifting, crashing, and dashing each other 
aside, some springing into the air, others diving 
under the roaring tide, till at last the waters bore 
all away, cleaving some into splinters, and striking 
others against the banks, with a noise that resound¬ 
ed like thunder. He could compare it to nothing 
but the confusion of a battle, with the roar of can¬ 
non, the shouts of the victorious, and the groans of 
the dying. It gave him a profound and tremendous 
impression of the force of the waters. 

Bones of Fish. —Teeth, supposed to be those of 
the Shark, from an inch to an inch and a half long, 
slender and very sharp, have been found in the midst 
of the prairies of Alabama. Portions of tlie verte- 
braj of fish have been met with in the same region. 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


381 



The approach of Wolfe to the Heights of Abraham. 


WOLFE, ON THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM. 

In 1759, the American forests had been for about 
four years the battle-ground of France and England. 
The war had lingered, and its events had done little 
credit to the British generals hitherto employed ; 
less, perhaps, from any remarkable deficiency on 
their part, than from the great miktary talents of 
Montcalm, the French commander. But Sir Jef¬ 
frey Amherst had now succeetied General Aber¬ 
crombie in the chief command, and had formed a 
a plan for the reduction of Canada, by means of 
three armies, which shoiihl enter the province by as 
many diflerent routes, an<l simultaneously attack all 
the strong-holds of the French. Brigadier General 
Wolfe, a young but distinguished officer, was plac¬ 
ed at the head of the division which was destined 
to besiege Quebec. It was near midsummer, 
when he ascended the St. Lawrence, under convoy 
of Admirals Saunders and Holmes, and disembark¬ 
ed his men on the island of Orleans, a few leagues 
below the Canadian capital. 

Quebec, by its position, is a natural fortress, and 
much military science had even then been employed 
in strengthening it. The city occupies a table 
land, on the tongue of a peninsula, formed by the 
junction of the river St. Charles with the St. Law¬ 
rence. At that period, it contained ten thousand 
inhabitants, and covered a space about three miles 
in circumference, two-thirds of which were defend¬ 
ed by the height of the precipices and the rapidity 
of the streams, and the remainder by a fortification 
across the peninsula. On the summit of Cape Dia¬ 


mond, three hundred and fifty feet above the level 
of the water, stood a citadel, the cannon of which 
commanded the whole town. This citadel, as well 
as the ramparts which it looked down upon, was 
strongly garrisoned. Armed vessels and floating 
batteries were moored in the river of St. Charles ; 
and on its eastern shore, and extending to the 
Montmorenci, lay the French army, under the fa¬ 
mous, and hitherto fortunate. Marquis de Montcalm. 
His troops were composed partly of regulars, and 
partly of provincials, either of whom had the 
strongest motives to fight valiantly ; the latter for 
their native city, the former for the capital and key 
of the French dominion in America. On the whole, 
the defences of Quebec were proportioned to the 
importance of the city. 

Wolfe saw the difficulties of his undertaking, 
and that none but the most daring measures oflered 
even a chance of success. He had, in the first 
place, taken possession of Point Levi, on the oppo¬ 
site shore of the St. Lawrence, and thence battered 
the city with cannon-shot and bombs, which beat 
down many of the houses, but produced no im¬ 
pression on the ramparts. His next attempt was 
made against the army of Montcalm in its en¬ 
trenchments, by landing on the eastern shore of the 
Montmorenci river, and attempting to storm the 
lines. Here he was repulsed, with the loss of five 
hundred slain. It was the policy of Montcalm to 
avoid a general engagement in the open field, and 
lengthen out the siege, till the invading army should 
be routed by the severe and early winter of that re- 















































































382 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


gion. Autumn had already commenced, and 
nothing had been effected towards the reduction of 
the place. Wolfe began to despair of the result, 
and his anxiety wrought upon his frame, already 
debilitated by disease, and naturally too weak for 
the gallant soul that animated it. He was observed 
to be much depressed, and is said to have resolved 
not to survive the failure of the expedition. At this 
juncture, while Wolfe was confined to a sick-bed, 
his three brigadiers, Moncktor, Townshend, and 
Murray, conceived a plan for landing the army on 
the shore of the St. Lawrence, above Quebec, and 
thence gaining the Heights of Abraham, by means 
of a narrow passage up the precipice. In that 
quarter, as the approach of an enemy was deemed 
next to impossible, the city was less strongly for¬ 
tified than elsewhere. The project being submitted 
to the decision of Wolfe, he immediately acceded 
to it, and deferred the execution only till he should 
be able to superintend it in person. The time fixed 
upon was the night preceding the thirteenth of 
September.* 

Montcalm had previously been induced, by the 
motions of the British, to detach fifteen hundred of 
his men to a distance, under the command of M.de 
Bougainville. On the appointed night, the fleet 
moved three leagues up the river, with Wolfe and 
the troops on board, and made demonstrations of 
landing detachments at various points. Meantime, 
the general and his army embarked in boats, and 
fell down the river whth the tide, undiscovered by 
the French sentinels who were ranged along the 
shore. Owing to the darkness of the night, a part 
of the troops were landed somewhat below the 
point that had been selected. The Scottish High¬ 
landers, however, accustomed to climb among the 
rugged passes of their native mountains, led the 
way up the darksome and dangerous path, followed 
by the remainder of the battalions, as fast as the 
boats touched the shore. General Wolfe was 
among the foremost. The ascent was scaled, by 
catching hold of the projections of the almost per¬ 
pendicular precipice, clinging to the plants which 
had rooted themselves into the crevices of the rocks, 
and swinging from one precarious foothold to 
another, aided by the branches of the trees. At 
the summit, there w'as an entrenched party of the 
enemy, whom the van of the British put to flight. 
It appears not improbable, that, had a few resolute 
men taken their stand at one of the turns of this 
wild path, with sword and bayonet, they might have 
defended it against Wolfe’s whole army, have thrust 
the assailants down the clifir, and thus have rescued 
the province from its fate. But no such gallant 
stand was made. The troops reached the verge of 
the precipice in safety, and with little opposition, 

* Wolfe was heard to say, that he should be well contented to 
give an arm or a leg, to gain possession of Quebec. All things 
considered, he was probably even better pleased to win the city at 
the price of his life. Colonel Hamilton, author of Men and Man¬ 
ners in America, has questioned the military abilities of Wolfe. 
On this point we can pass no opinion; but, so far as we are quali¬ 
fied to judge, Wolfe showed a mixture of enthusiasm and good 
sense, which composed a very rare and lofty chai’acter, and indi¬ 
cated great talent of some kind or other. It was perfectly charac¬ 
teristic of Colonel Hamilton, that he should stand on the Heights of 
Abraham, and endeavour to depreciate the fame of Wolfe. 


and stood, at daybreak, on the Heights of Abra¬ 
ham, within a mile of the hostile city. Between 
them and the ramparts, the ground rose and fell 
in abrupt inequalities. So near was this adventur¬ 
ous army to Quebec, that they could hear the bells 
of the Cathedral pealing the hour. Their com¬ 
mander had led his troops where there was no re¬ 
treat down the headlong precipice, nor any alterna¬ 
tive for himself or them, save victory or utter ruin.* 

When tidings came to Montcalm, that Wolfe and 
the British forces waited to give him battle on the 
Heights of Abraham, he could not at first believe 
the tale. It was if an army had flown thither 
through the air. But, as one messenger after 
another assured him that the foe was really under 
the ramparts of Quebec, he resolved that the fate 
of Canada should now be decided by one great bat¬ 
tle. It would still, no doubt, have been the best 
policy of the gallant Frenchman to avoid a general 
engagement, and trust the defence of Quebec to its 
walls and citadel; which latter fortress, at least, 
was capable of sustaining a regular siege. The en¬ 
terprise of the British commander, was, in fact, the 
ultimate resource of a desperate man ; without a 
battle, he was almost certainly lost; but there ap¬ 
pears to have been no need that his adversary, 
whose situation was so <iiflerent, should play the 
desperate game which gave VV'olfe his only chance. 
Such, however, were not the reflections of Mont¬ 
calm. When convinced that the British had ac¬ 
tually gained the Height, he lost no time in passing 
his army across the river St. Charles, which lay be¬ 
tween him and the city. Wolfe, aware of the ene¬ 
my’s movements, immediately arranged his order of 
battle, placing himself on the right of the line. 
Montcalm, in person, commanded the left wing of 
the French. Thus, when the two armies met, their 
generals encountered each other amid the smoke, 
and dust, and fury of the conflict, where it raged 
the fiercest. 

We shall describe the battle on the Heights of 
Abraham, no farther than as it was connected with 
the fate of Wolfe. Early in the action, a bullet 
struck his wrist; around which he wrapped his hand¬ 
kerchief, and waved the wounded arm to encourage 
his men onward. Not long afterw'ards, he received 
a second shot, in the groin, but continued to ad¬ 
vance, without betraying that he was again wound¬ 
ed. W’hile the fate of the day was still doubtful, a 
third ball passed through his body, and stretched 
him on the field. Even then, he would scarcely 
allow himself to be conveyed to the rear. Reclin¬ 
ing against a rock, which, in after times, was vene¬ 
rated as a hero’s death-pillow, he had sunk into a 
stupor, no longer mindful of the din of arms. But 
a shout came pealing across the battle-field—‘ They 
fly ! They fly !’—and starting as from sleep, Wolfe 
looked earnestly round on his kneeling attendants. 
‘Who fly?’ he inquired. ‘ The French !’ replied 
the lieutenant who supported him. The martial 


* It is stated that there were thirty boats, and sixteen hu-*dred 
men; but this number is probably less than the truth. The morn¬ 
ing was overcast and showery. The precipitous ascent, by which 
the army reached the summit of the cliff, is now used as a path 
down to the timber-rafts, which generally cover the surface o.' 
Wolfe’s Cove. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


383 


enthusiasm of Wolfe gleamed forth upon his coun¬ 
tenance, like the effulgence of the sun, and clsanged 
his expiring agony to transport. ‘ Then I die hap¬ 
py !’ he exclaimed ; and there lay his corpse upon 
the victorious field, while his spirit was borne away 
upon the very shout that announced his triumph. 

Never—never—was there a death more glorious ! 
If a man’s heart do not throb higher at the tale, he 
has not the heart of a man within his breast. Rank 
and honours, all that his King could give, awaited 
Wolfe in England ; but no such glorious moment 
could have come to him again ; and it was better 
for him then and there to die, leaning against his 
stony pillow, listening to the peal of his own tri¬ 
umph—and consecrating, with his life-blood, the 
soil which he had added to the dominion of Britain.* 


* Wolfe died at the age of thirty-three. It was said, that, at 
the period of his victory and death, he was suffering under a mor¬ 
tal disease, and could have survived but a few months. A monu¬ 
ment (as we have stated elsewhere in tliis Magazine) has recently 
been erected to his memory by Lord Aylmer, the late Governour- 
General of Canada. 


THE FRENCH LABOURING CLASSES. 

[North American Review.] 

Although our intercourse with France in the way 
of trade and commerce is so frequent, we know 
comparatively little of the actual condition of the 
great ntass of her population. Her past history is in a 
measure familiar to all, but it is not so easy to de¬ 
termine or describe, with precise accuracy, the civil 
rights enjoyed by the people at the present day. 
The Revolution effected a great change in the feu¬ 
dal condition of society and property. In 1820, 
about one half of the whole population w’ere landed 
proprietors. About two-thirds of them are now en¬ 
gaged in agricultural pursuits, and of these, about five 
millions are not proprietors. Of the manufacturing 
population, between four and five millions of la¬ 
bourers are destitute of property. 

We have not room to enter into detail as to the 
condition of the manufacturing classes in France, 
but if we can credit the statements of travellers, it 
is more wretched than even that of the same classes 
in England. We may, however, remark here, that 
we have good authority for saying, that the highest 
wages of a cotton manufacturer in France are not 
more than five shillings and sixpence a week. 
Even these are higher than the wages of similar 
manufacturers in other countries on the continent 
of Europe. In Switzerland and Austria, they are 
four shillings; in the Tyrol, three shillings and nine- 
pence ; in Saxony, three shillings and sixpence, and 
in Prussia, two shillings and sixpence. The wages 
of cotton manufacturers on the Continent may be 
considered as varying from fifty cents to one dollar 
and twenty-five cents, weekly. 

The population of France may be stated at thir¬ 
ty-two millions. Of these, seven and a half mil¬ 
lions receive less than twenty dollars a year for 
their support, and nearly tw'enty-three millions are 
compelled to procure the necessaries of life with 
from five to eight sous (about the same number of 
cents) daily. To an American, this seems hardly 
credible. Such a pittance would be insufficient to 
supply the meat, bread, and tea, or coffee, with 


their usual accompaniments, which are daily found 
on the tables of all classes of our citizens. The 
French are, consequently, compelled to live with 
proportionate frugality, in order to live at all; and 
we are informed, that seven and a half millions of 
the people do not eat meat, or wheaten bread. 
They live upon barley, rye, buck-wheat, chestnuts, 
and a few potatoes, and their drink is water. 

In 1820, more than one hundred thousand,— 
one seventh part of all the inhabitants of Paris,— 
received support from the public charity; and one- 
third of the inhabitants who died during the year, 
died in hospitals. We have no means of compar¬ 
ing the present state of that city with its condi¬ 
tion at that period ; but we are not aware of any 
material improvement in these respects. 

The consequence of this general poverty of the 
labouriiig classes is, that they are compelled to work 
incessantly for the means of daily sustenance. Dur¬ 
ing certain seasons of the year, the women are em¬ 
ployed in field labours. The ordinary implements 
of French husbandry are ill adapted to aid the far¬ 
mer in his toil, and cows, asses, oxen and horses, 
are often seen yoked together to the same plough. 
It is stated by Simond, a late accurate and intelli¬ 
gent traveller, that the common wages of a hired 
labourer upon a farm, were two hundred francs 
yearly for men, and one hundred for women. This 
would give to the man in our country thirty-seven 
dollars and fifty cents, and to the woman eighteen 
dollars and seventy-five cents, annually. But he 
adds, that in consequence of bad seasons, labourers 
were at that time very willing to work for their 
bread only. The poverty of these classes, how¬ 
ever, does not protect them from taxation. We 
have seen that a large proportion of the whole peo¬ 
ple are proprietors of the soil, either as owners or 
lessees; and we can, therefore, form an idea of the 
extent of taxation in France, when we learn that 
the taxes upon the land, are equal to one fifth of its 
net produce. So that a man who should rent his 
farm for one hundred dollars a year, would be com¬ 
pelled to pay twenty dollars of that amount into the 
public treasury for taxes. This burden would, of 
course, fall upon the labouring classes,—the tillers 
of the soil. 

The condition of the people of France, as re¬ 
spects education, varies in the diflTerent departments. 
In the northern and eastern portions of the king¬ 
dom, the people are better educated than in the 
central and western sections. In the northern pro¬ 
vinces, fifty-two out of a hundred of the population 
can read and write ; in the eastern, fifty-five out of 
a hundred ; while in the western and central parts, 
from twenty-seven to thirty-five only in a hundred 
can read. This statement will serve to indicate 
the difference between the condition of the labour¬ 
ing classes in France, and that of the same classes 
in Massachusetts, for instance, where scarcely one 
native citizen in a thousand is destitute of the 
rudiments of a school education. 

We cannot dismiss this portion of our subject, 
without briefly inquiring how far the people of 
France are permitted to take part in the affairs of 
government. The members of the Chamber of 
Deputies, the popular branch of the government. 







384 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


are cnosen by the people; but the qualifications of 
candidates for office, as well as of the electors, are 
so high, that the mass of the people are, in fact, far 
from having any important influence in the election 
of the deputies, and in making the laws. No man 
can be an elector, who does not pay a direct tax of 
two hundred francs, (thirty-seven dollars and fifty 
cents;) and when we remember the proportion of 
those whose whole income does not exceed that 
amount, we perceive, at once, how small a number 
are qualified to vote. That, of more than thirty-two 
millions of inhabitants, far more than twiee the 
amount of the population of the United States, less 
than one hundred and seventy thousand are quali¬ 
fied to vote in the elections ; so that we have more 
than half as many electors in Massachusetts as there 
are in France, although her population is more than 
fifty times as great as ours. But even this boon, 
confined as it is to the rich, and wholly denied to 
the labouring classes, is of comparatively little value. 
Every officer, from the minister of state to the petty 
constable of the village is appointed by the crown, 
which has at its disposal more than one hundred 
thousand offices. The consequence is, as might be 
expected, that the government controls the elections, 
and a great majority of the deputies of the people 
are, in fact, but the creatures of the crown. 

In France, all religions are nominally tolerated, 
but the Catholic is the national faith. The clergy 
exceed forty thousand in number, and cost the 
country, exclusive of fees, gifts, and other allow¬ 
ances from parishes, communes, and departments, 
thirty-three millions and nine hundred and eighteen 
francs annually.- 

Moral Benefits of Commerce. —A man enters 
into business with a view of acquiring a fortune—a 
laudable motive. That property which arises from 
honest industry is an honour to its owner; the re¬ 
pose of his age, the reward of a life of attention ; 
but, great as the advantage seems, yet, being of a 
private nature, it is one of the least in the mercan¬ 
tile walk. For the intercourse occasioned by traffic 
gives a man a view of the world, and of himself; 
removes the narrow limits that confine his judg¬ 
ment, expands his mind, opens his understanding, 
unfixes his prejudices, and polishes his manners. 
Civility and humanity are ever the companions of 
trade ; the man of business is the man of liberal 
sentiment; if he be not the philosopher of nature 
he is the friend of his country. A barbarous and 
commercial people is a contradiction.— Hutton’s 
History of Birmingham. 

Cabbage, and Tailors. —The Roman name for 
a Cabbage, Brassica came, as is supposed, from 
‘ prseseco,’ because it was cut off from the stalk : it 
was also called Caulis in Latin, on account of the 
goodness of its stalks, and from which the English 
name Cole, Colvvort, or Colewort, is derived. The 
word Cabbage, by which all the varieties of this 
plant are now improperly called, means the firm 
head or ball that is formed by the leaves turning 
close over each other ; from that circumstance we 
say the cole has cabbaged. From thence arose the 
cant word applied to tailors, who formerly worked 
at the private houses of their customers, where they 


were often accused of cabbaging: which means the 
rolling up pieces of cloth instead of the list and 
shreds, which they claim as their due.— Phillip’s 
History of Cultivated Vegetables. 

Leathern Rafts. —The Euphrates is navigated 
by what are called leathern rafts. These are com¬ 
posed of the timber of wild poplar-trees, supported 
on inflated bags of sheepskin, flayed in a peculiar 
manner. On arriving at Bagdad, the wooden por¬ 
tion of the raft is sold, and the sheepskins, exhaust¬ 
ed of air, are packed on camels and carried back 
whence they came ; in order to be again inflated, 
and support another load of poplar-wood and mei 
chandise. - 

Defaced Coins. —To read an inscription on a 
silver coin, which, by much wear, has become wholly 
obliterated, put the poker in the fire; when red hot, 
place the coin upon it, and the inscription will 
plainly appear of a greenish hue, but will disappear 
as the coin cools. This method was practised at 
the British Mint to discover the genuine coin when 
the silver was last called in. 


Spider’s Den. —There is a species of Spider in 
New South Wales, which forms a den in the ground, 
having an aperture of about an inch in diameter. 
Over this aperture is a lid, composed of web and 
earth, so incorporated as to form a solid substance; 
it has also hinges of web, and when shut down, fits 
so accurately to the mouth of the den, as not to be 
discovered without the minutest inspection. A 
person was accustomed to feed one of these spiders, 
and became well acquainted with his habits. When 
visited by his friend, the spider would lift the trap¬ 
door of his den, come forth, and partake of the 
food that was brought him; and, when satisfied, 
would retreat into his dwelling, shutting the door 
after him. We are inclined to think that this spi¬ 
der is the only creature, except man, that has con¬ 
structed a door, turning on hinges. 


Indian Totem.— An Indian is very reluctant to 
tell the name which belongs to him as an individual; 
but his Totem—which corresponds to our family 
names, and by which lineage is traced—he is proud 
to tell. - 

First Philadelphian. —The first native of Phi¬ 
ladelphia, of European descent, was born in a cave, 
hollowed out in the high banks of the Delaware 
river. - 

Great Gun.— At Moscow, there is so large a 
cannon, that Captain Cochrane, an English traveller, 
sat upright in its muzzle. 


‘ If a man is not rising upwards to be an angel, 
depend upon it he is sinking downwards to be a 
devil. He cannot stop at the beast. The most 
savage of men are not beasts; they are worse, a 
great deal worse.’— Coleridge. 


Torture.— Confessions used formerly to be ex¬ 
torted in Russia, by pouring boiling water, in sin¬ 
gle drops, on the bare skulls of suspected persons. 













OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


385 


NATURE OF SLEE?. 

Scientific men have been infinitely puzzled to ex¬ 
plain the phenomena of sleep; the reason being, 
perhaps, that they cannot examine into its nature, 
at the same time that they are undergoing its influ¬ 
ence. If a person, while asleep, were capable of 
noticing and recording his own sensations, a correct 
theory of the matter would probably soon be at¬ 
tained. Most of the present theories are dreams, it 
is true ; but they have the great disadvantage of be¬ 
ing merely the dreams of waking men. 

Dr. Philip, an English physician, has paid much 
attention to the subject, and appears to have thrown 
considerable light upon it. His observations on the 
nature of sleep are so connected with his researches 
on other points of animal physiology, that the for¬ 
mer cannot be fully understood without an ac¬ 
quaintance with the latter. An abstract, however, 
may be attempted, and perhaps be made sufficiently 
intelligible to interest tlie reader. 

He observes, that, in the more perfect animals, 
there are two systems, in a great degree distinct 
from each other; one is the sensitive system, by 
means of which we perceive, and act, and hold in¬ 
tercourse with the external world ; the other is the 
vital system, by which existence is maintained. 
The sensitive system, alone, is subject to sleep. 
When the reasoning powers are fatigued by atten¬ 
tion, the feelings by the indulgence of passion, the 
eye by objects of sight, the ear by sounds, and the 
muscles of voluntary motion by powerful and re¬ 
peated exercise, they cease to be excited by ordi¬ 
nary stimulants ; and, unless stronger stimulants are 
applied, they fall into a state of rest. This is sleep ; 
and during its continuance, the excitability, which 
had previously been exhausted, is restored, and the 
nerves can be again acted upon by the usual stimu¬ 
lants. It is a law of the sensitive system, that it is 
subject to be thus alternately excited and exhausted ; 
and unless the exhaustion is excessive, it does not 
interfere with health, but is entirely in the natural 
course of things. But that sleep alone is healthy, 
which is easily broken. If from fatigue, or any 
other cause, it be unusually prolound, such sleep 
partakes of disease; because then the vital system, 
though it does not sleep, is affected by the torpor 
of the sensitive system. Thus, in very profound 
sleep, the movements of the respiratory organs are 
sluggish, and the blood, in consequence, is less fre¬ 
quently renovated at the lungs, and therefore acts 
with diminished power in keeping up the motion 
of the heart. 

As we have stated, it is the nature of the sensi¬ 
tive system to be alternately excited and exhausted. 
Now, there is this great difference between it and 
the vital system, that the latter is continually excit¬ 
ed, but never, in its natural and healthy state, un¬ 
dergoes exhaustion, or needs repose in order to fit 
it for the performance of its duties. It is contin¬ 
ually at work, from the first moment of our lives 
till the last, and is never tired ; or if it be so, its 
weariness is the symptom of disease ; it does not re¬ 
semble the healthy exhaustion of the sensitive sys¬ 
tem, but manifests itself in debility, whence the suf¬ 
ferer very slowly recovers, if at all. The heart be¬ 
longs to the vital system; it is continually in a state 


of excitement and action, and is never weary of 
throbbing; it works for a whole lifetime together, 
and never sleeps till it has done its task. Its sleep 
—the sleep of the vital system—is death; for when 
it has once fairly sunk under exhaustion, there is no 
possibility of arousing it. The sensitive system, on 
the contrary, is aroused from its sleep by means ol 
the vital system; from which, during its repose, it 
has been collecting and accumulating fresh excita¬ 
bility, to supply the place of what was wasted in the 
hours of wakefulness. The vital powers reinvigo¬ 
rate the exhausted sensitive powers ; and therefore 
the latter may safely fall asleep; but Nature has 
provided no method of reinvigorating the exhausted 
vital powers, because she did not contemplate that 
they should ever need repose. Had we been cre¬ 
ated without this faculty of continual wakefulness, 
in our hearts and the rest of our vital systems—had 
these organs been liable to fall asleep, like the sen¬ 
sitive ones—the first nap, which we might happen 
to take, would last till the day of Judgment—for 
the simple reason, that there would be no possibility 
of awaking us. Hence we may infer, that no liv¬ 
ing creature has ever been more than half asleep, 
and that only the dead sleep sound ; their bodies, 
we mean ; for their spirits are then more wide¬ 
awake than ever. 

How strange and mysterious is our love of sleep! 
Fond as we are of life, we are yet content to spend 
a third of its little space in what, so far as relates to 
our own consciousness, is a daily, or nightly, anni¬ 
hilation. We congratulate ourselves when we have 
slept soundly ; as if it were a matter of rejoicing that 
thus much of time has been snatched from the sum 
total of our existence—that we are several steps 
nearer to our graves, without perceiving how we ar¬ 
rived thither, or gaining either knowledge or en¬ 
joyment on the way. Well!—Eternity will make 
up the loss; on no other consideration can a wise 
man reconcile himself to the necessity of sleep. 

Despots. —It is a mistaken rule to judge of des¬ 
pots by the momentary successes which they may 
have obtained, at the utmost stretch of their abso¬ 
lute power. It is the state in which they leave the 
country at their death or fall, it is that which re¬ 
mains of their reign after they themselves are gone, 
it is its enduring consequences, that reveal what 
monarchs have been.— Madame de Sta'el. 


Extravagance is merely comparative. A Cana¬ 
dian, when encamped in the woods, will perhaps 
heap several large pine trees upon his watch-fire 
They cost him nothing, and are of no value to any 
body. But a native of Potosi would consider this 
the utmost degree of extravagance, because, in his 
country, each tree would be worth a thousand 

dollars. - 

Royal Munificence. —In every country except 
England and our own, splendid public edifices are 
tokens either that the people are not free, or have 
not always been so. The same may be said of all 
the establishments and institutions, for which credit 
is given to royal munificence. It is easy for those 
kings to be munificent, who can take money out of 
the people’s pockets at their own pleasure. 

49 






386 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


EFFECT OF COLOUR ON HEAT. 

Many of our readers will recollect Dr. Franklin’s 
experiment, by placing pieces of cloth, of different 
colours, on the snow, in order to test which of them 
would absorb the greatest ouantity of lieat from the 
sun. It was found, after some hours’ exposure, 
that the black cloth had sunk deepest in the snow, 
and that the other pieces had sunk to depths which 
corresponded to the darkness of their colours; while 
the snow beneath the white cloth had not been 
melted at all. From this result. Dr. Franklin drew 
the inference that dark-coloured garments were un¬ 
fit to be worn in hot countries ; and that the dress 
of the inhabitants, and of sailors, and the uniform 
of soldiers, between the tropics, should be of some 
light hue. Tlieir hats, especially, in his opinion, 
should be white, that the intense heat of the sun 
might not be absorbed through a dark surface into 
their brains. 

Nevertheless, the observations of other distin¬ 
guished philosophers led them to a very diflerent 
conclusion. Among these were Count Rumford 
and Sir Everard Home. The Count affirmed, that, 
if he were to become a resident in the torrid zone, 
he would eitlier blacken his skin, or wear a black 
shirt. Sir Everard, by actual experiments on his 
own person and that of a negro, discovered that the 
black skin was far less affected by the sun’s rays 
than the white; although the absorption of heat by 
the black was very considerably greater. In other 
words, the negro’s skin remained cooler, while yet 
it undeniably imbibed the largest quantity of heat. 
No satisfactory explanation of this phenomenon was 
offered ; and even Sir Humphrey Davy, though the 
fact was undisputed, failed to assign a reasonable 
cause. In a recent volume of the London Philoso¬ 
phical Transactions, there is an able and interesting 
paper, which brings forward what appears to be a 
correct solution of the mystery. The author states, 
that, although a greater quantity of heat is absorbed 
by dark-coloured surfaces than by light ones, yet a 
proportionably greater quantity is given out. Thus, 
in the case of the negro, there is a brisk circulation 
of heat, which, passing into and out of the skin, 
promotes insensible perspiration, and keeps the 
body cool. Hence, too, the peculiar odour of the 
coloured race; it being disengaged from their per¬ 
sons together with the heat which is given out. 

We may-readily conclude, that Nature would not 
have given the African his sable skin, unless it had 
been his best protection against the burning clime 
of his nativity. The ingenious writer, whose essay 
forms the basis of this article, supposes that the 
shades of colour in the human race correspond to 
the differences of climate; and that thus the mean 
temperature of the body is kept about the same in 
Greenland, for instance, as in Calcutta. On this 
theory, however, he would find it difficult to ac¬ 
count for the unvarying hue of our Indians; whose 
skins, we believe, are of as deep a copper colour at 
the sources of the Mississippi as in Florida. Set¬ 
ting aside the red men, we should suppose that, 
with all other varieties of mankind, his system might 
hold good. In regard to the lower orders of ani¬ 
mal life, there are even stronger evidences, that 
tlieir colour is regulated by the degree of heat or 


cold which they are to endure. Many of the quad¬ 
rupeds of northern climates change their Summer 
garments, of various hues, to a Winter dress of 
white ; in tlie arctic regions, there are white foxes, 
j^'hite hares, and white ermine. In England, simi¬ 
lar changes occasionally take place ; and in our own 
country, the rabbit, at least, turns white in W'inter. 
The feathered tribes, in climates where there is a 
great difference of temperature between Winter and 
Summer, undergo still more striking variations of 
hue. Their Winter dress is so unlike that which 
they assume in Summer, and both, in some cases, 
are so little similar to what they wear in Spring or 
Autumn, that Ornithologists, describing the same 
birds at different seasons, have supposed them to 
belong to various sj)ecies. 'i'he ptarmigan may be 
taken as an instance ; the dark richness of its Sum¬ 
mer plumage gradually gives place to a grayish 
white, in Autumn ; its black spots are changed to 
zig-zag lines and specks; and it continues to fade, 
till, in the depth of Winter, it is seen of a pure im¬ 
maculate white. There is a vast difference of hue 
between tropical birds and those of an arctic cli¬ 
mate ; it would exhaust the richest colours of a 
painter’s palette to depict the former; while black 
and white would suffice for the Summer and Win¬ 
ter dresses of the latter. Humming birds, by the 
metallic reffection and polished surfaces of their 
plumage, are admirably fitted to fiit through the 
Summer sunshine. Insects, whose existence be¬ 
gins and ends with Summer, are painted with a 
gorgeous depth of hue. In like manner, it is sup¬ 
posed that the temperature of flowers is regulated 
by the colours of their petals; so that there is an 
important use, in what we have been accustomed 
to consider merely ornamental. The flowers of 
mid-summer glow deeply bright; those of the early 
Spring are pale. 

Had black been the colour best fitted to retain 
heat, there is no doubt, strange as the idea may 
seem, that the earth would have been defended 
against the inclemency of Winter by a garment of 
black snow. But, in the present constitution of 
things, the soil, and the rpots of the herbage and 
plants, are protected by precisely the proper cover¬ 
ing ; which, though its spotless whiteness absorbs 
little or no heat from the sun, gives off as little from 
the earth. Would ifr^not be wise, then, if we were 
to reverse the rules that have hitherto guided us, 
and follow Nature in her fashions—putting on gar¬ 
ments white as her snow, for Winter-wear, and 
decking ourselves, in Summer, with the deepest 
hues of her verdure and her flowers ? 


A Question. —It is said by naturalists, that the 
population of A sea-coast is physically a more pow¬ 
erful race than those who inhabit the interiour of 
the same country. But how is this opinion to be 
reconciled with the physical prowess of our half¬ 
horse and half-alligator giants of Kentucky, thou¬ 
sands of whom never smell a sea-breeze in the whole 
course of their lives ? 


Nothing is so intolerable as a little wit and a 
great desire of showing it. 











OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


387 


BELLS 

Cowper, in the person of Alexander Selkirk, finds 
no stronger mode of expressing the dreary desola¬ 
tion of the island of Juan Fernandez, than the fol¬ 
lowing :— 

‘ The sound of the church-going bell 
These valleys and rocks never heard, 

Never sighed at the sound of a knell, 

Nor smiled when the Sabbath appeared.’ 

The idea, contained in these lines, is true and 
powerful; w^e immediately feel all the loneliness of 
the desert isle, ‘ far mid the melancholy main,’ 
where man dwells not now, nor ever did dwell, 
nor has hallowed the hills and groves by his earthly 
sorrows, nor his hopes of immortality. All ears de¬ 
light in the music of a bell. Milton, for instance, 
numbers it among his pensive pleasures:— 

‘ Oft on a plat of rising ground, 

I hear the far-off Curfew sound. 

Over some wide-watered shore. 

Swinging slow with sullen roar.’ 

The accents of its iron tongue have a strange in¬ 
fluence over human sympathies; or rather, they 
chime in with every tone of sentiment, and make 
religion more venerable, grief more tender, and 
joy more gladsome. Such an effect has been re¬ 
cognised from the earliest times. The Egyptians 
ushered in the festal days of their deities by the 
ringing of bells; and bells were rung, too, in some 
of the religious solemnities of the ancient Greeks. 

It is supposed that bells were first introduced into 
Christian churches about the year 400; although 
they w'ere not brought into general use, till three or 
four centuries afterwards. They were given by 
princes and great men to religious communities ; 
and, in the early ages of the Catholic faith, it was 
usual to baptize the bells, with great ceremony; the 
crossing, benediction, and other rites, being per¬ 
formed by a bishop. Many marvellous virtues were 
attributed to them; and among the rest, that of 
dispelling thunder storms, in order to effect which, 
they were generally rung amid the roar of the tem¬ 
pest. The church bells were also sounded, at the 
moment when the soul of a dying person was pass¬ 
ing from his body ; a custom for which there were 
two reasons—one, that all Christians might be re¬ 
minded to pray for their departing brother; and the 
other, because the knell was believed to chase away 
the evil spirits, who watched around the sinner’s 
death-bed. 

Bells have the same general shape in all countries; 
and it is conjectured that their form was imitated 
from that of a pot or kettle. They have recently 
been made without any curvature of the sides, but 
I straight up and down, like a tub. The largest 
(JKiells in the world, are in Nankin, and in Moscow. 

the former city, there were four bells, of such 
H^Ke, that, though they were never swung in the 
l>elfry, but merely struck with a wooden mallet, 
they caused the tower to fall, and are said to be 
still lying amid the ruins. In Moscow, there is a 
bell which was presented to the cathedral of that 
city by the Empress Anne, the heigl^ of which is 
twenty-one feet, its circumference near the bottom 
more than sixty-seven, and its weight at least four 
hundred and thirty-two thousand pounds. It re¬ 


mains in a deep pit, where it was cast, and has a 
fissure in its side through which two persons may 
pass abreast, without stooping. This enormous 
bell is worth above three hundred thousand dollars, 
considering it merely as a mass of old bell-metal, 
and without reckoning the gold and silver, a large 
amount of which is supposed to be mingled with its 
materials; for tradition affirms that, while the metal 
was in a state of fusion, many of the Russian no¬ 
bility and people threw in their plate and coin. 
The tone of a bell is thought to be greatly improved 
by a mixture of silver. Bell-metal is composed of 
copper and tin, generally in the proportion of twen¬ 
ty-three pounds of the latter to one hundred of the 
former; and it is a singular fact, that not only is 
the compound more sonorous than either of the 
metals separately, but is also heavier than their 
aggregate weight. 

Bells of moderate size are moulded in the man¬ 
ner of large pots. In the manufacture of larger 
ones, pits are dug in the earth, and they are cast in 
a sort of plaster moulds. A cracked bell is gener¬ 
ally considered as irremediably ruined; but attempts 
have recently been made, and sometimes with suc¬ 
cess, to restore the proper tone by cutting out the 
fractured part. While the Great Tom of Lincoln 
was undergoing this operation, a piece was broken 
off* the rim, eight feet in length, and weighing six 
hundred pounds. 

It would have been by no means wonderful, if 
our pious ancestors, when they emigrated to New 
England, had rejected the use of bells, and refused 
to be thus summoned to public worship, because 
the same mode was practised in the churches and 
high cathedrals of the ancient faith. They do, in 
fact, in some of the country towns, and probably in 
Boston, during the first years of its settlement, ap¬ 
pear to have substituted the beat of a drum, instead 
of the ringing of a bell, on Sabbaths and Lecture- 
days. This, however, was attributable to the ne¬ 
cessity of the case; and bells were imported from 
England, almost as soon as the pilgrims had ex¬ 
changed the canopy of forest-boughs for a temple 
built with hands. The earliest use of bells, in 
North America, was probably in the French and 
Catholic city of Quebec. Every little chapel in the 
wilderness, where the French Jesuits preached to 
the red-men, had its bell. We recollect to have 
seen, in the museum of Bowdoin College, one, which 
we believe, had belonged to the chapel of the mar¬ 
tyred Father Ralle. After the priest was slain, 
and his altar desecrated, by the bloody hands of the 
New England rangers, this bell, if we mistake not, 
lay hidden many years beneath the forest-leaves; until 
being accidentally brought to light, it was suspended 
in the belfry of the College-chapel. The adven¬ 
tures of this bell would form a pretty and fanciful 
story, which we should be glad to write, if it were 
in our nature to be guilty of such nonsensical scrib- 

blings. - 

THE PRECIOUS METALS, 

AS APPLIED TO ARTICLES OF USE AND ORNAMENT 

The consumption of the precious metals, in other 
modes than by converting them into coin, has 
greatly increased in recent times. Some articles of 
plate, such as silver tea-urns and tureens, have been 






388 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


introduced in modern days. Silver table-forks, 
also, were unknown, even among the higher classes, 
until the commencement of the reign of George the 
Third ; although, at present, one half the silver used 
in England, is consumed in the manufacture of 
forks and spoons. It probably is not two centuries, 
since table spoons of silver were substituted for 
pewter, as the latter material had formerly been for 
horn or wood. Tea-spoons were of course intro¬ 
duced subsequently to the use of tea; the date of 
which was in Queen Anne’s reign. They are now 
manufactured by millions. Silver plates, dishes, 
and vessels, the use of which was formerly confined 
to people of rank, are now common throughout a 
much wider class. Watches, which are worn by 
almost every body above the lowest rank, employ a 
vast amount of gold and silver, far the greater part 
of which has been applied to this use within half a 
century. Only a small quantity of the precious 
metals is now used in lace and embroidery, which 
were formerly worn in great profusion on the gar¬ 
ments of the nobility and gentry; but what is saved, 
in this respec.t, is expended, and a great deal besides, 
in the number and variety of gold ornaments that 
are now fashionable. For instance, there are gold 
chains and seals, broaches, breast-pins, and waist¬ 
coat buttons; large golden combs, and other orna¬ 
ments for the head ; ear-rings and necklaces ; eye¬ 
glasses set in gold, and spectacles with gold bows; 
buttons, clasps, and hooks and eyes of gold, for 
ladies’ gowns. No small portion of gold goes to 
the manufacture of finger-rings ; of which, we pre¬ 
sume, almost every man, not absolutely in a state 
of poverty, has occasion to present at least one to 
some object of his tender regards, and probably to 
receive one in exchange. 

Much gold is consumed in the various branches 
of gilding. In London alone, there are eighty gold¬ 
beaters, some of whom use up no less than twenty 
ounces per week; the average quantity, among the 
whole trade, is about three ounces. The wld-leaf, 
after being beaten out to the requisite thinness, is 
placed between the leaves of books, each of which 
is three and three-eighths of an inch square, and 
contains twenty-five leaves. These books are sold 
by the thousand, at different prices, according to 
the thickness of the leaves. Only eight penny¬ 
worths of gold is used in manufacturing a thousand 
of the cheapest kind. Silver leaf is sometimes 
made in the same manner; but the thinnest is at 
least two and a half times as thick as the thinnest 
gold ; and a thousand books cannot be made with 
less than an ounce of silver. In what is called 
water-gilding, gold dust is mingled with quicksilver, 
and applied like paste to the buttons or toys, which 
are to be gilded. An enormous quantity qf these 
articles are scattered from the workshops of Eng¬ 
land over all the markets in the world. A great 
deal of gold is also used in the porcelain potteries, 
for gilding tea-sets, table-services, and ornamental 
china. Plating with gold is performed by applying 
a thin plate of gold to a thicker one of inferiour 
metal; the two metals are made to adhere, by cueans 
of a strong pressure; and seals and other articles 
are manufactured in this way, at a comparatively 
trifling expense. For ten or twelve years, or more. 


they look as well as solid gold. Silver is likewise 
rolled in contact with other tnetals; and ornaments 
for coaches and coach-harnesses are thus manufac¬ 
tured. 

The frames of pictures and looking-glasses re¬ 
quire still further portions of gold ; and much, also, 
is expended on the epaulettes and lace of uniforms. 
A mighty mass of silver is manufactured into thim¬ 
bles, which are turned out by the bushel and cart¬ 
load. Then there are silver pencil-cases, and a host 
of gew-gaws and knick-knacks, too numerous to 
mention. 

The value of the silver, drawn from all sources, 
since the discovery of America, has been three 
times that of the gold ; but the loss by wear, on 
gold, is only a fourth part what it is on silver. An 
ounce of gold is now worth about fifteen ounces of 
silver; but, in the days of ancient Rome, it was 
worth only from nine to eleven ounces. By far the 
larger part of the immense amount of the precious 
metals, consumed in the above manufactures, comes 
fresh from the mines, or is obtained by melting 
down light guineas, or doubloons, Portugal-pieces, 
and other foreign coin. About one-fortieth part of 
the whole is supplied by burning old gold and silver 
lace, and picture frames, melting unfashionable 
plate, and from the swee[)ings of goldsmith’s shops, 
and all such sources. Vast as is the expenditure of 
the precious metals, they might, however, in case of 
urgent necessity, be, in a great measure, dis[)ensed 
with ; for the artists of Birmingham are so skilfid in 
the manufacture of alloyed gold, that ornaments of 
this material may be alforded at from one half to 
one (juarter the standard cost; yet look altogether 
as well, to an ordinary observer, as the pure metal. 
Jeweller’s gold is not looked upon as the pure gold 
of Ophir, in any part of the world ; and, for aught 
we know, Birmingham might meet its matc h on this 
side of the Atlantic. We recollect a story of an old 
and wealthy goldsmith, who, being asked by one of 
his younger brethren how he had managed to grow 
so rich by his handicraft, made the following oracu¬ 
lar response:—‘When I set up in business, my 
young friend, rny stock of the precious metals con¬ 
sisted of a gold doubloon and old brass-kettle ;— 
and the doubloon lasted longer than the brass- 
kettle !’ - 

Origin of Words. —All our words of necessity 
are derived from the German ; our words of luxury 
and those used at table, from the French. The 
sky, the earth, the elements, the names of animals, 
household goods, and articles of food, are the same 
in German as in English ; the fashions of dress, and 
every thing belonging to the kitchen, luxury, and 
ornament, are taken from the French ; and to such 
a degree of exactness, that the names of animal^ 
which serve for the ordinary food of men, such aj 
ox, calf, sheep, when alive, are called the same in* 
English as in German ; but when they are served 
up for the table they change their names, and are 
called beef , veal, mutton, nher the French.— Duten. 

Diabloti!*s.—T ravellers, lodging at German inns, 
paste these fulminating crackers across the crack o( 
the door, that they may explode and give the alarm, 
should any person attempt to enter. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


389 


HUMAN SACRIFICES IN MEXICO. 

[From the French.] 

It is known that the Spaniards, when they con¬ 
quered Mexico, found in that country a most bar¬ 
barous and sanguinary religion, notwithstanding 
that the people had made considerable advances in 
civilisation. Nothing could be more cruel than the 
human sacrifices, by which the Mexicans endeavour¬ 
ed to appease their divinities, who were supposed 
to be greedy of blood. The atrocity of these mur¬ 
ders was rendered yet more monstrous, by the so¬ 
lemnity of the religious rites which accompanied 
them. Magnificent temples were consecrated to 
the worship of the Gods, of whom the chief was the 
god of war, bearing the name of Huitzilopotchli. 
The Mexicans had a particular veneration for this 
deity. A precise estimate cannot be made of the 
number of wretches who were annually immolated, 
in these sacrifices ; but according to the most mod¬ 
erate calculations, they amounted to more than ten 
thousand, in all parts of the empire. In a Spanish 
history of the Conquest of Mexico, we find a cir¬ 
cumstantial detail of the mode in which a human 
sacrifice was conducted. 

Six priests assembled together in the temple of 
the Idol. The Chief Priest, or Toplitzin, was ar¬ 
rayed in a crimson garment, and wore a crown of 
green and yellow plumes. His five companions 
were clad in black and white. These sacrificing 
priests dragged their naked victim to the most ele¬ 
vated part of the temple, and laid him at full length 
upon the altar. Four of them held his feet and 
hands; the fifth forcibly confined his head, with an 
instrument of wood in the form of a serpent. The 
Chief Priest, armed with a sharp knife of stone, 
then approached, clove the victim’s breast asunder, 
tore out his palpitating heart, and cast it at the 
Idol’s feet. When the deity was of gigantic size, 
this bloody offering was introduced into his mouth, 
by means of a golden spoon. The lips of the god, 
and the entrance of his temple, were often wet 
with the blood of the victim. When the sacrifice 
was consummated, if he happened to have been a 
prisoner of war, his head was set aside, in order to 
preserve the skull; while the rest of his body was 
thrown into the inner part of the temple. The 
warriour, to whom the prisoner belonged, then re¬ 
claimed the bleeding corpse, and bore it away, as 
the chief dainty in a magnificent feast, which he 
prepared for his family and friends. Among some 
of the Mexican tribes, it was customary to divide 
the victim’s body into morsels, and to sell them pub¬ 
licly in the Markets. 

It is not to be u’ondered at, that the Mexicans 
had chosen the most frightful emblems and figures, 
to represent the cruel deities whom they wor¬ 
shipped. Gigantic monsters and pictures, in which 
were collected all the horrours that the credulous 
imagination of a barbarian could produce,—such 
were the objects of their veneration. Their tem¬ 
ples were ornamented with serpents, tigers, and 
other ferocious animals. The spirit of a religion, 
which saw nothing in Heaven but cruelty and ven¬ 
geance, was far from being favourable to humanity. 
Accordingly, we see that the Mexicans, although 


the most civilized people of the new worM, were 
often also the most savage and ferocious. 

Rich Skeletons.— In the old Peruvian mines, 
skeletons of Indians are said to have been found, 
covered and intertwined with fibres of silver, and 
the inward parts filled with lumps of the same metal. 
The original owners of these dry bones were sup¬ 
posed to have perished, hundreds of years before, 
and as their flesh decayed, silver had grown around 
them, till, when found, they looked like silver 
corpses. Some men, possibly, would desire nothing 
better than such a transformation ; provided it 
might take place while they were alive. Undoubt¬ 
edly, it would make valuable men of them. 


Rainbows. —It has been observed by the ancients, 
that where a rainbow seems to hang over, or to 
touch, a sweet smell may be perceived. It will be 
found a somewhat diflicult matter to reach the spot 
which a rainbow touches, in order to test this ex¬ 
periment. Like all other bright things, the gor¬ 
geous pageant will remove as we adv^mce, and at 
last fade into the sky—where, if we follow it thither, 
we shall doubtless find it. 


Theory of the Tides.— A Pythagorean philoso¬ 
pher affirmed that the ebbing and flowing of the 
sea was the respiration of the world, which he sup¬ 
posed to be a living monster, drawing in water in¬ 
stead of breath, and heaving it out again. 


Brazilian Ignorance.— The descendants of the 
Portuguese settlers, in the interiour of Brazil, think 
that there are but two grand divisions of the earth—• 
America and Portugal. One of these people, by no 
means more ignorant than his countrymen generally, 
inquired if Napoleon were not a general in the Por¬ 
tuguese service, who had rebelled against the king. 
Napoleon, we doubt not, would have been vexed, 
could he have conceived that his earth-pervading 
fame had so vaguely reached this portion of the 
globe. Another Brazilian, in giving a description 
of England, spoke of its noble river Mississippi, 
which was so wide that the eye could not see 
across it. - 

Ancient Bricks. —Amongst the ruins of the city 
of Gour, the ancient capital of Bengal, are found 
bricks having projecting ornaments in high relief: 
these appear to have been formed in a mould, and 
subsequently glazed with a coloured glaze. In 
Germany, also, brickwork has been executed with 
various ornaments. The cornice of the church of 
St. Stefano, at Berlin, is made of large blocks of 
brick moulded into the form required by the archi¬ 
tect.— Babbage. - 

Female Protection. —At Cairo, under the gov¬ 
ernment of the Mamelukes, if a criminal fleeing for 
his life, could reach the door w hich led to a Harem, 
he cried out—/i/ ard el harym —‘ I claim the pro¬ 
tection of the women.’ His life was then secure. 
Recently, in our own country, a body-guard of petti¬ 
coats has been found a surer protection than the 
civil authority. 










390 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


BAKER’S BREAD. 

In most families which make their own bread, it 
depends considerably upon chance whether the batch 
shall be good or bad. There is apt to be a dislike of 
settled rules ; although, if these were to receive due 
attention, good bread might be rendered a matter of 
absolute certainty. Professional bakers would be 
ruined, were they to incur a hundredth part of the 
failures that attend domestic bread making; yet the 
same systematic management, which ensures their 
success, would be equally effectual in the latter case. 
From an English scientific work, we have abstracted 
a description of the process used by the bakers in 
London ; whence the American housewife may per¬ 
haps derive some profitable hints. It will, at least, 
show how strict a degree of accuracy is observed in 
their operations. 

In the first place, they dissolve from four to six 
pounds of salt in thirty-six pounds of water, slightly 
warmed, and to this add three pints of yest. They 
then make a hole in the middle of a heap of flour, 
consisting of two hundred and eighty pounds, pour 
in the salt and yest, and knead a portion of the flour 
into paste. This is called one quarter sponge. 
The paste is then covered with more flour, and the 
kneading trough is closed with flannel. Three hours 
afterwards, they add three hundred and sixty pounds 
of boiling water, and knead up the mass with more 
flour. This is called half sponge. Five hours after¬ 
wards, they pour in one hundred and eight pounds 
of hot water, and work it with more flour, for an 
hour at least; it is then cut into small pieces, covered 
with flour, and laid in a corner of the trough. After 
another interval of four hours, it is again kneaded for 
half an hour, and then formed into loaves for the oven. 
The bakers judge of the heat of the oven, by throw¬ 
ing in a pinch of flour; if it instantly turn black, but 
without taking fire, the temperature is at the proper 
height. The loaves are placed so close together, 
that when they rise, they press against each other, 
and are formed into cubes. After remaining two 
hours and a half in the oven, they are taken out, and 
immediately covered up close, in order to prevent 
any loss of weight—a serious consideration, where 
the bread is to be sold by the pound. It is estima¬ 
ted, that the loaves lose a ninth part of their weight 
in the oven, although, when taken out, they are 
three times as large as when put in. A half 
pound of alum is sometimes used instead of salt; or 
equal portions of salt and alum will answer the 
purpose. 

In order to know whether the bread is well made, 
a loaf may be cut in two. The cut surface should 
exhibit a quantity of air holes, increasing in diameter 
from the bottom to the top; and the middle of the 
loaf should be as dry as the part near the crust, and 
should not crumble too much, on being cut. The 
latter is a sign that the flour has not retained too 
large a quantity of water. Different sorts of flour 
imbibe and retain different quantities of water; those 
which require least water are preferable for house¬ 
hold bread; but the bakers choose the sorts which 
possess the contrary quality—not that such flour 
makes better bread, nor so good, but because the 
additional weight of the water is a clear gain to 
them. Fifteen pounds of good wheaten flour ought 


not to require more than ten pounds of water to make 
it into paste; and from this quantity, after baking, 
there should be at least twenty pounds of bread. 

An oven of stone is preferable to a brick one; it 
heats quicker, and retains the heat longer. In 
London, the bakers’ ovens are kept hot throughout 
the day, by means of a small furnace in the side of 
the oven, with a circular flue passing under and 
around it. There is sometimes a coal grate beneath 
the bottom of the oven. In Russia, and occasionally 
in England, the ovens are made of iron plates, or of 
cast iron. 

Most countries have their own peculiar fashions, 
both in the manufacture of bread, and in the ingre¬ 
dients. The method of making bread in Paris 
would require as long a description as we have be¬ 
stowed on the process of the London bakers. In 
Germany, all the bread, or nearly all, is made of a 
mixture of wheat and rye. Rye-and-Indian bread 
seems to be purely an Americanism, and is as 
worthy to be a subject of national pride, as many 
other matters of which we boast more loudly. The 
French make an excellent kind of gingerbread, with 
honey and rye meal; the honey serves instead of 
water, butter, eggs, and sugar. There is a singular 
disproportion between the quantities of bread con¬ 
sumed in France and in England; in the former 
country, it is computed that each person eats, inclu¬ 
ding what is taken with soup, two pounds and a 
quarter of bread per day ; while in England, the 
average quantity is thirteen ounces. 

MARRIAGE, AND LONG LIFE. 

It has long been the opinion of those who have 
paid attention to the subject, that marriage, in both 
sexes, is conducive to length of life ; and an Europe¬ 
an philosopher has lately made observations, which 
render the fact indubitable. His researches, togeth¬ 
er with what was previously known, give the follow¬ 
ing remarkable results. Among unmarried men, at 
the ages of from thirty to forty-five, the average 
number of deaths per annum is twenty-seven in a 
hundred; but of married men,at the same period of 
life, the deaths are only eighteen. For forty-one 
bachelors who attain the age of forty, there are sev¬ 
enty-eight married men v, bo do the same. As age 
advances, the difference becomes more striking. At 
sixty, there are only twenty-two unmarried men alive, 
for ninety-eight who have enjoyed the benefits of 
matrimony ;—at seventy, the proportion between the 
bachelors and married men is eleven of the former 
for twenty-seven of the latter;—and at eighty, there 
are nine married men for three single ones. The 
same rule holds good, in nearly the same proportions, 
with regard to the other sex. Married women, at 
the age of thirty, taking one with another, may ex¬ 
pect to live thirty-six years longer; while, for the 
unmarried, the expectation of life is only thirty years 
and a half. Of those who attain the age of forty- 
five, there are seventy-two married women for fifty- 
two old maids. These estimates, it must be under¬ 
stood, are based on actual facts, by observing the 
difference of longevity between equal numbers of 
individuals, in single and in married life. 

Should it be asked, how it is that marriage con¬ 
duces to longevity, it may be difficult to give a satis- 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


391 


factory reply. Its mode of operation is probably 
rather mental and moral, than physical. As regards 
the male sex, the quietude of domestic life—its 
peaceful cares, if we may use the expression—and 
the calm sense of virtuous aflections, and satisfied 
desires—would be likely to keep the soul from 
wearing out the frame too soon. The course of a mar¬ 
ried man’s life is generally regular; his wife’s influ¬ 
ence tempers his masculine character, and makes 
him less wild and adventurous; he feels that he is 
not exclusively his own property, and therefore is 
not ashamed to be careful of himself. His spirit is 
tamed down, and does not hurry him into vicissi¬ 
tudes, whether of good or evil fortune. He has 
bidden adieu to all feverish passions. On many 
accounts, his health is exposed to far less peril than 
before; and, in sickness, he has the tenderest of 
nurses. Finally, he totters a long way, down into 
the vale of years, because supported by a careful 
arm, when he otherwise might sink. Compare such 
a life with the ill-regulated and reckless course of 
too many unconjugated men, and here is at least 
one cause for the briefer span of the latter class. 
Our reasoning, however, is not equally applicable to 
old maids, who, nevertheless, are subject to the 
same law as their male counterparts. 

THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT. 

[Translated from the Magasin Universel.] 

When we contemplate merely the surface of the 
globe which we inhabit, we see nothing that would 
lead us to suspect its history. A soil enriched with 
the treasures of vegetation and the miracles of 
human art; seasons, returning with admirable regu¬ 
larity, to bestow on the earth the benefit of their 
influence; an infinite number of animals and plants, 
of which the species are diversified according to the 
wants and pleasures of each country and each cli- 
fnate:—all these objects excite ideas of immutability, 
of harmony, and happiness. But, if we penetrate 
beneath the earth’s surface, and examine the difler- 
ent layers which compose it, the position of those 
layers, their mutual relations, the nature of their 
substances, and the remains of organized beings 
which they inclose, we meet with disclosures so 
unexpected, that the mind will not at first credit 
them. By such proofs as these, man learns that the 
globe has long existed without his presence, and 
that, for a long time, it was a mere lifeless desert, 
wholly devoid of every species of animated nature. 
He sees that, even after the appearance of life, there 
were great and terrible changes in the condition of 
the earth, and that these revolutions destroyed 
multitudes of living beings. Finally, if we compare 
the remains of such beings with those which now 
exist, we shall perceive that, in many cases, they 
belong to species which are no longer found on 
earth. 

Among these extinct species is the Fossil Ele¬ 
phant. This animal, without being much taller than 
the Elephant of the Indies, was of larger proportions 
than the individuals of that species; he was stronger 
limbed, and more solid ; his tusks were long, of a 
spiral form, and turned outward; and the sockets, 
into which they were fastened, were much deeper 
than those of the Indian elephant—a characteristic 


which indicates a very considerable difference in the 
figure and organization of the trunk. It is not 
known precisely what was the colour of the skin; 
but it is ascertained that this elephant possessed two 
sorts of covering:—one, a reddish wool, coarse and 
thick; and the other consisted of stiff black hairs, 
which, on the tail and spine of the back, were long 
enough to form a kind of mane. From the warmth 
of its clothing, so unlike that of the elephants of the 
torrid zone, it may be conjectured that, if the Fossil 
Elephant did not exclusively inhabit cold countries, 
his organization was such that he preferred them to 
hot climates. 

This species must have been spread over a large 
portion of the globe ; for hardly any country has 
been examined by naturalists, where they have not 
found some of its enormous relics ; but Siberia is the 
most remarkable in this respect. In every part of 
that country are found the fossil remains of this ele¬ 
phant. Its bones are generally separated and scatter¬ 
ed about; but some complete skeletons have been 
discovered, enclosed, as it were, in a sepulchre of 
sand, and even entire carcasses, the soft parts of 
which had been perfectly preserved by the cold. 
Thus, Gabriel Sarytschen, in his journey to the 
northeast of Siberia, speaks of an elephant found 
on the shore of the Alaseia, a river which empties 
into the Arctic Ocean. This elephant, which had 
been disinterred by the river, stood in an erect posi¬ 
tion, was nearly entire, and was covered with its 
skin, to portions of which, long hairs were still 
attached. In 1804, a fisherman, on the shore of 
the Arctic Ocean, saw an enormous mass turn ovec 
on a bank of sand ; he had noticed this mass five 
years before, but had not been able to give it a close 
examination. It was a fossil elephant. The fisher¬ 
man carried away the tusks, and sold them for fifty 
roubles. Two years afterwards, Mr. Adam, now a 
professor at Moscow, paid a visit to the place: but 
the natives of the vicinity had torn oft' the flesh of 
the animal to feed their dogs. Wild beasts had 
also feasted on the same strange sustenance; which 
had been preserved through countless ages to satisfy 
their hunger. The skeleton, however, was almost 
entire; the hinder part was garnished with a long 
mane; and the skin was covered with black hairs 
and a reddish wool. What remained of the animal 
was so heavy that ten persons could with difficulty 
carry it. More than thirty pounds weight of hair 
was found, which the white bears had buried in the 
moist soil, while devouring the flesh. Tliis elephant 
was a male; his tusks were more than nine feet long, 
without reckoning the curvatures, and his head, 
without the tusks, weighed above four hundred 
pounds. Mr. Adam took the greatest care to collect 
what remained of this unique specimen of an ancient 
world: and he redeemed the tusks, which the fish¬ 
erman had sold. This great curiosity, the acquisition 
of which cost eight thousand roubles, is now in the 
Academy of St. Petersburgh. 

The bones of this species of animal are so common 
in Siberia, that the natives of the country, ignorant 
of the true cause of their presence there, have 
invented a fable to account for it. They say that 
these bones belong to an animal which lives under 
the earth, like a mole, and which dies the moment 





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that it perceive the light of day. They have given 
it the name of mammout, or mammouth ; and they 
call the fossil tusks, the horns of the mammoutli. 
These horns, or tusks, are so numerous and so well 
preserved, especially in the northern regions, that 
they are applied to the same uses as the tusks of the 
modern elephant; and they are so important an 
object of commerce, that the Czars of Russia for¬ 
merly claimed the monopoly of them. 

This fable of a subterranean animal was not un¬ 
known to the Chinese, who named the horns of the 
mammouth Tien-schu-yu; that is, the teeth of the 
Tien-schu. In the great Chinese work on Natural 
History, which was composed in the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury, there is the following article respecting the 
mammouth, or Fossil Elephant;—‘ The animal named 
Tien-schu, of which mention has already been made 
in the ancient work on the ceremonial, is also called 
Tyn-schu, or Yu-schu; that is to say, the ‘ mouse 
which hides itself.’ It dwells continually in subter¬ 
ranean caverns. It resembles a mouse, but is equal 
in size to a bull or a buffalo. It has no tail; its 
colour is dark. It is very strong, and digs itself 
caverns in places which abound with rocks and 
forests.’ 

The accuracy of the Chinese in Natural History 
may be estimated from this specimen. The 
remains of the Fossil Elephant have also given rise 
to many other errours. As, among animals, some of 
the bones of the elephant are those which most re¬ 
semble the bones of man, so have they often been 
mistaken for them; and such was probably the 
origin of all those pretended discoveries of the 
tombs of giants, which are related in the authors of 
antiquity and of the middle ages. Even the most 
learned naturalists have fallen into the same mis¬ 
take. Thus, in 1577, the celebrated Felix Pater, 
professor of Medicine at a German University, 
affirmed that some bones, which had been disin¬ 
terred seven years before, were those of a man nine¬ 
teen feet high. At other times, the errour has been 
created and fostered by avarice; as, for instance, 
at the commencement of the seventeeth century, a 
French surgeon exhibited at Paris some bones, 
which had been found beneath the earth, near the 
shores of the Rhine; and the better to excite curi¬ 
osity, and draw people to his show, he distributed a 
little pamphlet, wherein it was affirmed that those 
bones had been discovered in a sepulchre thirty feet 
long, on a stone of which was this inscription:— 
Teutobochus rex. Almost everybody believed this 
fable; and the bones of the elephant passed for the 
mortal remains of a King of the Cimbri, who had 
fought against Marius. 

We may dispense with offering to our readers 
any proof, that the species of elephant, of which we 
have been giving the history, is really extinct—or 
that the animals lived in the same places where their 
remains are found, and that their bones have not 
been brought thither by inundations, of greater or 
less extent;—since these truths have been placed 
beyond a doubt by the admirable labours of Cuvier. 

At one period, England was ravaged by innumer¬ 
able bands of w'olves. There is not now a single 
wolf in England, Scotland, or Ireland. 


SPANISH LOCUSTS. 

Locusts are continually seen in the southern parts 
of Spain, particularly in the remote and uncultivated 
districts of Estramadura, where they generally feed 
on wild herbs, w’ithout attacking the fields or gardens, 
or entering the houses. Unless very nunjerous, 
their appearance attracts little notice. Tlie number 
of these insects is usually kept within a certain limit, 
by the fact that there are many more males among 
them, than females; if, on the contrary, there were 
more females than males, or an equal number of 
each, their increase would be such as to devastate 
the whole kingdom ; and even man would not escape 
their ravages. In 1754, when the proportion of 
females was larger than usual, they laid waste La 
Mancha and many other fruitful provinces, and the 
whole of Portugal. When their number is great, 
they move in vast bodies, composed of myriads, 
beginning their flight about ten o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing ; they first rise to the height of five hundred feet 
in the air, darkening the sun like a thunder cloud; 
then fly to a distance of about two leagues, always 
against the wind, and alight on a garden or corn¬ 
field, the destruction of which is the work of a 
single moment. They seem merely to touch the 
ground, and take flight again ; in wdiich brief space 
they destroy every green thing on the soil. They 
eat all sorts of garden vegetables, aromatic plants, 
and poisonous herbs, filling their omnivorous maws 
with melons, lavender, thyme, rosemary, mustard, 
onions, garlic, hemlock, deadly night shade, the acrid 
crow-foot, furze, rue, and wormwood ; nor do they 
seem to make any distinction between the most 
delicious fruit and the rankest poison. If they 
chance to alight where garments are left to dry upon 
the ground, they devour every shred of them. They 
have even been known to commit sacrilege by en¬ 
tering the churches, and eating the silken vestments 
of the priests, and the decorations of the altars. 
This infernal insect has a head about the size of a 
pea, mouth large and open, and black eyes, rolling 
with a timid aspect; their jaws are furnished with 
four incisory teeth, crossingin the manner of shears, 
so as either to gripe or cut. When an army of them 
is in motion, the sound of their innumerable wings 
is like the rustling of a forest. Both tradition and 
history speak of these locusts as having been a plague 
to the fertile land of Spain, from ages immemorial. 

The Hudson’s Bay Company have a post on 
Rainy Lake, for carrying on trade with the Indians 
of the Northwest. Their supply of spirits for one 
year (and probably it was their ordinary annual 
supply,) was sixty kegs of what are called High 
Wines—or alcohol of such strength, that each keg 
was equal to four kegs of rum. Mr. Cameron, the 
chief agent, said, that, though the streams were high 
from the melting of the snows, yet they should run 
as high with liquor, if the Indians required it. Thus 
all the sparkling rills, where the sons of the wilder¬ 
ness once quaffed the pure element,are now made to 
overflow with poison. 

Magnetic Poles. —The Magnetic Poles revolve 
round the poles of the earth, in periods never exceed¬ 
ing four thousand years. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


393 


SALT; ITS ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE. 

Salt is obtained from various sources; as from sea 
water, from lakes and springs, and from solid masses 
of the substance, either above or beneath the surface 
of the earth. It is estimated that the thirtieth part 
of the water of the ocean consists of salt; but the 
proportion is largest at the equator, and decreases 
towards the poles. In hot countries, where the 
earth is dry and sandy, the surface of large tracts is 
frequently covered with a layer of salt. In Persia, 
there are very extensive plains, strewn with salt in 
flakes; it is often tnet with in the deserts of Arabia; 
and in Abyssinia, the traveller journeys four days 
over a plain of salt. The appearance, probably, is 
somewhat like that of our fields in winter, beneath 
their shroud of snow. In the south of Africa, there 
are abundance of salt lakes, where the salt crystal¬ 
lizes in masses as hard and solid as rock. In Spain, 
there is a mountain, between four and five hundred 
feet high, and nearly three miles in circumference, 
which is one enormous lump of solid salt; as it is 
transparent, extremely hard, and not easily soluble 
in water, the people apply it to the manufacture of 
various kinds of ornaments and utensils, such as 
vases, urns, and candlesticks. In some parts of Tur¬ 
key, salt is said to be used, like blocks of granite, to 
build houses with. There are also mines of salt, 
among which that of Weliska, in Poland, is the 
most extensive, and affords the most fruitful supply. 
This mine is, in fact, a subterranean city, containing 
chapels and palaces, and colonnades which, by the 
blaze of torches, gleam with all the colours of the 
rainbow. 

Salt springs are found in Switzerland, France, 
England, and America. The whole of the valley 
of the Ohio, from its head waters to Shawnee town 
in Illinois, according to a writer in the American 
Journal of Science, is based on a saliferous rock, 
which lies at the depth of from five to twelve hun¬ 
dred feet beneath the surface, and when perforated, 
yields water of extreme saltness. There are tokens 
of its existence along the course of the Alleghanies, 
over a tract one hundred miles wide, and several 
hundred miles in length. It is supposed that the 
ancient inhabitants of the West were acquainted 
with the use and manufacture of salt; for, in digging 
wells at the Scioto salines and elsewhere, the re¬ 
mains of furnaces, and fragments of earthen vessels, 
have been found at considerable depths. The tusks 
and grinders of the Elephant and Mastodon have 
likewise been met with in similar situations, whither 
they had doubtless resorted to eat salt. 

The American writer, to whom we have just 
alluded, has given a copious and interesting account 
of the salt manufacture in the valley of the Ohio. 
For many years after the settlement of that region, 
all the salt was obtained from the Atlantic states, 
and was transported across the mountains on horse¬ 
back. The price was then so high, that salt was 
almost considered a luxury, rather than an article of 
common and necessary use. Its manufacture was 
first attempted in 1798, at the Old Scioto salt works, 
where wells were dug to the depth of twenty or thirty 
feet, into which the water oozed, through fissures 
in the saliferous rock, or bed of salt. The water 
was but weakly impregnated with the saline sub¬ 


stance; and from six to eight hundred gallons were 
required, to make one bushel of salt weighing fifty 
pounds. This salt, though very dark coloured and 
impure, sold at the rate of three or four dollars per 
bushel. In 1808, the present method of obtaining 
the saline fluid, by boring or drilling, was first put 
in practice, on the Great Kenawha. The lowest 
depth, to which the auger was then driven, was 
seventy or eighty feet; but as it was found that, at 
greater depths, the water increased in strength, the 
bores were gradually deepened to three hundred and 
fifty feet. The water became so powerfully saline, 
that seventy-five gallons would new produce a bush¬ 
el, or fifty pounds weight, of salt. In 1817, salt 
was first manufactured on the Muskingum; and two 
years afterwards, Mr. Fairlamb contrived a method 
of boring for it by machinery, connected with a 
water mill. On some parts of this river, below 
Zanesville, the salt rock lay eight hundred and fifty 
feet beneath the surface of the earth, and the water 
was so intensely strong, that fifty gallons yielded 
fifty pounds of salt. It was sometimes necessary to 
bore through a bed of flint, from nine to twelve feet 
deep, before reaching the salt rock. This flint is so 
hard and sharp grained, that it wears out the steel 
of the auger, nearly as fast as it is cut by it; and 
three weeks of constant labour, by day and night, 
are required to perforate a thickness of ten feet. 
Except through those beds of flint the boring is not 
difficult. The auger is pointed with the best cast 
steel, from twelve to fourteen inches in length, and 
three or four inches wide; its progress downward 
through the various strata is from one inch to six 
feet per day, proceeding more slowly as the depth 
increases. 

The water is drawn from the wells by pumps, 
and is evaporated in large iron kettles, by means of 
furnaces. From five to six cords of wood per day 
will suffice for a furnace of thirty or forty kettles, 
producing weekly three i mndred bushels of salt, 
which is sold at twenty five cents per bushel. 
There is no perceptible difference in the quantity 
of salt obtained from the water, whether a well have 
lain idle a few weeks, or be worked continually ; nor, 
in the time that has elapsed since salt was first 
manufactured in the West, is there the slightest 
diminution of the supply; although, for several years 
past, upwards of a million of bushels have been 
annually produced. Undoubtedly, a sufficient quan¬ 
tity of salt is laid beneath the valley of the Ohio, to 
last till the inhabitants shall cease to need it—till 
the earth’s means of supplying sustenance to her 
children shall be entirely exhausted; when, being 
destitute of food, they may dispense with salt. 

On Cape Cod, and in Martha’s Vineyard, and 
perhaps elsewhere on the seacoast of New England, 
salt is made from the ocean water, by exposure to 
the sun in ranges of broad and shallow wooden 
troughs, which may be covered in rainy weather. 
The pumps, connected with these salt works, are 
set in motion by sails, like those of wind mills; 
which, as they briskly revolve, contribute much to 
enliven the scenery of the barren shores. Salt 
making in this part of the country, is rather a 
tedious process. 

From the bountiful scale on which Nature has 

50 




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distributed salt throughout tiie earth, both on its 
surface and beneath it, and in the ocean that sur¬ 
rounds it, we might at once conclude, that it is al¬ 
most as necessary to our existence as vital air. It 
is applied to many uses m the arts; among others, 
to the manufacture of glass, to bleaching, the glaz¬ 
ing of earthenware, .assaying metals, casehardening 
steel, and rendering iron malleable. Salt is indis¬ 
pensable to the health, and indeed to the life of 
man; it is probable that saline particles, from 
various sources, am didused through the air, even at 
a distance from tl e sea, and being inhaled with the 
breath, preserve the blood from corruption. With¬ 
out this seasoning, no sort of prepared food would 
be either palatable or wholesome. ‘ With every 
bushel of flour,’ says the English Penny Magazine, 
'about one pound of salt is used in making bread ; 
thus it may be presumed that, in bread alone, every 
adult consumes about two ounces weekly.’ There 
is an old saying, in derision of an idle and good-for- 
nothing person,—‘ He cannot earn his salt;’—and 
considering what a heap of salt a man devours, dur¬ 
ing his lifetime, it certainly requires some industry 
to earn it. Homer and Plato have termed salt 
Divine. Our Saviour, in his Sermon on the Mount, 
to express to his disci[)les the relation which they 
bore towards the mass of mankind, as counteractino 
its tendency to corruption, told them,—‘ Ye are the 
Salt of the earth.’ 


AGRICULTURE ON THE PRAIRIES. 

ihe first ploughing of the Prairies of the West is 
difficult, and requires a team of six oxen, on account 
of the strong roots of the Prairie grass. It is some¬ 
times performed by contract, at the rate of two dol¬ 
lars an acre. The plough has a broad share, and 
cuts a turf about eighteen inches wide, but only two 
or three inches deep; and it is remarked that this 
shallow ploughing destrcys the Prairie grass, by di¬ 
viding its roots in a vital part. Indian corn, in the 
proportion of a bushel to ten acres, is dropped into 
every third furrow, and is covered by the cut turf 
of the furrow next to it. The crop (which is called 
sod corn, because raised from the fresh sod) comes 
to maturity and is harvested, without any further 
trouble of cultivation. Fifty bushels per acre is the 
average crop. Wheat is next sown, after merely 
harrowing the ground, without again passing the 
plough over it. Half a bushel of seed is used, to the 
acre, and the average crop is twenty-five bushels. 
Mr. Timothy Flint, describing the Mamelle Prairie, 
states that it generally yields forty bushels of wheat, 
or seventy bushels of Indian corn, to the acre, and 
that the vegetable soil is forty feet deep. Earth 
thrown from the bottom of wells, according to this 
writer, is equally fertile with the soil on the surface. 
An English agriculturalist, who visited the spot, 
questions the correctness of Mr. Flint’s account; 
nor is it very probable that such fertility exists, save 
in the rich soil of a poetical fancy. Clover seed, or 
artificial grass, is never sown on these Prairies;—the 
natural herbage is suitable both for pasture and hay. 

The Winter of Lower Canada is five months 
long, of Upper Canada four months, and of Illinois 
two months. 


Diamond Mill. —In the city of Amsterdam there 
is a diamond mill, owned by a Jew. The main 
wheel is turned by four horses, and sets in motion a 
number of smaller wheels, in a room above. The 
cogs of the latter wheels act on circular metal plates, 
and cause them to revolve. The plates are strewn 
with pulverized diamond; and the precious stone, 
which is to be ground or polished, is fastened to the 
end of a stick, by means of an amalgam of zinc and 
quicksilver, and thus submitted to friction. There 
is no other substance that will make an impression 
on the diamond. In cutting the diamond, the dust 
is made to adhere to a metal wire, which passes 
rapidly backward and forward, and saws the stone 
asunder. 


Suicides in Canton. —It is estimated that eight 
or nine-tenths of the untimely deaths, which occur 
in Canton, are by suicide ; and of these, six or seven 
tenths are supposed to be females. The most trivial 
disputes, and the least dissatisfaction or uneasi¬ 
ness, will suffice to impel them to this dreadful act. 
Persons sometimes destroy themselves, in order to 
throw suspicion of their murder upon others, and 
thus accomplish at once their enemy’s destruction 
and their own. Young women, weary of life, and 
repining at their destiny, because they are females 
instead of men, form themselves into sisterhoods, and 
repair in numbers to the river—into which they 
plunge, and die. The awful prevalence of this 
crime is a proof and a consequence of the general 
demoralization, which pervades the whole empire of 
China. In other countries, when public and private 
corruption has reached a certain height, it is gener¬ 
ally followed by great convulsions, and ultimate re¬ 
form ; but the Chinese are probably neither better 
nor worse than they were a thousand years ago. 


The Martyr’s Path.— It is recorded, as an old 
superstition, that the grass along the way, by which 
a Martyr had gone to execution, always afterwards 
remained paler than other grass; and it was the same 
with whatever tree or shrub chanced to grow there 
—the foliage would never wear a gladsome green. 
Were there any truth in this, there is more than one 
foot track in New England, where the grass ought 
to look pale, in spite of the rain and dew of ages. 
Boston, if grass grew in its streets, would show such 
a pathway, leading from the ancient prison place to 
the gibbet of the Quakers—a pale wavy line would 
be drawn across some of the green fields of Con¬ 
necticut—and for Salem, there w'ould be a blighted 
track, up Gallows Hill, as broad as the highway. 
But there are many, whose whole walk through life 
is a path of martyrdom; who are the martyrs of 
uncharitableness, which does not indeed kill the 
body, but grieves the heart; and yet the grass is 
none the paler, where their feet have been. 

Oregon Range.— These are generally called the 
Rocky Mountains from their black and precipitous 
appearance. They are said to stand at about the same 
distance from the Pacific ocean, as the Alleghanies 
from the Atlantic. Some of their peaks have been 
supposed to be volcanic; but this has not been as¬ 
certained to be the fact. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


395 



The Escape of the Duston Family. 


THE DUSTON FAMILY. 

Goodman Duston and liis wife, somewhat less than 
n century and a half ago, dwelt in Haverhill, at that 
time a small frontier settlement in the province of 
Massachusetts Bay. They had already added seven 
children to the King’s liege subjects in America; 
and Mrs. Duston about a u'eek Ijefore the period of 
our narrative, had blessed her husband witli an 
eighth. One day in March, 1698, when Mr. Duston 
had gone forth about his ordinary business, there fell 
out an event, which had nearly left him a childless 
man, and a widower besides. An Indian war party, 
after traversing the trackless forest ail the way from 
Canada, broke in upon their remote and defenceless 
town. Goodman Duston heard the war whoop and 
alarm, and, being on horseback, immediately set off 
full speed to look after the safety of his family. As 
he dashed along, he beheld dark wreaths of smoke 
eddying from the roofs of several dwellings near the 
road side; while the groans of dying men,—the 
shrieks of affrighted women, and the screams of 
children, pierced his ear, all mingled with the horrid 
yell of the raging savages. The poor man trembled 
yet spurred on so much the faster, dreading that he 
should find his own cottage in a blaze, his wife mur¬ 
dered in her bed, and his little ones tossed into the 
flames. But, drawing near the door, he saw his 
seven elder cliildren, of all ages between two years 
and seventeen, issuing out together, and running 
down the road to meet him. The father oidy l)ade 
them make the best of their way to the nearest 


garrison, and, without a moment’s pause, flung him¬ 
self from his horse, and rushed into Mrs. Duston’s 
bedchamber. 

The good woman, as we have before hinted, had 
lately added an eighth to the sevem former proofs of 
her conjugal affection ; and she now lay n ilh the in¬ 
fant in her arn>s, and her nurse, tlie uidow Mary 
Neff, watching b} her bedside. Such was Mrs. 
Duston's heljoless state, when Iser pale and breath¬ 
less husband burst intf) the chamber, bidding her 
instantly to rise and flee for her life. Scarcely were 
the words out of his mouth, when the Indian yell 
was heard: and staring wildly out of the window, 
Goodman Duston saw that the bloo<l-thirsly foe was 
close at hand. At this terrible instant, it appears 
that the thouglit of his children’s danger rushed so 
powerfully upon his heart, that he quite forgot the 
still more fierilous situation of his v\ ife ; or, as is not 
improbable, he had such knowledge of the good 
lady’s character, as afforded him a comfortable hope 
that she would hold her own, even in a contest with 
a whole tribe of Indians. However that might be, 
he seized his gun and rushed out of doors again, 
meaning to gallop after his seven children, and 
snatch up one of them in his flight, lest his whole 
race anti generation should be blotted from the earth, 
in that fatal hour. With this idea, he rode up be- 
hinrl them, swift as the wind. They had, by this 
time, got about forty rods from tlie house, all press¬ 
ing forward in a group ; and though the younger 
cliildron tri['pod and - tumlilcd, yet the elder ones 


































































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were not prevailed upon, by the fear of death, to take 
to their heels and leave these poor little souls to 
perish. Hearing the tramp of hoofs in their rear, 
they looked round, and espying Goodman Duston, 
all suddenly stopped. The little ones stretched out 
their arms ; while the elder boys and girls, as it were, 
resigned their charge into his hands; and all the sev¬ 
en children seemed to say.—‘ Here is our father! 
Now we are safe !’ 

But if ever a poor mortal was in trouble, and per¬ 
plexity, and anguish of spirit, that man was Mr. 
Duston ! He felt his heart yearn towards these sev¬ 
en poor helpless children, as if each were singly 
possessed of his whole affections; for not one among 
them all, but had some peculiar claim to their dear 
father’s love. There was his first-born ; there, too, 
the little one who, till within a week past, had been 
the baby ; there was a girl with her mother’s features, 
and a boy, the picture of himself, and another in 
whom the looks of both parents were mingled ; there 
was one child, whom he loved for his mild, quiet, 
and holy disposition, and destined him to be a 
minister; and another, whom he loved not less for 
his rough and fearless spirit, and who, could he live 
to be a man, would do a man’s part against these 
bloody Indians. Goodman Duston looked at the 
poor things, one by one ; and with yearning fondness, 
he looked at them all, together; then he gazed up to 
Heaven for a moment, and finally waved his hand 
to his seven beloved ones. ‘ Go on, my children,’ 
said he, calmly. ‘ We will live or die together!’ 

He reined in his horse, and caused him to walk 
behind the children, who, hand in hand, went on¬ 
ward, hushing their sobs and wailings, lest these 
sounds should bring the savages upon them. Nor 
was it long, before the fugitives had proof that the 
red devils had found their track. There was a curl 
of smoke from behind the huge trunk of a tree—a 
sudden and sharp report echoed through the woods 
—and a bullet hissed over Goodman Duston’s 
shoulder, and passed above the children’s heads. 
The father, turning half round on his horse, took aim 
and fired at the skulking foe, with such effect as to 
cause a momentary delay of the pursuit. Another 
shot—and another—whistled from the covert of the 
forest; but still the little band pressed on, unharmed ; 
and the stealthy nature of the Indians forbade them 
to rush boldly forward, in the face of so firm an ene¬ 
my as Goodman Duston. Thus he and his seven 
children continued their retreat, creeping along, as 
Cotton Mather observes, ‘ at the pace of a child of 
five years old,’ till the stockades of a little frontier 
fortress appeared in view, and the savages gave up 
the chase. 

We must not forget Mrs. Duston, in her distress. 
Scarcely had her husband fled from the house, ere 
the chamber was thronged with the horrible visages 
of the wild Indians, bedaubed with paint and be¬ 
smeared with blood, brandishing their tomahawks in 
her face, and threatening to add her scalp to those 
that were already hanging at their girdles. It was, 
however, their interest to save her alive, if the thing 
might be, in order to exact a ransom. Our great- 
great-grandmothers, when taken captive in the old 
times of Indian warfare, appear, in nine cases out 
of ten, to have been in pretty much such a delicate 


situation as Mrs. Duston; notwithstanding which, 
they were wonderfully sustained through long, rough, 
and hurried marches, amid toil, weariness, and star¬ 
vation, such as the Indians themselves could hardly 
endure. Seeing that there was no help for it, Mrs. 
Duston rose, and she and the widow Nefl, with the 
infant in her arms, followed their captors out of 
doors. As they crossed the threshold, the poor 
babe set up a feeble wail; it was its death cry. In 
an instant, an Indian seized it by the heels, swung 
it in the air, dashed out its brains against the trunk 
of the nearest tree, and threw the little corpse at the 
mother’s feet. Perhaps it was the remembrance of 
that moment, that hardened Hannah Duston’s heart, 
when her lime of vengeance came. But now, 
nothing could be done, but to stifle her grief and 
rage within her bosom, and follow the Indians into 
the dark gloom of the forest, hardly venturing to 
throw a parting glance at the blazing cottage, where 
she had dwelt happily with her husband, and had 
borne him eight children—the seven, of whose fate 
she knew nothing, and the infant, whom she had 
just seen murdered. 

The first day’s march was fifteen miles; and dur¬ 
ing that, and many succeeding days, Mrs. Duston 
kept pace with lier captors ; for, had she lagged be¬ 
hind, a tomahawk would at once have been sunk 
into her brains. More than one terrible warning 
was given her; more than one of her fellow captives, 
—of Whom there were many,—after tottering feebly, 
at length sank upon the ground ; the next tnoment, 
the death groan was breathed, and the scalp was 
reeking at an Indian’s girdle. The unburied cqr|)se 
was leff in the forest, till the rites of se[)ulture should 
be performed by the autumnal gales, strewing the 
withered leaves upon the whitened bones. W hen 
out of danger of immediate pursuit, the prisoners, 
according to Indian custom, were divided atnong 
different parties of the savages, each of whom were 
to shift for themselves. Mrs. Duston, the widow 
Neff, and an English lad, fell to the lot of a fatnily, 
consisting of two stout warriours, three squaws, and 
seven children. These Indians, like most with v\ horn 
the French had held intercourse, were Catholics; 
and Cotton Mather affirms, on Mrs. Duston’s author¬ 
ity, that they prayed at morning, noon, and night, 
nor ever partook of food without a prayer; nor 
suffered their children to sleep, till they had prayed 
to the Christian’s God. Mather, like an old hard¬ 
hearted, pedantic bigot, as he was, seems trebly to 
exult in the destruction of these poor wretches, on 
account of their Popish superstitions. Yet what 
can be more touching than to think of these wild 
Indians, in their loneliness and their wanderings, 
wherever they went among the dark, mysterious 
woods, still keeping up domestic worship, with all 
the regularity of a household at its peaceful fireside; 

They were travelling to a rendezvous of the sava¬ 
ges, somewhere in the northeast. One night, being 
now above a hundred miles from Haverhill, the red 
men and women, and the little red children, and the 
three pale faces, Mrs. Duston, the widow Neff, 
and the English lad, made their encampment, and 
kindled a fire beneath the gloomy old trees, on a 
small island in Contocook river. 'Phe barbarians 
sat down to what scanty food Providence had sent 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


397 


them, and shared it with their prisoners, as if they 
had all been the children of one wigwam, and had 
grown up together on the margin of the same river 
within the shadow of the forest. Then the Indians 
said their prayers—the prayers that the Romish 
priests had taught them—and made the sign of the 
cross upon their dusky breasts, and composed them¬ 
selves to rest. But the three prisoners prayed apart; 
and when their petitions were ended, they likewise 
lay down, with their feet to the fire. The night wore 
on; and the light and cautious slumbers of the red 
men were often broken, by the rush and ripple of 
the stream, or the groaning and moaning of the for¬ 
est, as if nature were wailing over her wild children ; 
and sometimes, too, the little red skins cried in sleep, 
and the Indian mothers awoke to hush them. But, 
a little before break of day, a deep, dead slumber 
fell upon the Indians. ‘ See,’ cries Cotton Mather, 
triumphantly, ‘ if it prove not so !’ 

Uprose Mrs. Duston, holding her own breath, to 
listen to the long, deep breathing of her captors. 
Then she stirred the widow Nefi', whose place was 
by her own, and likewise the English lad ; and all 
three stood up, with the doubtful gleam of the decay¬ 
ing fire hovering upon their ghastly visages, as they 
stared round at the fated slumberers. The next 
instant, each of the three captives held a tomahawk. 
Hark ! that low moan, as of one in a troubled dream 
—it told a warriour’s death pang! Another!— 
Another !—and the third half-uttered groan was from 
a woman’s lips. But, Oh, the children ! Their 
skins are red ; yet spare them, Hannah Duston, spare 
those seven little ones, for the sake of the seven 
that have fed at your own breast. ‘ Seven,’ quoth 
Mrs. Duston to herself. ‘ Eight children have I 
borne—and where are the seven, and where is the 
eighth!’ The thought nerved her arm; and the 
copper coloured babes slept the same dead sleep 
with their Indian mothers. Of all that family, only 
one woman escaped, dreadfully wounded, and fled 
shrieking into the wilderness! and a boy, whom, it 
is said, Mrs. Duston had meant to save alive. But 
he did well to flee from the raging tigress! There 
was little safety for a red skin, when Hannah Duston’s 
blood was up. 

The work being finished, Mrs. Duston laid hold 
of the long black hair of the warriours, and the 
women, and the children, and took all their ten 
scalps, and left the island, whiclj bears her name to 
this very day. According to our notion, it should 
be held accursed, for her sake. Would that the 
bloody old hag had been drowned in crossing Con- 
tocook river, or that she had sunk over head and 
ears m a swamp, and been there buried, till sum¬ 
moned forth to confront her victims at the Day of 
Judgment; or that she had gone astray and been 
starved to death in the forest, and nothing ever 
seen of her again, save her skeleton, with the ten 
scalps twisted round it for a girdle ! But, on the 
contrary, she and her companions came safe home, 
and received the bounty on the dead Indians, 
besides liberal presents from private gentlemen, and 
fifty pounds from the Governour of Maryland. In 
her old age, being sunk into decayed circumstances, 
she claimed, and, we believe, received a pension, as 
a further price of blood. 


This awful woman, and that tender hearted, yet 
valiant man, her husband, will be remembered as 
long as the deeds of old times are told round a 
New England fireside. But how different is her 
renown from his! 


The Dog. —Buffbn says of the Dog:—‘ Without 
enjoying, like man, the light of intellect, the Dog 
has all the warmth of sentiment; he possesses, in a 
higher degree than man, fidelity and constancy in 
his affections; he is all zeal, all ardour, and all obedi¬ 
ence. He is more mindful of benefits than of 
injuries; he is not repelled by bad treatment. If 
a wrong be offered him, he bears it patiently, and 
forgets it; or only remembers it as a motive to 
stronger attachment.’ Can this beautiful character 
belong to a creature without a soul ?—to one of the 
brutes that perish, and whose virtues perish with 
them? How high, then, should be the excellence 
of beings endowed with immortal souls, and whose 
virtues might also be immortal! 


Heat Lightning is ascribed by some philosophers 
to the electric flashes of a thunder-storm, at such a 
distance that the thunder cannot be heard, and that 
the curvature of the earth conceals the clouds, 
although the gleams of lightning flicker up above 
the horizon. Others contend, that these flashes 
proceed from electric‘discharges in the air, where 
there is no condensation of vapour in the form of 
clouds ; since electric light requires for its production 
only a rarefied state of the atmosphere, whether by 
heat or aqueous vapours. They say that heat light¬ 
ning has been seen high up in the clear sky, towards 
the zenith. 


Jewish Burial. —In Copenhagen, as in most 
other places, the Jews have a separate burial ground. 
They are buried in a standing posture, with their 
faces turned towards Jerusalem, for, in whatever 
country a Jew may be born, he still deems himself 
a native of the Holy City, and languishes to revisit 
it, as an exile yearns for his father land. Now that 
persecution has generally ceased, it is probable that 
the Jews will insensibly lay aside their peculiarities. 


The Larynx. —The Larynx is the organ by 
which the voice is produced. Anatomists have 
compared it to a stringed instrument, a wind instru¬ 
ment, a reed instrument, a French horn, an iEolian 
harp, a drum, a reed and flute, and a bird call. Its 
powers are strengthened by exercise. The same 
effect is produced by the exercise of the muscles of 
the chest—and hence the deep, strong voice of a 
blacksmith. 


Beds. —In many parts of the north of Europe, 
the beds are not long enough for a moderately tall 
man, and the only covering is another feather bed, 
four and a half feet square. 


Paper. —Excellent paper can be manufactured 
of the husks of Indian corn, and of the pulp mano 
of various kinds of wood and bark, especially of 
poplars. 









398 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


UPPER CANADA. 

The climate of Upper Canada has been compared 
to that of Italy in Summer, and to that of Holland 
in Winter; but the Russian climate probably bears 
a stronger similitude to it, in the latter season. The 
atmosphere is extremely dry, and, at such a distance 
from the sea, there are no particles of salt in the air; 
to which causes it is attributable that the tinned 
roofs of Montreal retain their lustre for such a length 
of time. At the end of half a century, they glitter 
as brightly in the sunshine as when the sheets were 
first laid on. But for the liability of tinned plates 
to tarnish and corrode in a moist and saline atmos¬ 
phere, this fashion of roofing edifices would be both 
ornamental and economical, in all parts of our 
country. The same dryness of the air preserves the 
inhabitants of the province from the diseases that 
are prevalent in a damp climate. Consumption is 
comparatively rare. Common colds are not of fre¬ 
quent occurrence, even in Winter; and it is said 
that during divine services in the Cathedral of 
Montreal, where the audience consists of from three 
to five thousand persons, there is less disturbance by 
coughing than in any small parish church in Eng¬ 
land. The most common disorder is the fever and 
ague, which, though troublesome, is not viewed in 
a very serious light. Notwithstanding the general 
dryness of the atmosphere, there are seasons of 
heavy rain. The Canadian Winter is always pre¬ 
ceded by rains; and the inhabitants have a proverb, 
that the ditches never freeze till they are full of 
water. After the rain comes the long, severe, and 
steady cold, enduring late into the Spring, when the 
rain sets in again, and continues till the middle of 
May. A satirical gentleman remarked, that, during 
two months of Autumn and two of Spring, the 
Canadians were up to their middles in mud; during 
four months of Summer, they were broiled with 
heat,choked with dust,and tortured by mosquitoes; 
and if, in the remaining four months of the year, 
they chanced to get their noses above the snow, 
they were sure to be snapped off by frost. 

The agriculture of Upper Canada is very poor 
and inartificial, and nothing but the natural fertility 
of the soil could compensate for its defects. Succes¬ 
sive crops of wheat are raised from the same tract 
of land, which is thus exhausted, and is seldom 
enriched by manure. In fact, so little use is made 
of manure, that it is not uncommon, when the 
dung heap has greatly accumulated, for the farmer 
to remove his barn to a new site, instead of scatter¬ 
ing the odoriferous pile upon his fields. Yet, in 
spite of this bad husbandry, the average crop of 
wheat to the acre is represented as being greater 
than in England. Tobacco is cultivated to a con¬ 
siderable extent in the western district of the prov¬ 
ince. The culture of this plant is chiefly confided 
to the children, who can perform the operations of 
stripping, weeding, and worming, as well as grown 
persons, and with less inconvenience from a stoop¬ 
ing posture. As a reward for their toils, the little 
cultivators are allowed to raise a second crop of 
tobacco, every Summer, for their own benefit; and 
though this is inferiour to the first crop, and is 
sometimes spoiled by the early frosts, yet, if safely 
gathered in, the proceeds supply them with funds 


throughout the year. The tobacco Is not equal to 
that of Virginia. A few years ago, some German 
emigrants, from the banks of the Rhine, brought 
with them the Rhenish wine, the juice of whose 
grapes is so highly esteemed among the friends of 
the bottle. As the climate of Upper Canada is 
more favourable than that of some of the regions 
where this vine grows, it is thought that its culture 
may succeed there. 

Most of the houses in the province are built ot 
logs; but a thriving settler erects one edifice after 
another, and finishes with a stately mansion of brick 
and stone. In such cases, all his former houses are 
seen around the latest structure, each converted to 
some appropriate use; the shed or shanty, which he 
first occupied, is now a pig stye; the log house, 
which was his next habitation, serves as a barn or 
stable; and the frame house, whence he last migra¬ 
ted, is now attached to the rear of his brick mansion, 
as a kitchen. 

When the province of Canada was surrendered to 
Great Britain, the religious privileges of the inhabi¬ 
tants were secured to them ; and the maintenance 
of the Catholic faith was provided for by tithes, as 
well as endowments and foundations of religious 
communities. The liberal scale of these endowments 
may be estimated from the fact, that the Superiours 
of the Seminary of St. Sulpicius are Lords of the 
Manor—or, in other words, proprietors—of the 
whole island and city of Montreal, and entitled to 
demand rent as such. Neither the proprietorship, 
however, nor the rent, are probably more than 
nominal, at the present day. After the division of 
Canada into two provinces, the Parliament of Upper 
Canada abrogated the tithes and other provisions 
for the support of Catholicism. If we may credit 
the statement of the English writer, from whom 
most of the above facts are drawn,—the Canadians 
are less burdened with taxes, either civil or religious, 
than any other people in the world. The popu¬ 
lation in 1831, was about two hundred and thirty- 
five thousand, and the amount of taxes and duties 
was less than fifty thousand pounds, of which ten 
thousand was supposed to be actually paid by the 
United States, in the consumption of goods smug¬ 
gled across the frontier. According to this calcu¬ 
lation, the whole tax of each Canadian amounts to 
two English shillings, or forty-four cents, per annum; 
being, it is said, only onc-tenth of the average tax of 
American citizens, and one twenty-fifth of that of 
the inhabitants of England. 

LINES.—Carew. 
lie tliat loves a rosy cheek. 

Or a coral lip admires. 

Or from star-like eyes doth seek 
Fuel to maintain his fires; 

As old Time makes these decay. 

So his flames must waste away. 

But a smooth and steadfast mind. 

Gentle thoughts and calm desires. 

Hearts with equal love combined, 

Kindle never-dying fires. 

Where these are not, I despise 
Lovely lips, or cheeks, or eyes. 


Not one-fourth of the books published pay theif 
expenses. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


399 


GREAT TIMBER SLIDE. 

There are immense tracts of forest in our country, 
the tmes of which would be invaluable in the mar¬ 
ket, bn are now as worthless as so many overgrown 
weeds, /or want of some mode of conveyance thith¬ 
er. Until recent times, there was a forest siniilarly 
situated in the Swiss canton of Underwalden. It 
consisted of spruce-fir, and stood on the southern 
side of Mount Pilatus, about three leagues from the 
Lake of Lucerne, but on a site so lofty, steep, and 
rugged, that no one had ever conceived the idea of 
bringing the trees to market. It was seldom or 
never visited, except by Chamois-hunters, who 
brought back wonderful stories respecting the ex¬ 
tent of the forest and the magnificent size of the 
trees. It might probably have continued to flourish 
and decay for ages to come, as it had done for 
thousands of years past, but for the simple, yet 
grand contrivance of a German engineer, named 
Rupp. He formed the plan of bringing down the 
trees from the side of this almost inaccessible moun¬ 
tain to the shore of the lake, by no other force or 
moving power than their own weight. For this 
purpose, aided by the funds of a jomt-stock com¬ 
pany, he constructed a trough, in a cradle-like form, 
from the forest to the lake—a distance of more than 
eight miles in a horizontal line, to which should be 
added two thousand five hundred feet, being the 
height of the forest above the level of the water. 
The bottom of the trough, along its whole length, 
was composed of three sticks of timber, laid side by 
side; other trees were laid parallel to these; and 
the trough was about six feet wide at the top, and 
three or four feet deep. Thirty thousand trees were 
employed in its construction. The trough makes 
many bends in its course; it traverses three great 
ravines, and, in two places, passes under ground. 
The trees, which are to be conveyed down this sin¬ 
gular railway, are divested of their bark and branches, 
and made tolerably smooth. In a few seconds after 
being launched in the trough, they acquire such an 
amazing velocity, that only six minutes are consumed 
in this passage from the forest to the lake ; and in 
rainy weather, when the trough is wet and slippery, 
the distance has been performed in three minutes. 
This is at the rate of one hundred and sixty miles 
an hour, and is probably the most rapid mode of 
conveyance that has ever been contrived by human 
ingenuity. None but large trees will pass down 
the trough ; the weight of the smaller ones being 
insufficient to keep them in motion. On arriving 
at the lake, the timber is rafted into the Rhine, 
passes down that river to Holland, and finds its 
way to the German ocean, a distance of a thousand 
miles, within a month after leaving the mountain 
side. 


MANDATE OF THE INQUISITION. 

[Gloreate’s History of the Inquisition.] 

In the second year, after the establishment of the Inquisition, it 
issued the following Mandate, imposing penance on a confessed 
Heretic. 

To all the faithful Christians to whom the present 
letters may be shown. Father Domingo, Canon of 
Osna, the least of his brethren, sends salvation in 
Christ. By the authority of the Lord Abbot of 


Cister, St. Bernard, Legate of the apostolic see, 
whose powers we exercise—we have reconciled the 
bearer of these letters, Poncio Roger, converted 
from the sect of the heretics, by the grace of God. 
And we have commanded him by virtue of the oath 
he has taken to obey our precepts, that upon three 
festivals of Sunday, he be led in his shirt by the 
priest, who shall scourge him from the gate of the 
city to the gate of the Cathedral. We impose, 
moreover, for penance, that he forever abstain from 
eating flesh, eggs, cheese, and other food derived 
from animals, except on the day of the Resurrection, 
the Pentecost, and the Nativity of' the Lord, on 
which we command him to eat them, in token of 
his detestation of his former errours. That he keep 
three Lents in the year, by abstaining from fish ; 
and that he always fast and abstain from fish, oil, 
and wine, three days in each week, unless corporal 
infirmity, or the labours of his situation, require 
dispensation. That he use religious garments, both 
in form and colour, having two small crosses sewn 
upon them, one on each side of his breast. That 
he hear mass every day if he have the opportunity, 
and on the festivals assist in the chapel at vespers. 
That he pray every day the daily and nightly ‘ horas,’ 
saying, besides, the prayer of Pater Noster seven 
times in the day, ten times at the beginning of the 
night, and twenty times at the middle of the night. 
That he observe chastity, and show this letter every 
month in the city of Cereri to his parish priest, 
whom we command to watch over the conduct of 
Poncio, that he diligently fulfil all we have enjoined, 
until the Lord Legate manifest to us his further 
pleasure. And if Poncio shall fail in his observances 
we command that he be held for perjured, heretic, 
and excommunicated, and be separated from the 
society of the faithful. 


THE SABBATH BELLS.— by Charles Lamb. 
The cheerful Sabbath bells, wherever heard. 

Strike pleasant on the sense, most like the voice 
Of one, who from the far-off hills proclaims 
Tidings of good to Zion: chietly when 
Their piercing tones fall sudden, on the ear 
Of the contemplant, solitary man. 

Whom thoughts abstruse or high have chanced to lure 
Forth from the walks of men, revolving oft, 

And oft again, hard matter, which eludes 
And baffles his pursuit—thought-sick and tired 
Of controversy, where no end appears, 

No clue to his research, the lonely man 
Half wishes for society again. 

Him, thus engaged, the Sabbath bells salute 
Sudden! his heart awakes, his ears drink in 
The cheering music; his relenting soul 
Yearns after all the joys of social life. 

And softens with the love of human kind. 


In 1833, two catfish, united in the same manner 
as the Siamese Twins, were taken at the mouth of 
Cape Fear River, in North Carolina. 


Slave Settlers. —A considerable number of 
run-away slaves, from the United States, are settled 
in the western part of Upper Canada. 









THE PRUSSIAN QUADRILLE 


BY CH: ZEUNER. 












































































































































































































































































































































































Statue of Washington. 


51 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































402 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


CHANTREY’S WASHINGTON. 

The statue of Washington (of which the preced¬ 
ing sketch will give the reader an accurate, though 
necessarily imperfect idea) was placed in its present 
situation in the latter part of October, 1827. It is 
constructed of white Italian marble, from the quar¬ 
ries of Carrara, and was completed at an expense of 
about fifteen thousand dollars. Chantrey, the most 
eminent of British sculptors, had been long employ¬ 
ed upon this noble specimen of art, which, by the 
opinion of competent judges, is ranked among the 
best productions of his chisel. The edifice in 
which it stands, was built expressly for the recep¬ 
tion of the statue, and is attached to the rear of the 
State-House, ascending as high as the second story 
of that structure. The interiour is an oblong square, 
thirty feet long by thirteen broad, with a dome at 
the top, throwing its light into the vaulted recess, 
ten feet by thirteen, where the statue is placed. 
The whole edifice appears like a recess in the large 
and lofty hall of the State-House, with which it 
communicates by means of three arched entrances. 

As we ascend the successive flights of steps, 
which give access from Beacon Street to the portal 
of the State-House, we perceive the figure of Wash¬ 
ington, in the long vista between the pillars of the 
hall. Even at that dis-tance, its aspect of calm and 
thoughtful dignity impresses the beholder, and 
causes him to advance with son)e faint semblance of 
the feeling, with which he would have approached 
the presence of the illustrious original. The statue, 
which is seven feet in height, stands on a pedestal, 
with the left foot somewhat advanced, and the 
weight of the body resting chiefly on the right. 
The head is slightly turned towards the left. The 
right hand grasps a roll of manuscript, and the left 
supports the heavy folds of the ample cloak, which 
forms the drapery of the statue. The arrangement 
of this cloak was a most fortunate conception, on 
the part oi the sculptor. Had he arrayed the mod¬ 
ern Hero and Statesman in the garb of ancient 
Greece or Rome, or had he given him the stiff mili¬ 
tary coat, the flapped waistcoat, and small clothes, 
of a Revolutionary general, the effect would, in 
either case, have been almost equally objectionable. 
Canova’s statue, which was recently destroyed by 
fire, at Raleigh, in North Carolina, represented 
Washington in the Roman military dress, with short 
curled hair, a garment shaped somewhat like a shirt, 
naked legs, and sandals on his feet. The garb of 
an Indian Chief would have been quite as graceful, 
and more appropriate to the American warriour. 
But Chantrey, while clothing the statue in the Re¬ 
volutionary uniform, has taken advantage of the 
voluminous folds of the cloak, to give the figure of 
Washington a classic grace and dignity, and to hide 
all those details which, as belonging to a fashion so 
recently passed away, might excite ludicrous emo¬ 
tions in the spectator. 

This statue is one of the chief objects of interest 
in the city of Boston ; and there are few hours of 
the day, in which some admiring group may not 
be seen near its pedestal. 

Bank of Amsterdam.— The nature of this insti¬ 
tution is fully described in Smith’s Wealth of Na¬ 


tions. Previously to the year 1609, the great trade 
of Amsterdam brought thither large quantities of 
clipped and worn coin, from foreign countries. Thus, 
the whole currency became greatly debased ; for 
whenever any coin was issued fresh from the 
mint, as the metal was worth more than its nominal 
and current value, it was immediately withdrawn 
from circulation, and exported, or melted down. 
In this state of things, merchants could not always 
find enough of good money to pay their bills of ex¬ 
change. To remedy these inconveniences, a bank 
was established in 1609, which received all money, 
at its real value in standard coin, and gave the own¬ 
ers credit for the amount, after deducting a small 
per-centage for recoining and other expenses. A 
law was passed, that all bills of exchange, of the 
value of six hundred guilders, or above, should be 
payable only in this bank-currency—a regulation, 
which at once compelled all the merchants to open 
an account with the bank. As the city of Amster¬ 
dam became bound for the solvency of the bank, 
and as the paper-currency had many conveniences, 
the bank-paper was always at a premium, and could 
be sold in the money-market for more than its nom¬ 
inal value. Consequently, there was no induce¬ 
ment to demand payment of the bills. The bank 
professed to lend no part of the money that was de¬ 
posited in its vaults, but to have the value in coin, 
always on hand, for all its certificates of credit. It 
is believed that this was really the case ; for, on one 
occasion, when political events caused a run upon 
the bank, some of the coins, then paid out, bore the 
marks of having been scorched by a fire, which had 
occurred soon after the institution was established. 

The Bank of Amsterdam, as we may p>erceive, dif¬ 
fered in its character from the w hole class of msti- 
tutions, bearing the same name. The design and 
tendency of the latter is to increase the amount of 
the circulating medium. The operations of this 
bank had no such effect ; its paper being merely a 
substitute for a certain quantity of the precious 
metals, which lay as inactive in the vaults of the 
bank, as if it had remained in the mines of Potosi. 


Boatmen on the Rhone. —As an instance of 
the injurious effects of continual and violent bodily 
exertion, Mr. Edgeworth mentions a boatman at 
Lyons, whose hair was gray, his face wrinkled, his 
back bent, and his limbs and features exhibited all 
the marks of decrepitude. Yet he was only twen¬ 
ty-seven years of age. He informed Mr. Edge- 
worth that he was the oldest boatman on the Rhone, 
and that his younger brothers had been worn out, 
and died, before they were twenty-five years old. 
The labour of these men consists in rowing boats 
across one of the swiftest rivers in the world ; and 
the destructive effects of their unintermitting toil 
are heightened by frequent draughts of brandy, 
with which stimulus they nerve themselves to mo¬ 
mentary exertion, at the expense of rapid decay 
and early death. 


Cocoa-Nut Leaves.— The principal food of 
Elephants, in a domestic state, is the leaves of the 
cocoa-nut. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATIOxV. 


403 


POTTERY. 

The ordinary white earthen ware is made of pure 
clay and pure flint, mixed together in the propor¬ 
tion of one part of the flint to five or six of the 
clay. The clay is previously worked with water, 
by means of machinery, until all the lumps are en¬ 
tirely broken up, and the mass assumes the consis¬ 
tence of cream. The flint is first burned, then 
ground in a mill, and worked with water, in the 
same manner as the clay ; the unbroken pieces be¬ 
ing returned a second time to the mill. When both 
are sufficiently fine, the flint and clay are mingled, 
and made into a paste, which is pounded, either by 
the hand or machinery, and thus becomes fit for the 
potter. He places a portion of the paste on a ho¬ 
rizontal wheel, somewhat resembling a round table, 
and inserts his hand or finger into the middle of the 
lump, placing the other hand on the outside. The 
wheel is then made to revolve, with great rapidity, 
and the lump of clay is almost immediately trans¬ 
formed into a hollow vessel, which is shaped by the 
hand, or some simple tool, and completed with the 
celerity of magic. A wire is then passed between 
the wheel and the bottom of the vessel; and the 
latter being removed, another soon appears in its 
place, assuming the shape of a bowl, pitcher, jug, 
or other utensil, according to the will of the potter. 
The handles are made separately, and stuck on 
while the vessels are still wet. A similar process is 
used in the manufacture of the brown earthen ware, 
which is a great staple of the thriving town of Dan¬ 
vers, in this state ; and the traveller may there ob¬ 
serve hundreds of breadpans, bean-pots, mugs, 
plates, wash-bowls, and broad dishes for milk, dry¬ 
ing in the sun, previously to being consigned to the 
oven. 

The white ware requires somewhat more nicety 
in its manufacture, than this coarse, domestic pot¬ 
tery. After being taken from the wheel, the ves¬ 
sels are turned in a lathe, and smoothed, if neces¬ 
sary, with a wet sponge. They are then dried in a 
stove, and subsequently burnt in a kiln, in which 
state they are called biscuit. The next process is 
that of glazing. If the vessels are to be ornamented 
with figures, patterns are engraved on copper, and 
printed on coarse paper, with ink that is calculated 
to stand the action of fire. These are moistened, 
and applied to the porous surface of the vessel, 
which absorbs the ink, and retains it in the original 
figure, after the paper has been washed off*. 

It is but about seventy years, since the first good 
pottery, was made in England. Before that period, 
all the white and figured earthen ware was import¬ 
ed from Delf, in Holland, whence it ^received the 
name of Delf Ware, as porcelain is still called Chi¬ 
na. The annual exportation, from the English 
manufactories, is now thirty-eight millions of pieces. 

NEW ENGLAND 3IIL1TIA —Ninety Years Ago. 

In 1746, upon an alarm from a French Squad¬ 
ron, 6400 men well armed, and with provisions for 
fourteen days, assembled on Boston common ; some 
of them had marched seventy miles in two days. 
They came from the inland parts of the province; 
the militia of the maritime counties remained at 
home for the defence of the seacoast. Connecti¬ 


cut was to have sent 6000 men, if the alarm had 
not proved to be false. It was observed by a dis¬ 
tinguished French officer, ‘ that the French officers 
who were prisoners, being allowed freely to view 
Boston and the neighbouring country, would eflTec- 
tually discourage any attempt on the part of France, 
to invade a country so well peopled.’ British ships 
of war, it is said, were much more frequently sta¬ 
tioned at Boston in peace than in war, when they 
were required elsewhere. It seems that both friends 
and enemies deemed New England competent to 
defend herself. Massachusetts was then estimated 
to contain 41000 white men of sixteen years of age 
and upwards. The population of Boston was 
about 18000. 


FESSENDEN’S POEMS.* 

An American bard, the commencement of whose 
literary career dates more than a quarter of a cen¬ 
tury back, is truly a remarkable phenomenon. He 
appears with a classic dignity among the poets of 
yesterday and to-day, and has a claim upon the re¬ 
spect of his audience, apart from the merits of his 
song. If, in addition to this claim, the veteran bard 
offers us a production which has received the ap¬ 
plause of a former day—and if it be found to pos¬ 
sess the rare merit of originality, and an excellence 
peculiar to itself—the present public should give its 
sanction to the favourable judgment of their fathers, 
with even more earnestness of praise than would be 
the due of a younger aspirant. Such would be no 
more than an act of justice, in requital of the neg¬ 
lect that has permitted his name to fade, for so 
long an interval, from the list of those whose effu¬ 
sions are deemed honourable to their country. And 
his tuneful brethren (if brethren they may be called, 
the eldest of whom were listening to their nurse’s 
lullaby, when his strains had already gained the 
applause of England and America,) should pay him 
such reverence as Ben Jonson, the survivor of the 
Shaksperian age, was wont to receive from the wits at 
the Mitre-tavern, and Dryden from the more mod¬ 
ern luminaries of Queen Anne’s age. The severe 
simplicity of our republic recognises no Poet Lau¬ 
reate, as an officer of state ; but the poets of 
America might place a laurel crown upon his hon¬ 
oured head, and acknowledge him the leader of 
their choir. 

Such, we think, should be the reception of the 
author of these poems. To many of our readers 
he is well known, as the Editor of the New Eng¬ 
land Farmer; but comparatively few are aware, that, 
at an early period of life, he was a poet of greater 
European celebrity, than any other native Ameri¬ 
can, before or since. ‘Terrible Tractoration,’ the 
longest poem in the volume, passed through two 
London editions, in the course of a few months; 
and the present impression is the third that has 
been published in America. The main design of 
the production was to satirize the opponents of the 
Metallic Tractors, certain implements which caused 
a prodigious sensation in the medical and f>hiloso- 
phical world, about the commencement of the 

♦ Terribte Tractoration, and other Poems.— 

By Christopher Caustic, M. D. 






404 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


present century. But the author’s fancy was too 
affluent, and his powers of ridicule too universal, to 
be confined within the narrow scope of his nominal 
subject; and accordingly, there was no folly nor 
humbug of the day, but what became the theme of 
his laughing muse. In the edition now before us, 
he has been equally successful in introducing most 
of the new absurdities, of which the present age is 
no less fruitful than any preceding one. Some of 
these passages it would violate the neutrality of our 
Magazine to extract. We therefore select a few 
stanzas which will sufficiently illustrate the queer 
originality of thought, and aptness of ludicrous ex¬ 
pression, that distinguish this poet from all others 
of his day. Among other notable contrivances of 
Doctor Caustic—an old crack-brained visionary, 
whom Nature seems to have gifted with a tenfold 
proportion of wit, in lieu of the least modicum of 
common sense—he enumerates the following. His 
patent Author’s mill, by the way, would be a great 
convenience to ourself, and thereby to our readers : 

‘ We next crave liberty to tiiention 
Another wonderful invention ; 

A sort of stenographic still. 

Alias a Patent Author’s mill. 

We fill its hopper with a set 
Of letters of the alphabet. 

And turnout eulogies, orations. 

Or themes for July celebrations,— 

News, both domestic and’'extraneous. 

Essays, and extracts miscellaneous. 

We manufacture by the means 
Of said superlative machines. 

This last invention also reaches 
To making Congress members’ speeches ; 

Would they adopt it, though we’ve said it, 

T’ would cent per cent enhance their credit 

We hammer’d out a lawyer’s jaw mill 
Which went by water like a saw-mill 
With so much clamour, fire and fury. 

It thunderstruck the judge and jury.’ 

Among the minor poems, there is one, now tor 
the first time published, entitled the Cultivator’s 
Art. We extract a paragraph, which is full of 
ideas so infinitely grotesque, that they actually be¬ 
come sublime. 

‘ We farmers are a sort of stuff 
Tyrants will always find too tough 
For them to work up into slaves. 

The servile tools of lordly knaves. 

Those men who till the stubborn soil, 

Enlighten’d, and inur’d to toil. 

Cannot be made to quail or cower 
By traitor’s art or tyrant’s power. 

They might as well attempt to chain 
The west wind in a hurricane ;— 

Make rivers run up hill by frightening. 

Or steal a march on kindled lightninw— 

The great sea-serpent, which we’ve read of. 

Take by the tail and snap his head off— 

The firmament on cloudy nights. 

Illume with artificial lights. 

By such an apparatus as 

Is used for lighting streets with gas— 

Or, having split the north pole till it’s 
Divided into baker’s billets. 

Make such a blaze as never shone. 

And torrefy the frozen zone— 

With clubs assail the polar bear. 

And drive the monster from his lair — 

Attack the comets as they run 
With loads of fuel for the sun. 

And overset by oppugnation 
Those shining eoltiers of creatioiv— 


The Milky Way McAdamize, 

A railway raise to span the skies, 

’I'hen make, to save Apollo’s team. 

The Solar Chariot go by steam. 

These things shall tyrants do, and more 
Than we have specified, before 
Our cultivators they subdue. 

While grass is green, or sky is blue.’ 

We should be glad to enrich our pages with the 
full length portrait of Miss I'abitha Towzer; but it 
would be doing the author injustice to give no spe¬ 
cimen of his powers in a more serious style of com¬ 
position. We admire the thoughts, and the strong 
expression, of the following stanzas. 

‘THE EVILS OF A flllSCHIEVOUS TONGUE. 

‘ Many have fallen by the edge of the swoid, but not so many as 
have fallen by the tongue.’—Eccl. Apoc. xxviii. 8. 

Tho’ millions, the sword of the warriour luis slaughter’d. 
While fame has the homicide’s eulogy rung : 

Yet many more millions on millions are martyr’d ; 

Cut off by that cowardly weapon, the tongue. 

One sword may be match'd by another as keen. 

In battle the bold miin a bolder may meet. 

But the shaft of the slanderer, flying unseen 

From the quiver of malice, brings ruin complete. 

An insolent tongue, by a taunt or a gibe, 

Eidiindles heart-burnings and bloody iiffrays ; 

A treacherous tongue, when impell d by a bribe. 

The guiltless condemns, or a nation betrays. 

A smooth subtle tongue vile seducers employ 
'I'lie fair sex to lure to libidinous thrall ; 

A sH/) of the tongue may its owner destroys 

Aiid the tongue of Ike serpent occasion'd the fall 

Then be it impress’d on Colutidtian youth. 

That the tongue is an engine of terrible force ; 

Not govern’d by reason, not guided by truth, 

A plague, which may desolate worlds in its course.’ 

At the present day, there is a vast fund of what 
is called poetic sentiment, diffused throughout the 
community ; and nothing is requisite but a sort of 
mechanism, to mould it into a new shape. But 
when Mr. Fessenden began his career, an innate 
fire, and originality of thought, were necessary to 
constitute a poet. These gifts he liad—nor has 
age yet robbed him of them. 


Americanisms.— A span of horses is the usual ex¬ 
pression, instead of a pair, in New York, throughout 
New England, in Upper Canada, and probably in the 
Southern States. The word is derived from the 
Dutch language, and originated from the Dutch 
settlers of New York ; it is also in use at the Cape 
of Good Hope, where the inhabitants are partly of 
Dutch extractioh. ‘ I guess’—‘I calculate’—‘Tar¬ 
nation ’—phrases which have been called purely 
American, were originally brought hither by emi¬ 
grants from SuflTolkshire, in England. The word, 
‘ riley,’ has been supposed of American coinage. 
A Yankee landlord apologizing to some Englishmen, 
because the water in a jug was so riley, his guests 
were inclined to laugh at him ; till one of them 
hinted that the word was still commonly used in 
Devonshire. - 

Plumbago. —This substance, commonly called 
black-lead, may be melted, in small quantities, by 
the application of very intense heat. It runs into 
globules, which are white and transparent, and so 
hard as to scratch the hardest glass. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


405 



View of a Chinese Pyramid. 


CHINESE PYRAMID, 

The cut represents a Chinese feat of strength 
and dexterity, superiour to any thing that may be 
witnessed among our amusements of the Circus ; 
although many of these are astonishing specimens 
of the extent to which the physical powers of man 
may be improved. The spectacle, here exhibited, 
is called the Pyramid, and is constructed in the fol¬ 
lowing number. Four men, of great strength, place 
themselves side by side, sufficiently close together 
to form a solid base for the structure, which is to 
be reared upon them. Two others, mounting on 
their four shoulders, compose the second story of 
the edifice, and, in their turn, support a third per¬ 
son, who likewise sustains a fourth. The latter 
reaches this elevation by means of a double ladder. ■ 
Standing at the summit of this human pyramid, he ! 


causes another man (who is probably the slenderest 
and lightest of the party) to be hoisted up, and 
seizing the poor fellow with his right hand, elevates 
him above his head. After holding him, a consid¬ 
erable time, in this position, and balancing him in 
the air, while he balances himself on his right foot, 
he suddenly tosses him upward, leaving him to find 
his way to the earth as he best can. Down he 
comes, head foremost, into the midst of the specta¬ 
tors, who spread out their arms to receive him, 
amid the loud acclamations of the multitude. 
Whether he invariably reaches the ground with 
whole bones, we cannot say; but his position, like 
that of all men who are elevated above the heads of 
the multitude, and sustained on the shoulders of 
their fellow-beings, can be considered neither safe 
nor agreeable. 


THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD ROOK. 

Thirty or forty years ago, the society of Anti¬ 
quaries in London published a volume, containing 
the regulations and ordinances for the government 
of the royal household, during the reigns of several 
English sovereigns. We derive from it the most 
minute and curious details concerning the domestic 
affairs of the Court; and (though such knowledge 
can hardly be deemed useful, in our democratic 
age, and republican country) we should feel quali¬ 
fied to act either as groom of the bed-chamber to 
Henry the Seventh, or as Maid of Honour to his 
Queen. We could likewise superintend the pre¬ 
parations for a royal feast, both on fish-days, and 
flesh-days, and enumerate the ingredients of every 
dish that was set before the King. The following 
list of eatables would answer for an ordinary occa¬ 
sion. Pottage, a chine of beef, venison, cooked in 
various ways, mutton, young veal, goose or stork. 


capons of grease and conies of grease, together with 
baked carp, as the first course; and for the second, 
jellies, wild-fowl, tarts, pastry, and fruit. On Fri¬ 
days and Saturdays, nothing but fish was to be 
served, and, among other varieties, congar-eels, 
porpoises, and seals. Captain Basil Hall mentions 
having eaten part of a porpoise, and that it resem¬ 
bled very coarse beef; but we are not aware that 
the flesh of seals is reckoned among modern articles 
of food. Nothing is more remarkable, in the do¬ 
mestic economy of the middle ages, than the ab¬ 
sence of tea and coffee, and the consumption of 
ale and wine, in large quantities, by the Queen and 
all the court ladies. The maids of honour, were 
allowed one gallon of ale in the morning, another 
gallon in the afternoon, and two gallons of ale and 
a pitcher of wine in the evening ; and all this ap¬ 
pears to be over and above what they drank at their 
regular meals. 
















406 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Other entries enable us to form an estimate of 
the style in which great personages appeared at 
court. Dukes and Archbishops were allowed sta¬ 
bling and ‘herbage’ for twenty-four horses, and 
nine beds for their servants, who probably were ac¬ 
customed to sleep double or treble. A Dutchess, 
if a widow, was allowed twenty horses and seven 
beds. The Queen’s maids of honour, among them 
all, had six horses and three beds. The whole 
number of the King’s horses (this was in the reign 
of Henry the Eighth) was one hundred and nine. 

Among the ordinances of Henry the Seventh, are 
particular directions for making the king’s bed, pre¬ 
scribing the exact manner in which the feather-bed 
was to be beat up, the placing of the bolster and 
pillows, and the spreading of the sheets and other 
bed-clothes; and when this important affair was 
happily accomplished, ‘ then shall the Usher draw 
together the bed-curtains, and an Esquire for the 
body shall cast holy water on the bed ; then shall 
the Esquires and Ushers, and all other that were at 
the making of the bed, goe without the chamber; 
and there to meet them bread, ale, and wine ; and^ 
soe to drink together.’ Henry the Seventh ap¬ 
pears to have set more weight upon such ceremo¬ 
nious trifles, than any monarch before or since his 
lime. He ordains the method that was to be ob¬ 
served at the coronation of the King, the reception 
and coronation of the Queen, her delivery in child¬ 
bed, the marriage of a princess, and every other 
event that could befall the royal family. Nor does 
he neglect to prescribe the method of conducting 
the king’s obsequies; but, as if to conceal from the 
vulgar crowd, that a monarch must finally humble 
himself to undergo the same fate with the meanest 
of them, the directions on this subject are given in 
Latin. It was not fit that ordinary men should 
know, that perfumes and spices were requisite to 
stifle the smell of mortality, in a royal corpse. We, 
however, shall be irreverent enough to translate the 
passage. 

When an anointed king shall pass from this tem¬ 
poral to the eternal state, first of all, in his bed¬ 
chamber, shall his body be washed with warm wa¬ 
ter. Then shall it be anointed all over with bal¬ 
sam and aromatics, and, afterwards, enveloped in a 
waxed linen-cloth, so that only the face and beard 
shall remain uncovered. Waxed linen shall like¬ 
wise be wound about his hands and fingers, in such 
manner that each finger and thumb shall be sepa¬ 
rately covered, and the hands, covered with the 
waxed cloth, shall remain open. But the groom of 
the bed-chamber must take care of the king’s brains 
and bowels. Moreover, the corpse must be clothed 
in a garment extending from head to foot, above 
which must be spread a regal pall. The beard 
must be carefully combed over the breast, and then 
a royal crown or diadem shall be placed on the 
dead monarch’s head. Afterwards, a ring of gold 
is to be put upon the middle finger of his right 
hand ; and the same hand shall hold a golden ball, 
in which shall be fixed a gilded rod, having the sign 
of the holy cross at the top, which must rest upon 
the bosom of the corpse. In the left hand shall be 
a gilded sceptre, extending from the hand to the 
left ear. And lastly, the legs and feet must be 


clothed in stockings and shoes. The king being 
adorned after this fashion, and honouruoly attended 
by the prelates and nobles of his realm, shall be 
borne to the place appointed for his sepulture. 


ANCIENT BRITISH NAVY. 

In the time of Edward the Third, whose reign com¬ 
menced in 1327, the English fleet is said, in a state¬ 
ment made at the period, to have consisted of seven 
hundred vessels, manned by about fourteen thou¬ 
sand men. This statement, however, must have in¬ 
cluded the whole number of vessels and mariners 
belonging to England, whether in the public ser¬ 
vice, or merchantmen. Nearly two hundred and 
fifty years after, in 1575, during the reign of Eliza¬ 
beth, the English navy consisted only of twenty- 
four vessels, the largest of which was of one thou¬ 
sand tons, and the smallest, of about fifty tons. 
Their armament and equipage appear rather singu¬ 
lar, in contrast with those of a ship of war, at the 
present day., The largest ship, called the Triumph, 
had a crew of seven hundred and eighty men, of 
whom four hundred and fifty were mariners, fifty 
gunners, and two hundred soldiers. The number 
of cannon is not mentioned ; which omission is the 
more singular,as the harquebusses,or muskets, bows, 
and sheaves of arrows, pikes, bills, and corslets, are 
all particularly enumerated. We suspect that the 
great guns formed a much less important part of the 
armament, than in latter times, and that naval bat¬ 
tles were decided chiefly by sharp shooting with 
muskets and bows, and hand-to-hand conflicts with 
sword and pike. The smallest vessel in our navy, 
with the advantage of modern science, would pro¬ 
bably prove an over-match for Queen Elizabeth’s 
heaviest ship of the line. At the last mentioned 
period, the number of English vessels, above forty 
tons burden, was seven hundred and ninety-one; 
besides which there were about a hundred sail of 
hoys, and an infinite number of fishermen and small 
craft. - 

THE SPINA CHRIST!. 

[‘ Three Weeks in Palestine.’] 

The Spina Christi is supposed, and not without 
reason, to be the plant of whose branches the crown 
of thorns was plaited, with which mockery decked 
our Saviour’s brow. It resembles a young willow 
in growth and flexibility, the leaves being much of 
the same form, but somewhat longer, and the thorns 
an inch in length and very strong and sharp. 


Transportation of Fish. —Dr. Smith is of 
opinion, that not only the eggs of fish are carried 
by birds, in their flight from one country to another, 
and that the various species are thus propagated in 
distant regions ; but that the living fish sometimes 
perform similar journeys, in the stomachs of birds. 
Lampreys have been found alive, hundreds of 
miles from the sea, in small pools, whither they 
could have been conveyed by no other means. 
The nature of this fish is such, that it can dispense 
with breathing even a mouthful of water, during 
many hours. It is a curious fact, that small eels,after 
being swallowed alive by birds of prey, have been 
seen to make their escape from the bird’s stomach. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


407 


MOONLIGHT. 

[Mudie's ‘Observations of Nature.'". 

The beams of the Moon, as has been said, con¬ 
tain little of the red or tlie heating rays; and it is 
well known how very efficient moonlight is in pcr- 
fortoing those operations which are more imme¬ 
diately performed by the rays towards the deoxidiz¬ 
ing end of the spectrum. Every housewife knows 
how nicely her linen is whitened if she can leave it 
out during the moonlight; and many know that 
muslins which the sun would render yellow or 
brown can be preserved as white as snow if dried 
by the light of the moon. Every farmer, too, that 
takes notice (and surely the most unobserving far¬ 
mers watch the progress of their crops,) must have 
observed how very rapidly the moonlight, not 
merely whitens, but actually matures and ripens his 
corn. In that respect, one fine moonlight night is 
equal to at least two days of sunshine; and that 
circumstance, while it lets us see that moonlight has 
other qualities besides poetical beauty, tell us, that 
Nature is a Whole, and that the parts which we 
would suppose to be the most distant and uncon¬ 
nected yet co-operate with each other in the most 
perfect and wonderful manner. 

In consequence of that obliquity in the earth’s 
path round the sun which gives Summer and Win¬ 
ter alternately to the two hemispheres, and a regu¬ 
lar succession of the four Seasons to all the tem¬ 
perate latitudes, and in conserjuence of an additional 
obliquity in the moon’s path round the earth, the 
full moon rises just at sunset for about a week to¬ 
gether. That takes place during the harvest; its 
mean season being about the twenty-second of Sep¬ 
tember, and the middle of it never more than fif¬ 
teen days sooner or later than that. That is called 
the Harvest Moon, and though in the early districts, 
where there is plenty of solar action to ripen the 
crops, it be not much heeded, it is very beneficial 
in the cold districts; and as the obliquity to which 
it is owing increases as the latitude iticreases, the 
Harvest Moon continues for the greatest number o>f 
nights in the cold climates. Thus we see how far 
the influence of what we would deem a simple 
cause extends in the operations of nature, and 
how well that which our ignorance is apt to regard 
as a disadvantage, works for our good. Indeed, 
there is not an object or an occurrence in nature 
which has not its use, if we would but look for it; 
and it is just because we are ignorant of the uses of 
little things, that we fail in the execution of great 
ones. 

It is in the perceiving of these connexions which 
appear remote and unexpected, that men who com¬ 
bine science and observation together have so much 
the advantage of mere men of science or mere sur¬ 
face observers. One would not at first suppose 
that the study of the mere motions of the earth and 
moon, and the fact that the light of the moon is a 
secondary or reflected light, had any thing to do 
with the whitening of linen or the ripening of corn ; 
and yet the two are as closely connected as if they 
were parts of one single process.—That should 
teach us not to pass any one thing or occurrence 
unobserved, or any one observation without reflect¬ 
ing on it; because there is knowledge in them all; 


and, at a time when we may have no means of ob¬ 
taining it, we may be greatly at a loss for that very 
knowledge which we pass over unheeded. 

There is another circumstance connected with 
moonlight which is worthy of notice ; and that is, 
that where there is least sunshine there is most 
moonlight. The full moon is not always directly 
opposite to the sun, but sometimes a little higher 
and sometimes a little lower than the point oppo¬ 
site ; but directly opposite is the average place of 
the full moon ; and thus the full moon is, on the 
average, just as long above the horizon and shining, 
as the sun is below it and set; and if the sun is 
high at noon, the moon is low at midnight; also, if 
the midday sun is low, the midnight moon is cor¬ 
respondingly high. The influence, or action of the 
light, both of the sun and the moon, is in propor¬ 
tion to the length of time that they shine, and also 
to their height above the horizon ; and thus, during 
Winter, there is the greatest duration as well as the 
greatest strength of moonlight; and always as one 
goes into a higher latitude, the Winter full-moons 
shine longer and more brightly. The Lapland 
moon is an object far more beautiful than they who 
live in more genial climates and have the atmos¬ 
phere loaded with vapour can easily imagine. The 
intense frost there sends down every particle of 
water in a state of finely powdered snow', each little 
piece as hard and bright as rock crystal ; and the 
strong power of crystallization so holds the particles 
of those little pieces together, that even when there 
is a glimmer of midday sun, that produces no va¬ 
pour. The Winter sky is, in consequence, per¬ 
fectly pure, dry, and transparent. No sapphire can 
rival the depth of its blue ; every star blazes like a 
diamond ; and the light of the moon, of which every 
particle is sent down through the pure air, well de¬ 
serves Milton’s epithet of ‘ [)eerless.’ It is so bright 
and silvery, and so gratifying, without being the 
least painful to the e)e, that it is probably the most 
glorious sight in nature. But it can be seen only 
at some distance from the unfrozen sea, and the 
collected habitations of men, as there is always some 
action in the atmosphere at such places. 

EXTINCT ANIMALS. 

[Translated from the Magasin Lfniversel.] 

Cuvier has given the name of Great Mastodon to 
a quadruped very like the elephant, as respects his 
tusks, and the nature and arrangement of his bones, 
but which differs essentially from the latter animal as 
to his jaw-teeth; these being papillons, and so 
large, that some have been found weighing ten or 
eleven pounds. Its height did not surpass that 
of the elephant; but its length was somewhat 
greater, and its limbs were rather more thick, with 
a smaller abdomen. It used its teeth in the same 
manner as the hog and the hippopotamus ; its prin¬ 
cipal food must have been tender vegetables, roots, 
and aquatic plants. This sort of aliment w'ould 
naturally lead the Mastodon to moist and marshy 
soils ; but it was not formed to swim, or pass any 
considerable part of its time in the water, like the 
hippopotamus. It was, in all respects, a land- 
animal. 

The Great Mastodon appears not to have in- 




408 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


habited what are termed the elder quarters of the 
globe. It is on the shores of the Oliio, a river of 
North America, that its bones are most frequently 
met with. They are also found, although in less 
number, in all the temperate regions of North 
America, in whatever direction it is traversed. The 
most extraordinary of these deposits has been found 
in Virginia; and a very remarkable circumstance 
was there observed :—among the bones was found 
a half-bruised mass of little branches, and of leaves, 
some of which were those of a reed, still common in 
that part of the country. The whole was envelop¬ 
ed in a sort of bag, which was supposed to be the 
stomach of the aninial ; and there can be no doubt 
that these were substances which he had devoured. 

As many fables have been propagated about the 
American Mastodon, as of the Russian Mammoth. 
The Indians, in some parts of the country, believe 
that, v\'hen these animals existed, there were like¬ 
wise men of a proportionate stature, and the Great 
Spirit launched his thunderbolts at them both. 
Those of Virginia say, that a multitude of these 
enormous beasts having destroyed the deer, buffalo, 
and other animals created for the use of the Indians, 
the Great Man on high took his thunder, and slew 
all but the largest male, who, presenting his horns 
to the thunderbolts, shook them off as they fell. 
But being at length wounded in the side, he leaped 
over the mountains and continued his flight towards 
the great lakes, where he is living till this day. 

Our limits will not permit us to describe the four 
species of the Mastodon ; nor can we do more than 
mention the four species of the hippopotamus which 
are found in a fossil state; and we shall say merely 
a few w'ords on two of the four species of Rhinoc¬ 
eros, which naturalists have enumerated. 

The first species appears to have inhabited the 
countries of the north, from Germany to the remotest 
part of Siberia. This Rhinoceros had the nostrils 
separated ; its head was larger than that of the spe¬ 
cies w'hich now exists ; its shape w'as lower, and cal¬ 
culated for a creeping posture; there were none of 
those protuberances, or irregular bony bunches, 
which render the head of the unicorn rhinoceros so 
hideous, but it was smooth, like that of the bicorn 
of the Cape. The second species appears to have 
been peculiar to Italy. Its nostrils were not sepa¬ 
rated ; it was more lank, and stood high<*r on its 
legs, and w'as less bulky, than the preceding; its 
head was not so long in proportion, and the animal 
must have borne a greater resemblance to the bicorn 
of the Cape. Both species were covered with hair, 
which was very abundant at the snout and espe¬ 
cially on the feet ; while, in the rhinoceros of India 
and of the Cape, the latter part was entirely desti¬ 
tute of hair. 

But of all these extinct animals, there is none 
which so little resembles any existing species, as the 
Tapir, W’hich is called the Gigantic. It was above 
twenty feet long, by twelve in height; its size was 
equal 'to that of the great elephants, and of the 
Great American Mastodon, although the tapir at 
present existing is hardly the size of a small cow. 
It appears that these Gigantic Tapirs w'cre of the 
same date as the Mastodons and fossil elephants, 
that they lived in company with them, and were 


destroyed by the same catastrophe; since their 
bones are found in the same spots, and sometimes 
intermingled with those of the other animals. 

The species of which we have hitherto spoken, al¬ 
though different from those which exist, have never¬ 
theless sufficient analogy with them to bear a com¬ 
parison. But there are others, which are now com¬ 
pletely extinct, and which cannot be compared with 
any living genus. Such were the sophiodontes, 
and the talaeotheriums, whose stature varied ac¬ 
cording to the species, from that of a horse to that 
of a rabbit. The anoplotheriums, whose shape 
was also extremely variable, but W'ho, by their den¬ 
tary system, w’ere all assimilated to the ruminating 
order. The megatherium, which was about four¬ 
teen feet from the head to the commencement of 
the tail, and eight or nine feet in height to the 
shoulder-joint. It lived on vegetable food, and 
principally on roots; it was slow' in its gait; but the 
length and power of its claws afforded it sufficient 
means of defence, so that its safety did not depend 
on sw'iftness. It appears to have been covered with 
scales ; and it had a very short tail, but garnished 
with tufts. The megalonix was so called on ac¬ 
count of the length of his teeth ; a characteristic 
which makes it a genus by itself, without analogy 
among living animals ; especially when it is consid¬ 
ered that it belonged to the order edentes, which 
comprehends only mammiferous animals of small 
stature; while tlie megalonix was larger than a 
horse. According to Mr. Jeffersmi, formerly presi¬ 
dent of the United States, who first made this ani¬ 
mal known to the learned world, it was more than 
six feet high, and weighed little short of nine hun¬ 
dred pounds. It must have been the Mastodon’s 
most terrible enemy. Cuvier has proved that it 
possessed a hand, composed of five fingers, of which 
the middle and ring-finger, were large, short, and 
armed with very strong nails. 

We will finish this essay on extinct species, by 
drawing the reader’s attention to the fact, that fos¬ 
sil bones are not scattered indifierently and at ran¬ 
dom among the difi’erent layers which envelo[)e the 
earth, but that, the deeper we go beneath the sur¬ 
face, the more do the animals diffi r from those 
which now inhabit our modern world. 


A M.xn’s Wife. —A witness in a case of Riot, 
testifying how the mob hustled him and bore him 
off his feet, said,—‘ If I touched grojind, I wish I 
might never see my wife again.’ I.ord Chief Jus¬ 
tice Jeffreys, who was on the bench, told the w'it- 
ness,—‘ Now whether that be a curse that thou 
layest upon thyself, or no, 1 can’t tell.’ It is re¬ 
markable, that jokes upon matrimony, are never out 
of date, nor grow’ stale by repetition ; the one here 
extracted has lain in a musty old book these hun- 
rlred and fifty years; yet were a judge to repeat it 
to-morrow’, it would still set the court in as heariy 
a roar as it doubtless did in old Jeffrey’s time. 
And after all, there is no great wit in it. Are we 
to conclude, that, since matrimony is so easily 
laughed at, it must in its nature, be very ridiculous? 
If so, we hope, in our time, to be laughing-stocks 
as w'ell as our neighbours. 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


409 



View of the New York University. 


NEW YORK UNIVERSITY. 

This University is an institution of recent date. 
The building, of which we give a sketch, has a front 
of one hundred and eighty feet, by one hundred 
feet wide, and is situated on Washington Square, 
in the city of New York. It is constructed of mar¬ 
ble from the quarries at Sing Sing. The central 
edifice is fifty-five feet broad and eighty-five deep, 
and is loftier than the adjacent wings ; it contains 
the chapel, which is lighted principally by one spa¬ 
cious and noble window, twenty-four feet wide, and 
fifty feet high. The wings of the structure, on 
each side of the chapel, are of four stories, and are 
flanked by towers which ascend one story higher, 
and are embattled at the top. The wings and cen¬ 
tral building have likewise an embattled parapet. 
In the interiour, arrangements have been made, on 
the most extensive scale, for the accommodation of 
professors, and of classes in the different branches 
of science, as well as for libraries, and museums of 
natural history, the fine arts, and antiquities. The 
style of architecture is similar to that of the colle¬ 
giate edifices, in the venerable Universities of Ox¬ 
ford and Cambridge. 

The officers of government and instruction, in 
the New York University, form a numerous list, 
comprising not a few names of eminent men. A 
greater amount of preparatory learning, than has 
heretofore been usual in American colleges, is re¬ 
quired of those students who intend to pursue the 
whole academical course, and to become candidates 
for a dearee. The system of instruction is such, 
that a young man, to whom it may not be necessary 
or expedient to learn all that is taught in the Uni¬ 
versity, may apply himself exclusively to any of the 
various branches. This arrangement is in accord¬ 
ance with the spirit of the age, and is likely to extend 
the usefulness of the institution, by relieving practical 


knowledge from the incumbrance of dead literature. 

Uneducated persons are apt to form very exag¬ 
gerated ideas of the advantages of what is termed a 
liberal education. They consider it impossible that 
young men should not be deeply learned, after 
spending years within the walls of a University, in 
constant intercourse with the best qualified instruc¬ 
tors, and with every facility for the acquisition of 
knowledge. In all these matters, however, there is 
more show than substance. Without personal ex¬ 
perience and observation, it is difficult to realise 
how empty a head may be covered by an academi¬ 
cal cap, and how gross a degree of ignorance may 
be rewarded with a Latin diploma. The advanta¬ 
ges of a University are absolutely nothing, unless 
the student go thither with an earnest wish, and 
steadfast resolution, to profit by them to the utmost. 
Now such a wish and resolution will enable any 
young man, in whatever situation of life, to bring 
his mind to a degree of improvement, which may 
be even the greater for the difficulties that seemed 
to impede it. Tutors and professors are compara¬ 
tively unimportant accessaries, in the business of 
education. All really educated men, whether they 
have studied in the halls of a University, or in a 
cottage or a work-shop, are essentially self-educated. 
Whatever knowledge they have acquired, it must 
all have been gained by the vigorous toil of their 
own intellects ; and such toil never fails of its re¬ 
ward, in the increase of mental aliment, and of the 
mind’s capacity to digest it. Let no youth, there¬ 
fore, be turned back from the field of science, by 
the idea that the only path thither leads through 
the portal of a collegiate edifice, and that his guide 
must wear a professor’s gown. Such a guide may 
indeed be desirable; but where none such is at 
hand, let the student go boldly and firmly onward, 
and he will seldom go astray. 

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410 


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USES OF DEAD ANIMALS. 

In a Number of Silliman’s Journal of Science, 
vve find an article, translated from the French, 
which treats of the various uses that may be made 
of dead animals. Some of the details, we confess, 
are calculated to produce an unpleasant eflect on 
delicate stomachs; but they include a great deal of 
curious information, which we shall endeavour to 
abstract for the benefit of our readers. 

The writer states that there is only one disease 
among animals, of a nature that renders them abso¬ 
lutely unfit for food. This is called the Carbuncle, 
deriving its name from the tumours that take place 
on the diseased animal, and which, when accom¬ 
panied with sores, are generally covered with a 
black crust. The body of a creature, that has died 
of carbuncle, should be buried without handling it, 
or permitting the blood to drop upon the soil; but 
grain may be sown over the grave, where it will 
thrive luxuriantly; and after two years, the bones 
should be dug up, and applied to several valuable 
purposes. But it has been proved in various ways, 
and especially by the provisioning of armies, that 
no ill-efiect results from eating cattle that have died 
of any other disease, even though it be contagious. 
Animals, the carcasses of which have communicated 
mortal sickness to the persons who cut them up, 
may be eaten without danger. In general, no harm 
is to be apprehended, either from handling the dead 
bodies, or using them as food. The workmen in 
cat-gut manufactories, and in glue-maker’s shops, 
where animal matter, often diseased and putrescent, 
is boiled down, experience no deleterious eflfects. 
Sheep affected with the rot (a kind of small pox) 
have no unwholesome qualities. 

The skin of a dead animal, if damaged so as to 
be unfit for the tanner, should be cut into small 
pieces, and boiled in six times the quantity of wa¬ 
ter, over a small fire, for seven or eight hours. 
With salt and seasoning, it makes an agreeable and 
nutritious jelly. The bristles, hair, wool, or feath¬ 
ers, should be dried in an oven, after the bread is 
taken out. Horse-hair may be used without any 
preparation of this sort; the longest hairs make ex¬ 
cellent clothes’ lines, which are very durable, and 
do not spot the clothes that are hung upon them ; 
and the short hair is fit for stuffing saddles, sofas, 
and mattresses. Or, together with fur, it forms an 
admirable manure, which operates mildly, and for a 
great length of time. Feathers, mixed with moist 
earth, answer the same purpose ; and a profit may 
thus be derived from such feathers as are fit for 
nothing else. The shoes of oxen, horses, asses, and 
mules, arc taken off and preserved. The spurs of 
fowls, and the horns and hoofs of animals, if suffi¬ 
ciently large, and free from defect, and of a light 
colour, are sold to toymen ; or, if unfit for their pur¬ 
poses, they find ?. market among the manufacturers 
of Prussian blue. They may also be rasped very 
fine and converted into manure, which is so pow¬ 
erful, that the four hoofs of a horse are considered 
equal to a small load of dung. The bones are sold 
to factories of ivory-black, or of toys, if there be any 
such establishments within a convenient distance ; 
if otherwise, they are reduced to small pieces and 
thrown upon the land, where their beneficial effect 


is experienced for five or six years afterwards. If 
the soil be very poor and dry, this species of manure 
does not begin to operate in a less time than fifteen 
or twenty years. Another kind of animal manure 
is made by heating the blood in a large kettle, and 
stirring it constantly with an iron rod, until reduced 
to a moist powder, in which state it is to be mixed 
with dry mould, and spread upon the soil. Raw 
blood may be used in a similar manner. The pu¬ 
trid flesh of animals may be torn from the bones, 
with long-handled instruments, and strewn over the 
land, as manure; it should be slightly covered with 
earth. 

The fat is to be cut into small pieces, melted, 
and set aside for greasing axle-trees, harnesses, and 
shoe-leather. But the most singular purpose, in 
our opinion, to which dead animals are applied in 
France, is yet to be mentioned. The flesh, blood, 
and bowels, are kept purposely for the sake of pro¬ 
ducing maggots, which are sold in Paris at the rate 
of about a dollar a bushel, and are used as food for 
pheasants, and also for fattening fish in ponds. 

Even the smallest animals may afford some profit. 
The skins of rats sell at seventy-five cents per hun¬ 
dred, and those of moles at more than double that 
price. The entire carcass of a horse is worth above 
ten dollars in the country, and a still higher sum at 
Paris. Cats and dogs, also, are valuable articles, 
not only on account of their skins, but of their fat. 
The flesh of horses, cats, and dogs, when of a fine 
red colour, and sullied by no brown or livid spots, 
is secretly made use of as food for man—probably 
by keepers of eating-houses at Paris. But the 
French writer appears to see no harm in all this. 
He states, apparently from his personal knowledge, 
that rats and polecats are good and wholesome eat¬ 
ing ; although they require (especially the polecats) 
an unusual quantity of pepperand spice to counteract 
their very peculiar taste and odour. Beseeching 
Heaven to defend our readers and ourself from the 
heathenish devices of French cooks, we shall here 
drop the subject. - 

Opals. —Several varieties of opal are found in 
the mines of Hungary, among which the Irridescent 
Opal is the most beautiful and valuable. There is 
abundance of this variety in the mines, but generally 
in such minute portions, that a piece of the size of 
a shilling may not be met with, perhaps, in the 
course of years. The largest opal ever found is of 
the size of a man’s fist, and weighs seventeen 
ounces. It has been treasured, for more than two 
centuries, in the imperial cabinet at Vienna, and 
must be of immense value; for the smallest speci¬ 
men, if beautiful, sells for fifteen or eighteen dollars; 
and there is one at Kasehau, no bigger than a 
crown-piece, for which ten thousand dollars were 
offered. In the irridescent opal, all the shades of 
every colour of the rainbow are blended in count¬ 
less diversity, and throw out the most brilliant and 
beautiful reflections. 


Lightning.— Silk dresses have guarded the wear¬ 
ers from injury by lightning. 

Hyenas.— In 1821, a den of hyenas (in a fossil 
state) was discovered in Yorkshire, England. 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


411 


SPOILS OF THE JEWISH TEMPLE. 

[Translated from the Magasin Universel.] 

After the conquest of Judea by Titus, and the 
taking of Jerusalem, the Roman Senate decreed 
that a triumphal arch should be erected in honour 
of the victor. This monument is one of the most 
remarkable in ancient Rome, and is equally inter¬ 
esting to the antiquary and the historian. The sin¬ 
cere Christian cannot contemplate it without deep 
emotion ; and the Jews are so overcome with the 
recollections which it excites, that no man of their 
nation willingly passes beneath the triumphal arch 
of Titus. 

It is situated on the eastern declivity of the 
Mount-Palatin, and constructed of white marble. 
Its original form must have been a perfect square ; 
but it is now considerably dilapidated by time, al¬ 
though the centre, a single column on each side, 
the frieze, and the attic, are in excellent preserva¬ 
tion. Over the bend of the arch are winged figures, 
representing Renown ; and on the frieze, is a sacri¬ 
fice. The triumph of Titus is seen in two bas- 
reliefs, one of which shows the Empcrour drawn on 
a car, by four horses abreast; while, in the other, 
are sculptured the spoils which were taken from the 
Temple at Jerusalem. These are the chandelier 
with seven branches, the table of gold, and the 
trumpets of silver, borne by figures crowned with 
laurels 

Josephus, the Jewish historian particularly men¬ 
tions these sacred things, in narrating the triumph 
of Vespasian and his son. He adds, that the Em- 
perour formed the design of erecting a Temple of 
Peace, wherein to deposit these precious trophies 
of his glory. He was desirous, moreover, that the 
Tables of the Law, and the Purple Veil of the Sanc¬ 
tuary, should be kept in the imperial palace. They 
remained there more than three hundred years, un¬ 
til, in 455, Genseric possessed himself of them, and 
carried them to Carthage. Belisarius afterwards 
transported them to Constantinople, then the capi¬ 
tal of the Empire; whence, by a strange vicissitude 
of fortune, they were brought back to Jerusalem. 
From that period, nothing is certainly known ol 
their destiny, although some believe that Chosroes 
seized upon them, in 641. 

The.se sculptures of the candlestick with seven 
branches, the table of gold, and the silver trumpets, 
are representations of the originals, which are men¬ 
tioned in the twenty-fifth and following chapters of 
Exodus. Except on the triumphal arch of Titus, 
no copy of them exists. Thus Rome, in spite of 
the ravages of time, is still the sole depository of a 
faithful image of those mysterious symbols, the ori¬ 
gin of which ascends to the Deity himself. After 
eighteen centuries of persecution, a monument still 
subsists, for the explanation of some of the most 
important passages of Scripture. Moses announc¬ 
ed the chastisement which would be inflicted upon 
the Jews, for their incredulity ; and the triumphal 
arch, which commemorates their total ruin, was 
erected less than half a century after the moment, 
in which the Saviour himself had warned them of its 
approach. His prophecies are recorded in the sacred 
volume; and the Jewish nation, scattered all over 
the world, without the power of re-union, are wit¬ 


nesses that the word of the living God is accom¬ 
plished. 

If the actual situation of the Jews, at the present 
day, is an incontrovertible fact, the events, which 
have produced it, are likewise attended with all the 
certainty of which history admits. The Roman 
medals, which were struck to commemorate the con¬ 
quest of Jerusalem, represent, on one side, a female 
figure sitting under a palm-tree, in an attitude of 
mourning, with the words: Judea Capta. On the 
other side, is the head of Vespasian, or of Titus. 

TRENTON FALLS. 

On one of the balmiest mornings that ever broke, 
we descended the rude steps leading to the bed of 
the Trenton Falls. We reached the bottom, and 
stood upon the broad, solid floor, a hundred feet 
down in the very heart of the rock ; and my first 
feelings were those of astonishment at the sublime 
grandeur of the scene. In a few minutes we stood 
below the first fall. The whole volume of the river 
here descends fifty feet at a single leap. The basin 
which receives it is worn into a deej), circular abyss, 
and the dizzy whirl and tumult of the water is al¬ 
most overpowering. We ascended at the side, and 
at a level with the top of the fall, passed under an 
immense shelf, overshadowing us almost at the 
height of a cloud ; and advancing a little further, 
the whole grand sweep of the river was before us. 
It was a scene of which I had never before any 
conception, and I confess myself inadequate to de¬ 
scribe it. To stand in tlie bed of a torrent, which 
flows for miles through a solid rock, at more than a 
hundred feet below the surface; to look up this 
tremendous gorge, and see, as far as the eye can 
stretch, a river rushing on with amazing velocity, 
leaping at every few rods over a fall, and sinking 
into whirlpools, and sweeping round projecting 
rocks constantly and violently ; to see this, and then 
look up as if from the depths of the earth to the 
giant walls that confine it, piled ap()arently to the 
very sky, this is a sensation to which no language 
that would not seem ridiculous hyperbole could do 
justice. 

When the first surprise is over, and the mind has 
become familiar in a degree with the majestic scope 
of the wht)le, there is something delightfully tran¬ 
quillizing in its individual features. We spent the 
whole day in loitering idly up the stream, stopping 
at every fall, and every wild sweep of the narrow 
passes, and resting by the side of every gentle de¬ 
clivity where the water shot smoothly down with a 
surface as polished as if its arrowy velocity were 
the sleep of a transparent fountain. There is noth¬ 
ing more beautiful than water. Look at it when 
you will—in any of its thousand forms, in motion 
or at rest—dri[)ping frotn the moss of a spring, or 
leaping in the thunder of a cataract—it has always 
the same wonderful, surpassing beauty. Its clear 
transparency, the grace of its every possible motion, 
the brilliant shine of its foam, and its majestic march 
in the flood, are matched unitedly by no other ele¬ 
ment. Who has not ‘blessed it unaware?’ If ob¬ 
jects that meet the eye have any effect upon our 
happiness, water is among the first of human bless¬ 
ings. It is the gladdest thing under heaven. The 






412 


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inspired writers use it constantly as an image for 
gladness, and ‘crystal waters ’ is the beautiful type 
of the Apocalypse for the joy of the New Jerusa¬ 
lem. I bless God, for its daily usefulness; but it is 
because it is an every day blessing, that its splen¬ 
dour is unnoticed. Take a child to it, and he 
claps his little hands with delight; and present it 
to any one in a new form, and his senses are be¬ 
wildered. The man of warm imagination, who 
looks for the first time on Niagara, feels an impulse 
to leap in, which is almost irresistible. What is it 
but a delirious fascination,—the same spell which, 
in the loveliness of a woman, or the glory of a sun¬ 
set cloud, draws you to the one, and makes you long 
for the golden wings of the other? 

I trust I shall be forgiven for this digression. It 
is one of feeling. I have loved the water from my 
childhood. It has cheated me of my sorrow when 
a homesick boy, and I have lain beside it in the 
summer day when an idle student, and deliciously 
forgot my dry philosophy. It has always the same 
pure flow, and the same low music, and is always 
ready to bear away your thoughts upon its bosom, 
like the Hindoo’s barque of flowers, to an im¬ 
aginative heaven. Willis. 


THE PLAGUE. 

[' Three Weeks in Palestine.’] 

The cause of the breaking out of the plague in 
Acre was the opening of a trunk belonging to a 
Fransciscan monk, who had fallen a victim to it four 
or five years since. A new Superiour, who had but 
lately arrived, insisted upon its being opened, that 
he might take possession of the effects of the de¬ 
ceased. Upon the hesitation of the others, he 
laughed at their fears, and proceeded to open the 
box himself; the consequence was that he died in 
the course of twelve hours, and all the brethren in 
the convent were swept off in a very short time. 

When this pestilence reaches a place from the 
northward, it is invariably more virulent, fatal, and 
extensive in its ravages, than when derived from 
the south, and it is then denominated the Black 
Plague. At Constantinople they esteem it of little 
consequence, when it arrives from Smyrna or Egypt; 
but if it comes from Trebizond, and the shores of 
the Black Sea, it fills them with dismay. It is a 
most singular disorder, defying the researches of the 
most eminent physicians when they attempt to inves¬ 
tigate its nature. It is unattended with fever, but 
there is an utter, rapid prostration of strength, ac¬ 
companied with boils in all the glandular parts of 
the body. If the constitution has strength to sup¬ 
port the breaking of these tumours, the patient will 
recover, and is less liable to another attack, though 
not, as the Turks suppose, entirely exempt. Those 
among them who have thus recovered are distin¬ 
guished by a peculiar turban, and are employed in 
attending the sick, and removing the bodies of the 
dead. 

The plague usually ceases suddenly in the height 
of its ravages, and is seldom heard of after June; 
March, April and May, are the months during 
which it is most prevalent. The Levantines abstain 
with superstitious horrour from the mention of it by 
name; they say the disease, or disorder, but never 


the plague. It had broken out at Smyrna just be¬ 
fore our arrival ; of course our first inquiry upon 
landing, was about ‘ la peste.’ Two or three per¬ 
sons whom we addressed turned away without giv¬ 
ing us any answer; at last, one replied, ‘ Sinori, 
siamo sporco.’ ‘ Gentlemen, we are unclean.’ 
The question each morning was, not how many had 
died of the plague during the night, but how many 
‘ accidents’ had occurred. It is altogether conta¬ 
gious ; there is no danger in standing within two 
feet of a plague subject, provided there is no con¬ 
tact. Of one remarkable fact I was assured, that 
the moment the bodies of its victims become cold, 
they no longer communicate contagion, though the 
clothes retain it for years. 

OVENS FOR HATCHING CHICKENS. 

[‘ Three VV’eeks in Palestine.’] 

At Damietta we inspected the ovens for hatching 
chickens, ‘ la manifattura di Gallina,’ as our guide 
called it, but unfortunately arrived too late to see 
the little animals ushered into the w'orld. On each 
side of a low narrow passage, in which we could 
not stand upright, were ranged these ovens, of a 
circular form with arched roofs, constructed of clay, 
in which were placed the eggs wrapped in tow. 
Once a week a hatching takes place; we found 
about two thousand chickens running about, which 
are kept in the ovens for twenty-four hours after 
hatching, and then sold at the rate of forty for a 
piastre, or five pence English. I know not whether 
it be owing to this unnatural mode of incubation, 
but the Egyptian fowls are very diminutive and bad 
flavoured. The Eggs are not larger than a ban¬ 
tam’s ; rank, and reckoned peculiarly unwholesome ; 
w'e, however, experienced no bad effects from them, 
although frequently compelled to use them in con¬ 
siderable quantities, being unable to obtain other 

food. - 

TOMB OF A YOUNG AMERICAN. 

[‘ Three W’eeks in Palestine.’] 

We visited the Christian burying ground (out¬ 
side the walls of Jerusalem) where are seen numer¬ 
ous Greek, Latin and Armenian tombs. Upon 
those of the Greek were rudely carved the tools 
significant of the occupation of the defunct. Among 
those of the Latins was one which afforded a mel¬ 
ancholy interest, covering the remains of a young 
American named Bradford, who had died the pre¬ 
vious year at the Franciscan Convent, and had been 
converted on his death-bed to the Roman Catholic 
faith, or as his epitaph ostentatiously sets forth, 
from the Lutheran heresy to Christianity. 

During our stay at Jerusalem, Signor Darniani 
came from Jaffa to reclaim this youth’s baggage 
from the Superiour of the Convent; and requested 
us to be witnesses to making an inventory of his 
effects; very little was forth coming, and neither 
money nor letter of credit could be found, which 
made us shrewdly suspect that his father confessors 
had thought fit to repay themselves for the trouble 
of his Conversion. 


Man’s like a candle in a candlestick. 

Made up of tallow and a lighted wick. 

John Bunyan 








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414 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


GRACE CHURCH. 

We consider ourself fortunate in obtaining the following inter¬ 
esting particulars respecting this beautiful edifice, and the Society 
which has erected it 

To find the germ of the enterprise which has re¬ 
sulted in the erection of this Church, we must go 
back to the year 1828, at which titne the Rev. 
Alonzo Potter was the Rector of St. Paul’s in this city. 
His ministry was attended with so much success, 
that in three years after his settlement, his church 
became full, and the idea was then first conceived 
by some members of his parish, of attempting the 
erection of a new Church in the westerly part of 
the city, and considerable attention was paid to a lot 
in Bowdoin Street (near the Congregational Church 
afterward erected there) as a suitable location. 

Before any decided measHies had been taken to 
carry this plan into efiect, two circumstances occur¬ 
red which led the individuals, who had been most 
active in the contemplated undertaking, to cease 
for a while their efforts. One was, the movement 
of the proprietors of Trinity Church to rebuild, and 
the other was the determination of the minister and 
a majority of the members of the Presbyterian 
church in Piedmont Square, in the South part of 
the city, to apply to the State Convention of June, 
1829, for admission into connexion with the Epis¬ 
copal Church, and they were organized and receiv¬ 
ed under the name of Grace Church. 

The unfavourable location and situation of the 
building occupied by this new parish, stood much 
in the way of ultimate success, and although a few 
zealous and devoted members of the other Episco¬ 
pal Churches in the city, endeavoured by personal 
effort and pecuniary contributions to aid in sustaining 
the undertaking, still others,who were equally desirous 
of establishing another Episcopal place of worship, 
were satisfied that it was best to wait for a more aus¬ 
picious beginning, particularly as it regarded location. 

Early in 1832, the building in Piedmont Square, 
was given up, and a part of the parish with its offi¬ 
cers, together with some members from St. Paul’s 
and the other Churches, commenced anew in a 
small wooden building in Bedford Street, which 
they occupied until August, 1833, when they re¬ 
moved for better accommodation to Boylston Hall. 

In October, 1834, they determined to make an 
effort to build a Church, and considering it very 
important that it should be located in a situation 
where it would best accommodate a large surround¬ 
ing population, the Westerly part of the city was 
again fixed upon as best suited to the purpose. 

A subscription for shares was soon opened, and in 
the course of about two months, a Building Fund was 
obtained sufficient to secure the accomplishment of 
the contemplated object. 

The Subscribers met for organization on the 
evening of 31st December, 1834, when a Build¬ 
ing Committee was chosen and authorized to pro¬ 
ceed in the work with full powers. An Act of In¬ 
corporation was obtained in January, 1835, under 
the title of ‘ Grace Church in the City of Boston.’ 
—The lot on which the Church now stands in Tem¬ 
ple Street comprising about 6500 square feet was 
purchased, and a contract made with Messrs. J. 
^Vashburn and brothers nVilliam Washburn, Ar¬ 


chitect) for the erection of the present edifice. 
The parish removed from Boylston Ha.i to the New 
(Amory) Hall, corner of Washington and West 
Streets in February, same year, which they will 
continue to occupy as their place of worship, until 
the new Church is completed. 

The contractors commenced operations in March 
following, and reached the main floor in June, on the 
30th day of which month at six o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing, the Corner Stone was laid by Rt. Rev. Bishop 
Griswold with suitable and impressive services, and 
in the presence of a large and attentive audience. 

The exterior length of the building, including the 
towers, (which are of the Octagonal form) is eighty- 
seven feet, breadth sixty-eight feet, the height of the 
basement story, divided into two large rooms for Lec¬ 
tures, Sunday-School, <tc. is nine and a half feet in 
the clear; the height from the main floor above the 
basement to the centre of the main arch, is forty- 
five feet;—an arch is thrown over each of the 
side galleries which is intersected by arches op¬ 
posite the three windows on each side, and rest¬ 
ing on each side upon four cluster columns of 
twenty-four inches diameter. At each end of the 
Church, sunken arches rest upon four parts of 
columns of the same size, making at the sides 
and ends, sixteen in all. The main central arch is 
seventy-eight feet in length and of the depressed 
Gothic style, and is ornamented with bold rib work, 
with plaster rosettes, &-c. at the intersections. The 
base on each side rests upon an ornamented cor¬ 
nice which is supported by one section of the cluster 
columns, which is continued up for that purpose. 
The centre window in front is 36 feet in height, and 
the two side front windows 22 feet. The side win¬ 
dows of the Church are 25 feet. The front of the 
Church, except the pinnacles and battlements is con¬ 
structed of Quincy Granite,—the towers and buttres¬ 
ses being laid in regular courses, and the remainder 
of rubble-work. The stone work of the Towers is 
67 feet in height and the Pinnacles twenty-eight and 
a half feet, making the entire elevation ninety-five 
and a half feet. Tl.e stone-work is carried 18 feet 
around each corner, and the remainder of the sides 
and the rear, are of brick. The Pulpit is placed in 
the centre of the Chancel with the Reading desk, and 
Communion table in front, and these, together with 
the railing around the Chancel, (which is constructed 
of Gothic panel work,) and the capping of the pews 
are made of black walnut. The number of pews on 
the floor is 106, and 18 in each side gallery, total 142. 
The organ, building by Mr. Thomas Appleton, is a 
model of the front of the Church, and the spaces oc¬ 
cupied by the windows give suitable openings for the 
reception of the front pipes, besides which, there are 
to be three ornamental pipes between each of the four 
belts on the towers, making nine on each tower. 

Permanent arrangements are made for lighting the 
Church with gas by substantial iron tubes, which are 
laid throughout the building, and concealed within 
the floor, pillars, &,c. The young architect, before 
named, formed the design and has superintended its 
execution in all its departments, and with what suc¬ 
cess, the readers of this will be best able to judge, 
when the building is ready to be placed among the 
consecrated sanctuaries of Almighty God. W. S. 











OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


415 


HAIR. 

[Encjclopsdia .Vmericana.] 

Hair, is of a vegetative nature, and appears in 
animals of the lower orders, and, indeed, in all ani¬ 
mals which have a distinct epidermis; therefore in in¬ 
sects. In the crusiaceous animals, it sometimes ap¬ 
pears in particular places, as the feet, on the mar¬ 
gins of the shell, on the outside of the jaws, and 
grows in tufts. Hair is most distinctly developed 
in those insects—as caterpillars, spiders, bees, A:c.— 
which have a soft skin ; in this case, it even appears 
of a feathery form; and butterflies are covered all 
over with a coat of woolly hair, of the most varie- 
gated and beautiful colours. The same variety and 
brilliancy are displayed in the feathers of birds, 
which may be considered as analogous to hair; 
whilst the two other classes of animals—fishes and 
reptiles—have no hair whatever. In quadrupeds, 
hair is of the most various conformation, from the 
finest wool to the quills of a porcupine or the bris¬ 
tles of the hog. The colour of the hair generally 
aflfords an external characteristic of the species or 
variety; but climate, food, and age, produces great 
changes in it. The human body is naturally cov¬ 
ered with long hair only on a few parts; yet the 
parts which we should generally describe as desti¬ 
tute of it, produce a fine, short, colourless, some¬ 
times hardly perceptible hair. The only places en¬ 
tirely free from it are the palms of the hands and 
the soles of the feet. Each hair originates in the 
cellular membrane of the skin, from a small cvlin- 
drical root, which is surrounded by a covering, or 
capsule, furnished with vessels and nerves, called 
the hulh. The root is tubular, and contains a clear, 
gelatinous fluid. The pulp on which the hair is 
formed, passes through the bottom of the bulb, in 
order to enter the tube of the hair, into which it 
penetrates for a short distance, never in common 
hairs, reaching as far as the external surface of the 
skin. According to Vanquelin, black hair consists 
of, 1. an animal matter, which constitutes the 
greater part; 2. a white concrete oil, in small quan¬ 
tity ; 3. another oil, of a grayish-green colour, more 
abundant than the former; 4. iron, the state of 
which in the hair is uncertain ; 5. a few particles of 
oxide of manganese ; 6. phosphate of lime ; 7. car¬ 
bonate of lime, in very small qantity; 6. silex, in a 
conspicuous quantity; 9. lastly, a considerable 
quantity of sulphur. The same experiments show 
that red hair differs from black only in containing a 
red oil instead of a blackish green oil; and that 
white hair diflfers from both these only in the oil be¬ 
ing nearly colourless, and in containing phosphate 
of magnesia, which is not found in them. The hu¬ 
man hair varies according to age, sex, country, and 
other circumstances. At birth, an infant generally 
has light hair. It always grows darker and stifier 
with age. The same is the case with the eye-brows 
and eye-lashes. Late in life, it begins gradually to 
lose its moisture and pliability, and finally turns 
gray, or falls out. These effects are produced by a 
scanty supply of the moisture above mentioned, and 
a mortification of the root. But age is not the only 
cause of this change ; dissipation, grief, anxiety, 
sometimes turn the hair gray in a very short time. 
It begins to fall out on the top of the head. The 


hair of men is stronger and stifFer; that of females 
longer (even in a state of nature,) thicker, and not 
so liable to be shed. Blumenbach adopts the fol¬ 
lowing national differences of hair: 1. brown or 
chestnut, sometimes approaching jellow, sometimes 
black, soft, full, waving; this is the hair of most 
nations of central Europe; 2. black, stiff', straight, 
and thin, the hair of the Mongolian and native 
American races; 3. black,soft, curly,thick, and full 
hair ; most of the South Sea Islanders have it; 4. 
black, curly wool, belonging to the negro race. 
The hair, with the nails, hoofs, horns, die. is one of 
the lower productions of animal life. Hence, in a 
healthy state, it is insensible, and the pain which we 
feel when hairs are pulled out arises from the nerves 
which surround the root. It grows again after be¬ 
ing cut, and, like plants, grows the more rapidly if 
the nutritive matter is drawn to the skin by cutting; 
yet, in a diseased state,and particularly in the disease 
called the plica polonica, it becomes sensitive and 
inflamed to a certain degree, bleeds, and is clotted 
by a secretion of lymph, which coagulates into large 
lumps. Hair not only serves as a cover or orna¬ 
ment to the body, but exercises an important influ¬ 
ence on absorption and perspiration ; when the hair 
is thick, the perspiration is freer. If the root is de¬ 
stroyed, there is no means of reproducing the hair ; 
but if it falls out, without the root being destroyed, 
as is often the case after nervous fevers, the hair 
grows out again of itself. If the skin of the head 
is very dry and scurvy, mollifying means will be of 
service; if the skin is weak, strengthening oint¬ 
ments should be applied. This shows how little 
reason there is in recommending oils in all cases, 
while the falling out of the hair mav be owino to 
verv diflTerent causes. Though hair, in a healthv 
State, grows only on the external parts of the body, 
cases are not unfrequent in which it is formed in¬ 
side of the body in diseased parts. How much the 
hair dilTers in its character from the other parts of 
the body, (being, as we have said, of a vegetable 
nature,) is strikingly shown from the circumstance 
that it continues to grow after death. 

DOMESTIC HAPPINESS OF THE AMERICANS 

[Abdy's United Slates.] 

Two features struck me forcibly in the domestic 
character: (of the people of New York)—and, I 
presume, the remark has a wider application. The 
one is, that the diffTerent members of the family are 
firmly united together; the other, that they are at 
peace with the rest of society—I mean, that there 
is much attachment at home, and very little scan¬ 
dal abroad. Unlike the feudal system, which 
teaches us to rally round our chief, and attack our 
neighbours, private life resembles state government; 
—compact in itself, inofTensive to others, and tribu¬ 
tary to the general union. Its members ‘ stick to¬ 
gether’ without ‘ pulling other people to pieces,’ 
That respect for the feelings of others, which, in 
mixed society, induces mutual forbearance and for¬ 
bids familiarity, is not, as in too many places, laid 
aside where it is most wanted. It is not a currency 
which falls in the house as it rises without. There 
seems to be a sort of correspondence between the 
political institutions of the country and its family 




416 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


arrangements. No privilege is annexed to birth, 
and no inequalities exist, but what may be traced 
to causes which must be admitted to be just and 

natural. - 

THE VEGETATING WASP. 

[‘ Natural History of Insects’—Second Series.] 

A species of hynienapterous insect was first made 
known under the name of V^egetating Wasp, by a 
Spaniard, named Father I'oriubia, at Madrid, in 
the year 1754. The following curious account was 
given by him. He found, two leagues from the 
city of Havana, in New Spain, in 1749, some dead 
wasps in a field ; from the belly of each wasp a 
plant germinated, which grow’s about five spans 
high. The natives call this plant Gia, and it is 
full of sharp prickles, which are supposed by them 
to proceed from the belly of the wasp. Edwards, 
in his work on birds, has copied the figures. They 
are represented as having taken possession of the 
plant, and are flying away with their booty attached 
to their bodies, though the original observer stated 
that he found them dead in the fiekl. Some others 
were found in the Island of Dominica. They had 
very much the appearance of the drone after they 
buried themselves in May; they began to vegetate 
towards the end of July, or rather they are found so 
about that time. When the tree has arrived at its 
full growth, it resembles a coral branch about three 
inches high, bearing several little pods, which are 
supposed by the inhabitants to ‘ drop otf and be¬ 
come worms, and from thence flies.’ This plant is 
considered to be a species of clavaria similar to the 
one which is sometimes found on dead horses’ hoofs. 
An interesting account has been given by a gentle¬ 
man who, while botanizing in America, found lying 
on the ground a wasp’s nest, which had, by some 
means unknown to him, been separated from a 
branch of a laurel, near which it had fallen. The 
creatures were in a strange condition after this ac¬ 
cident to their dwelling; some were flitting about 
over their cells, and from the softness of their wings, 
and the faintness of their colours, were easily known 
to have been hatched but a short time. Many of 
them were lying dead on the ground ; and on ex¬ 
amining these he instantly perceived vegetables pro¬ 
ceeding from their bodies, which were uniformly at¬ 
tached to the thorax. He collected about fifty of 
the vegetating wasps. On inspecting the nest, he 
found a considerable proportion of the cells empty ; 
this, however, was not the case w'ith all, for there 
were still some that contained young wasps in the 
state of larvae. He drew them from their cells, and 
satisfied himself that there was an incipient vegeta¬ 
tion, and moreover that its progress had kept pace 
with the growth of the insect. Yet, in some in¬ 
stances, the vegetation is considered to commence 
only when life has ceased. In confirmation of this 
opinion, it is related that in Trinidad a wasp was 
found apparently in a perfect state, glued somehow 
by one of its wings to a leaf of a tree. From all 
parts of its body issued filaments from one to three 
inches long: they were shining black, and resem¬ 
bled the plant called Spanish beard. 

The pupre of a species of cicada common in 
Martinique and Dominica, have been found with a 
plant attached to them. As they bury themselves 


under the dead leaves to wait their change, it is 
supposed that, when the season is unfavourable 
many perish. The seed of the fungus finds a pro¬ 
per bed on this dead insect, and grows. Mr. Ed¬ 
wards thinks that they are not dead pupae, but that 
before the insect is about to change, the fungus 
dries and falls ofl*. Messrs. Kirby and Spence men¬ 
tion one of this genus in their cabinet ‘ with a kind 
of Sphoeria with a twisted thickish stripes and ob¬ 
long head, springing up in the space between the 
eyes.’ Dr. Hill says, in speaking of the cicada, 
‘ Tliis you may be assured is the fact, and all the 
fact, though the untaught inhabitants supj)ose a fly 
to vegetate: and though there exists a Spanish 
drawing of the plant growing into a perfoliate tree, 
and it has been figured with the creature flying 
with this tree upon its back.’ 

‘ So wild are the imaginations of man, 

So chaste and uniform is nature.’ 

Most authors have supposed that the seeds are 
swallowed by the larva} of these insects and cause 
their death, and that they then become the soil or 
base upon which tlie vegetables fasten lhctnsclves,and 
thus germinate in the decaying rtiiiains. On the 
other hand, if it be supposed that they are propa¬ 
gated by seeds in the ordinary moilc, it jtlainly ap¬ 
pears that the seeds would, on being wafted through 
the air, alight upon the most exposed part of the 
uidiatched insect that was fitted I'or its reception, 
and this would, of course, be near the head. Be¬ 
ing there fixed, the plant would increase with the 
enlargement of the insect, and, drawing nourish¬ 
ment from its body, would continue to grow-, even 
after it had attained its last and perfect stale, until 
the plant has destroyed the life of the insect. 4'his 
opinion is more likely to be the accurate one. As 
insects often pass no small portion of their life in a 
slate of torpidity, in which they remain chiefly 
without motion, it will not seem wonderful, should 
any partial moisture accidentally accumulate upon 
them, that it aflbrds a seed-plot for certain minute 
fungi to come up and grow in. 

BACON. 

[Gobbet’s Cottage Economy.] 

About Christmas, if the weather be coldish, is 
good time to kill. If the weather be very mild, 
you may wait a little longer; for the hog cannot be 
too fat. The day before killing, he should have no 
food. To kill a hog nicely is so much of a busi 
ness, that it is better to pay a shilling for having it 
done, than to stab and hack and tear the carcass 
about. There are tw'o ways of going to work to 
make bacon ; in the one you take oft' the hair by 
scalding. This is the practice in most parts of 
England and all over America. But the Hamp¬ 
shire way, and best way, is to burn the hair off. 
There is a great deal of dift'erence in the conse¬ 
quences. The first method slackens the skin, 
opens all the pores of it, makes it loose and flabby 
by draw'ing out the roots of the hair. The second 
tightens the skin in every part, contracts all the 
sinews and the veins in the skin, makes the flitch a 
solider thing, and the skin a belter protection to the 
meat. The taste of the meal is very diflerent from 
that of a scalded hog; and to this chiefly it was 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


417 


that the Hampshire bacon owed its reputation for 
excellence. As the hair is to be burnt off, it must 
be dry, and care must be taken, that the hog be 
kept on dry litter of some sort the day previous to 
killing. When killed he is laid upon a narrow bed 
of straw, not wider than his carcass, and only two 
or three inches thick. He is then covered all over 
thinly with straw, to which, according as the wind 
may be, the fire is put at one end. As the straw 
burns, it burns the hair. It requires two or three 
coverings and burnings, and care is taken, that the 
skin be not, in any part burnt, or parched. When 
the hair is all burnt off close, the hog is scraped 
clean, but never touched with water. The upper 
side being finished, the hog is turned over, and the 
other side is treated in like manner. This work 
should always be done before day-light; for, in the 
day-light, you cannot so nicely discover whether 
the hair be sufficiently burnt off. The light of the 
fire is weakened by that of the day. Besides, it 
makes the boys get up very early for once at any 
rate, and that is something; for boys always like a 

bonfire. - 

ICE HOUSES. 

[Gobbet’s Cottage Economy.] 

The places for salting and keeping meat should, 
like a dairy, always be cool, but always admit a 
free circulation of air: confined air, though coo/, will 
taint meat sooner than the mid-day sun accompanied 
with a breeze. Ice will not melt in the hottest sun 
so soon as in a close and damp cellar. Put a lump 
of ice in cold water, and one of the same size be¬ 
fore a hot fire, and the former will dissolve in half 
the time that the latter will. Let me take this oc¬ 
casion of observing, that an ice-house should never 
be under ground, nor under the shade of trees. 
That the bed of it ought to be three feet above the 
level of the ground ; that this bed ought to consist 
of something that will admit the drippings to go in¬ 
stantly off; and that the house should stand in a 
place open to the sun and air. This is the way 
that they have ice-houses under the burning sun of 
Virginia ; and here they keep their fish and meat as 
fresh and sweet as in Winter, when, at the same 
time, neither will keep for twelve hours, though let 
down to the depth of a hundred feet in a well. A 
Virginian, with some poles, and straw, will stick up 
an ice-house for ten dollars, w’orth a dozen of those 
ice-houses, each of which costs our men of taste as 
many scores of pounds. 

THE SEA UNICORN. 

We wound our way along the precipitous sides 
of the rude barrier, which encompassed us, towards 
the bite, or bottom of the bay ; and, rather wearied, 
gained a rude and jutting ledge of rocks, forming a 
small platform, nearly half-way to the summit. 
There I seated myself, lighted my pipe, and looked 
down on the entire bay, which lay under my feet; 
and, further onw’ards, the bay of Bonny, which, 
banked in by islands on the sea-side, appeared an 
extensive lake. Looking down on the water, its. 
aspect was flat and unruffled ; many of the pictur¬ 
esque proas of the natives were scudding in with 
the last of the sea-breeze. On the narrow strip of 
bright sand, which lay round the water like a gol¬ 


den frame to a darK, oval Venetian picture, lay our 
little boat, the fishing-net drawn over, and its end" 
sp’eading along the beach, like a black spider 
ed in its gray web. 

My hawk-eyed Arab now’ pointed out to me a 
line of dark spots, moving rapidly in the w’ater, 
rounding the arm of the sea, and entering the great 
bay. At first I thought they were canoes capsized, 
coming in keel uppermost; but the Arab declared 
they were sharks, and said, ‘ The bay is called 
Shark’s Bay ; and their coming in from the sea is 
an infallible sign of bad weather.’ A small pocket 
telescope convinced me they were large blue sharks. 
I counted eight; their fins and sharp backs were 
out of the water. After sailing majestically up the 
great bay, till they came opposite the mouth of a 
smaller one, they turned towards it in a regular 
line; one, the largest I had seen any where, taking 
the lead, like an admiral. He had attained the en¬ 
trance, with the other seven following, when some 
monster arose from the bottom, near the shore, 
where he had been lurking, opposed his further pro¬ 
gress, and a conflict instantly ensued. The daring 
assailant I distinguished to be a sword-fish, or sea- 
unicorn, the knight-errant of the sea, attacking 
every thing in its domain ; his head is as hard, and 
as rough as a rock, out of the centre of which grows 
horizontally an ivory sp>ear, longer and far tougher 
than any warriour’s lance; w ith this weapon he 
fights. The shark, with a jaw’ larger and stronger 
than a crocodile’s, with a mouth deeper and more 
capacious, strikes also with his tail, in tremendous 
force and rapidity, enabling him to repel any sud¬ 
den attack by confusing or stunning his foe, till he 
can turn on his back, which he is obliged to do ere 
he can use his mouth. This wily and experienced 
shark, not daring to turn and expose his more vul¬ 
nerable parts to the formidable sword of his enemy, 
lashed at him with his heavy tail, as a man uses a 
flail, working the water into a syllabub. Mean¬ 
while, in honour, I suppose, or in the love of fair- 
play, his seven compatriot sharks stood aloof, lying 
to with their fins, in no degree interfering in the 
fray. Frequently I could observe, by the water's 
eddying in concentric ripples, that the great shark 
had sunk to the bottom, to seek refuge there, or 
elude his enemy by beating up the sand; or, w hat 
is more probable, by this manoeuvre to lure the 
sw'ord-fish downw’ards, which, when enraged, will 
blindly plunge its armed head against a rock, in 
which case its horn is broken ; or, if the bottom is 
soft, it becomes transfixed, and then would fall an 
easy prey. I knew’ a country vessel to be struck 
by one of these fish, (perhaps the fish mistook her 
for a whale, which, though of the same species, it 
often attacks,) with such velocity and force, that 
its sword passed completely through the bow of the 
vessel; and having been broken by the shock, it 
was with great difficulty extracted. It measured 
seven feet; about one foot of it, the part attached 
to the head, was hollow, and of the size of my wrist; 
the remainder was solid, and very heavy, being in¬ 
deed the exquisite ivory of which the eastern peo¬ 
ple manufacture their beautiful chess-men. But to 
return to our sea-combat, which continued a long 
time, the shark evidently getting worsted. Possibly, 





418 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


the bottom, which was clear, was favourable for his 
enemy; whose blow, il’ he succeeds in striking 
while the shark is descending, is fatal. I think he 
had struck him, for tlie blue shark is seldom seen 
in shoal or discoloured water; yet now he flounder¬ 
ed on towards the bottom of the bay, madly lashing 
the water into foam, and rolling and pitching like a 
vessel dismasted. For a few minutes his conquer- 
our pursued him, then wheeled round and disap¬ 
peared ; while the shark grounded himself on the 
sand, where he lay writhing and lashing the shore 
feebly with his tail. His six companions, with 
seeming unconcern, wore round, and, slowly mov¬ 
ing down the bay, returned by the outlet at which 
they had entered. Hastening down to the scene 
of action, I saw no more of them. My boat’s crew 
were assemblerl at the bottom of the bay, firing 
muskets at the huge monster as he lay aground ; 
before 1 could join them, he was despatched, and 
his dead carcass laid on the beach like a stranded 
vessel. Trelawney. 


THE TRUMPET FISH. 

A voyager in the West Indies gives the following 
description of a concert, performed by a party of 
these singular fish:— 

‘ We were scarcely seated at dinner, when our 
attention was riveted by a new and most extraordi¬ 
nary phenomenon—it was no other than a concert; 
but the most original and singular that I had ever 
heard. I should scarcely have ventured to describe 
it, but that there is an account of similar music in 
White’s Voyage to Cochin China. Immediately un¬ 
der our vessel we heard a commencement of wild and 
pleasing sounds, such as might have proceeded from a 
thousand iEolian harps, beginning in slow tones, 
but gradually swelling into an uninterrupted stream 
of harmony ; to this n)ight be added the booming of 
Chinese gongs, mellowed by distance ; then again 
were heard sounds like the chorus of many human 
voices, chanting from the height of a treble to a 
deep bass. Indeed, it is useless to attempt a de¬ 
scription ; for I am not able to find any satisfactory 
similitude to it, either in nature or art. During the 
time of this submarine concert, we felt, or thought 
we felt, a slight vibration of the vessel. 

‘We paused at first from our meal, and each 
looked in the other’s face with a vague inquiry. 
No one could afford information, until a sailor, vvho 
had formerly been a fisherman, explained that the 
music proceeded from a shoal of trumpet-fish. This 
fish is about thrice the thickness of a man’s thumb, 
twenty-two inches long, including a singular kind 
of supplementary tail, or membrane growing out of its 
tail about the thickness of strong twine, but tapering 
to a fine thread. The most remarkable peculiarity of 
the trumpet-fish is its bill, about four inches long; 
but whether the sounds were caused by the fish’s 
fastening to the vessel, or, as some say, they pro¬ 
duce the music by elevating their trumpets, or bills, 
above the surface of the water, I will leave natural¬ 
ists to decide. In about fifteen minutes, this singu¬ 
lar ‘sea-song’ died away.’ 

The following is the account given of this phe¬ 
nomenon by Lieutenant White, an ofijcer of the 


American navy. He was at that time ascending 
the river of Don-nai, in Cochin-China :— 

‘ Our ears were saluted by a variety of sounds, 
resembling the deep bass of an organ, accompanied 
by the hollow guttural chant of the bull-frog, the 
heavy chime ot a bell, and the tones which imag¬ 
ination would give to an enormous Jew’s-Harp. 
This combination produced a thrilling sensation on 
the nerves, and, as we fancied a tremulous motion 
in the vessel. The excitement of great curiosity 
was visible on every white face on board, and many 
were the sage speculations of the sailors on the oc¬ 
casion. Anxious to discover the cause of this gra¬ 
tuitous conceit, I went into the cabin, where I 
found the noise (which I soon ascertained to pro¬ 
ceed from the bottom of the vessel) increased to a 
full and uninterrupted chorus. The perceptions 
which occurred to me, on this occasion, were simi¬ 
lar to those produced l)y the torpedo, or electric 
eel, which I had before felt. But v\hether these 
feelings w^ere caused by the concussion of sounds, 
or by actual vibration in the body of the vessel, I 
could neither then, nor since, determine. In a few 
moments, the sounds, which had commenced near 
the stern of the vessel, became general throughout 
the whole length of the bottom.’ 


INSECTS IN CORFU. 

[Sketches of Corfu.] , 

‘ We have here insect-flowers. I first saw one 
on my dress, and took it for a head of grass; but it 
moved, walked, and at last I found out it was an in¬ 
sect—a mantis. W'e have the brow n and the jireen 
mantis, which last is also called the ‘walking leaf,’ 
and in very deed, its wings are exactly like long, 
slender, delicate green leaves. I kept one of them 
many w'eeks, and it used to sit for hours on my 
work-table. The mantis has an odd w’ay of waving 
about two long feelers; so that they call it the ‘ praying 
mantis;’ and the country people say, if a child loses 
its way, and has the luck to find one of these in¬ 
sects, it show’s him the road with its feelers. We 
find also the nest of the mason-bee, a long purse 
buried in the earth, and neatly lined wdth a soft 
hairy substance, with a lid at top, which shuts 
dow'n exactly, and is fastened with a hinge. Some¬ 
times we amuse ourselves with w'atching the ant- 
lion, who burrows a deep hole in the sand, and lies 
snugly down at the bottom of it, covering himself 
slightly over; presently an unwary ant, trotting 
along with her burden, tumbles down the pit, and 
is devoured by the treacherous monster. But the 
most beautiful of all insects, after the mantis, is the 
green beetle that lives in the cistus—a gem bedrop- 
ped with gold, in a palace of ivory. 


Mummies. —‘ It is a curious fact,’ remarks an 
eminent surgeon of our own country, ‘ that the 
niost perishable of substances, the flesh of man, 
should present itself to us as one of the most an¬ 
cient remains of human art. There is nothing 
which claims a higher antiquity than the mummies, 
not even the catacombs that enclose them, nor the 
pyramids in their neighbourhood.’ 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


419 



CINCINNATI WATER WORKS. 

Contrivances for raising Water are so numerous, 
that in 17:25, a work descriptive of them was pub¬ 
lished in two large folio volumes. In the interval 
that has since elapsed, there have probably been 
new inventions sufficient to fill a third. All ma¬ 
chines for raising water may be divided into two 
classes;—first, those which put in motion a bucket 
or other vessel, and convey the fluid to the destined 
height, by successive fillings and emptyings ;—and 
secondly, those which force the water through pipes 
and tubes. The latter kind have a vast advan¬ 
tage over the former, because, by means of them, 
the water may be raised to a great height, and in 
steady and continual streams; while those, which 
act by the filling and emptying of a bucket, can ele¬ 
vate it but little higher than the position of the 
machine, and must perform their work by a series 
of successive operations. Steam-engines belong to 
the former class. They may, of course, be made to 
excel all other hydraulic machines in power, and 
are consequently used in draining mines, where wa¬ 
ter is to be elevated from great depths below the 
earth. 

The Cincinnati Water Works act by steam. The 
city stands on two parallel plains, one of which is 
elevated fifty or sixty feet above the other. The 
water is first raised one hundred and sixty feet 
above low-water mark, to the reservoirs, which are 
two in number, and capable of containing sixteen 
hundred thousand gallons. It is thence propelled 
through iron pipes to the upper plain, and distribut¬ 
ed through all the principal streets by means of 
wooden pipes, which have an aggregate length of 


twenty-five miles. Families are thus supplied with 
water at a stipulated price. These Water Works 
were commenced in 1820, and are the property of 
a Joint Slock Company, which received its charter 
about ten years since. 

JOHN RUNYAN’S WORKS. 

John Runyan’s works, in the collected edition fill 
three large octavo volumes, every page of which is 
stamped with the peculiar impress of his mind. 
But the Pilgrim’s Progress alone retains its popu¬ 
larity ; which is secured to it, so long as the world 
shall endure, by the human interest with which the 
author has so strongly imbued the shadowy beings 
of his allegory. His other productions will always 
attract the attention of the curious reader, but have 
passed forever from the list of what may be called 
the People’s Literature. In turning over one of 
them— The Life ano Death of Mr. Badman,— 
we find a record of several wonderful incidents, 
which are narrated as facts, and which John Run¬ 
yan undoubtedly supposed to be such. For in¬ 
stance, the following:— 

‘ But above all, take that dreadful story of Doro¬ 
thy Mately, an inhabitant of Ashover,in the county 
of Derby. This Dorothy Mately, saith the relater, 
was noted by the people of the town to be a great 
; swearer, and curser, and liar, and thief, (just like 
' Mr. Badman:) and the labour that she usually did 
^ follow, was to wash the rubbish that came forth of 
the lead mines, and there to get sparks of lead ore ; 
and her usual way of asserting of things was with 
I these kinds of imprecations : ‘ I would I might sink 
into the earth if it be not so!’—or, ‘I would God 








































































420 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


would make the earth open and swallow me up!’ 
Now, upon the 23d of March, 1660, this Dorothy 
was washing of ore upon tlie top of a steep hill, and 
was there taxed by a lad for taking two single pence 
out of his pocket; (for he had laid his breeches by, 
and was at work in his drawers;) but she violently 
denied it, wishing that the ground might swallow 
her up if she had them. She also used the same 
wicked words on several other occasions that day. 

‘ Now, one George Hodgkinson, of Ashover, a 
man of good report there, came accidentally by 
where this Dorothy was, and stood awhile to talk 
with her, as she was washing her ore. There stood 
also a little child by her tub-side, and another a dis¬ 
tance from her, calling aloud to her to come away ; 
wherefore the said George took the girl by the 
hand, to lead her away to her that called her; but 
behold, they had not gone above ten yards from 
Dorothy, when they heard her crying out for help; 
so looking back, he saw the woman and her tub and 
sieve twirling round, and sinking into the ground. 
Then said the man, ‘ Pray to God to pardon thy 
sin, for thou art never like to be seen alive any 
lonarerl’ So she and her tub twirled round and 

O 

round, till they sunk about three yards into the 
earth, and then for awhile staid. Then she called 
for help again, thinking, as she said, that she should 
stay there. Now tlie man, though greatly amazed, 
did begin to think which way to help her; but im¬ 
mediately a great stone, which appeared in the 
earth, fell upon her head and broke her skull; and 
then the earth fell in upon her and covered her. 
She was afterwards digged up, and found about 
four yards within ground, with the boy’s two single 
pence in her pocket; but her tub and sieve could 
not be found.’ 

Here are two more judgments, equally terrible;— 

‘ I have read in Mr. Clark’s Looking Glass for 
Sinners, that upon a time, a certain drunken fellow 
boasted in his cups, that there was neither heaven 
nor hell; also he believed that nmn had no soul; 
and that, for his own part, he would sell his soul 
to any that would buy it. Then did one of his 
companions buy it of him for a cup of wine, and 
presently the Devil, in man’s shape, bought it of 
that man again, at the same price; and so, in the 
presence of them all, laid hold on the soul-seller, 
and carried him away through the air, so that he 
was never heard of. 

‘ He tells us also, that there was one at Salisbury, 
in the midst of his health, drinking and carousing 
at a tavern ; and he drank a health to the Devil, 
saying, that if the Devil would not come and pledge 
him, he would not believe that there was either 
God or Devil. Whereupon, his companions, stricken 
with fear, hastened out of the room; and presently 
after, hearing a hideous noise and smelling a stink¬ 
ing savour, the tavern-keeper ran up into his cham¬ 
ber; and coming in, he missed his guest, and found 
the window broken, the iron bar in it bowed, and all 
bloody. But the man was never heard of afterwards.’ 

We doubt whether the present generation has 
not lost more than it has gained, by the philosophy 
which teaches it to laugh, rather than tremble, at 
such tales as these. Here is a beautiful story of 
sweet music round a death-bed. 


‘ Now we are talking of the dying of Christians, 
I will tell you a story of one that died some time 
since, in our town. The man was a godly old Pu¬ 
ritan; for so the godly were called, in times past. 
This man, after a long and godly life, lell sick of 
the sickness whereof he died. And as he lay draw¬ 
ing on, the woman, that looked to him, thought 
she heard music, and that the sweetest that she 
heard in her life, which continued until he gave up 
the ghost. Now when his soul departed from him, 
the music seemed to withdraw, and go further and 
further off from the house; and so it went until the 
sound was quite gone out of hearing. What do 
you think that might be? For aught 1 know, the 
melodious notes of angels, that were sent of God to 
fetch him to Heaven.’ 

The pen of John Bunyan, nor any other pen of 
uninspired mortal, never wrote a passage of more 
powerful simplicity and pathos, than the next which 
we shall select. The godly wife of Mr. Badman 
has been brought to her death-bed by her sense of 
her husband’s iniquity, and by his unkindness to 
herself. She had seven children, six of w hom fol¬ 
lowed their father’s ways, but the seventh was a 
gentle and heavenly little creature, a girl, with the 
very nature of her mother. The wile first tries the 
effect of a dying exhortation on her husband. But 
what said Mr. Badman to her?’ 

‘ He did what he could to divert her talk, by 
throwing in other things; he also showed some kind 
of j/ity to her now', and would ask her what she 
would have; and with various kinds of w'ords, put 
her out of her talk ; for when she saw that she was 
not regarded, she fetched a deep sigh, and lay still. 
So he went down ; and then she called for her chil¬ 
dren, and began to talk to them. And first she 
spake to those that were rude, and told them the 
danger of dying before they had grace in their 
hearts. She told them also that death might be 
nearer than they were aware of; and bid them look 
when they went through the church-yard again, if 
there were not little graves there. And, ah ! chil¬ 
dren, said she, will it not be dreadful to you if we 
only shall meet at the day of judgment, and then 
part again, and never see each other more? And 
with that she wept; the children also wept. So 
she held on her discourse: Children, said she, I am 
going from you; I am going to Jesus Christ ; and 
with him there is neither sorrow, nor sighing, nor 
pain, nor tears, nor death. Thither w'ould I have 
you go also, but I can neither carry you, nor fetch 
you thither: but if you shall turn from your sins to 
God, and shall beg mercy at his hands by Jesus 
Christ, you shall follow me, and shall, when you 
die, come to the place where I am going, that bles¬ 
sed place of rest; and then we shall be forever to¬ 
gether, beholding the face of our Redeemer, to our 
mutual and eternal joy. So she bid them remember 
the words of a dying mother, w'hen she was cold in 
the grave, and themselves were hot in their sins, if 
perhaps her words might put a check to their vice, 
and that they might remember and turn to God.’ 

She spends her dying breath upon the child of 
her love ; but in a manner so inferiour to the above, 
that we forbear to make a further extract. 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


421 


PIGEONS. 

[Gobbet’s ‘ Cottage Economy.’] 

A few of these may be kept about any house ; 
they are kept even in towns by labourers and arti¬ 
sans. They cause but little trouble. They take 
care of their own young ones ; and they do not 
scratch, or do any other mischief in gardens. 
They want feeding with tares, peas, or small beans, 
and buck-wheat is very good for them. To begin 
keeping them, they must not have flown at large 
before you get them. You must keep them for 
two or three days, shut into the place which is to 
be their home; and then they may be let out, and 
will never leave you as long as they can get proper 
food, and are undisturbed by vermin, or unannoyed 
exceedingly by lice. 

The common dove-house pigeon is the best to 
keep. They breed oftenest, and feed their young 
ones best. They begin to breed at about nine 
months old, and if well kept, they will give you 
eight or nine pair in the year. Any little place, a 
shelf in the cowshed; a board or two under the 
eaves of the house ; or, in short, any place under 
cover on the ground floor, they will sit and hatch 
and breed up their young ones in. 

It is not supposed, that there could be much jsro- 
fit attached to them ; but, they are of this use; 
they are very pretty creatures, very interesting in 
their manners ; they are an ol)ject to delight chil¬ 
dren and to give them the early habit of fondness 
for animals and of setting a value on them, whicli, 
as I have often had to observe, is a very great thing. 
A very considerable part of all the property of a 
nation consists of animals. Of course a proportion¬ 
ate part of the cares and labours of a people apper¬ 
tain to the breeding and bringing to perfection 
those animals ; and, if you consult your experience, 
you will find, that a labourer is, generally speaking, 
of value in proportion as he is worthy of being en¬ 
trusted with the care of animals. The most care¬ 
less fellow cannot hurt a hedge or ditch ; but, to 
trust him with the team, or the flock, is another 
matter. And, mind, for the man to be trustworthy 
in this respect, the boy must have been in the habit 
of being kind and considerate towards animals, and 
nothing is so likely to give him that excellent habit 
as his seeing, from his very birth, animals taken 
great care of and treated with great kindness by his 
parents, and now and then having a little thing to 
call his own. It is always of the highest impor¬ 
tance, that children be brought up to set a just value 
upon all useful things, and especially upon all living 
things; to know the utility of them: for, without 
this, they can never, when grown up, safely take 
charge of them. 


PERIODICAL CASTING OF THE SHELL 
OF THE LOBSTER. 

[Roget's ‘ Animal and Vegetable Physiology.’] 

The process by which this periodical casting and 
renewal of the shell are effected, has been very sat¬ 
isfactorily investigated by Reaumur. The tendency 
in the body and in the limbs to expand during 
growth is restrained by the limited dimensions of 
the shell, which resists the eflforts to enlarge its di¬ 


ameter. But this force of expansion goes on in¬ 
creasing, till at length it is productive of much un¬ 
easiness to the animal, which is, in consequence, 
prompted to make a violent effort to relieve itself; 
by this means it generally succeeds in bursting the 
sliell; and then, by dint of repeated struggles, ex¬ 
tricates its body and its limbs. The lobster first 
withdraws its claws, and then its feet, as if it were 
pulling them out of a pair of boots; the head next 
throws off its case, together with its antennae ; and 
the two eyes are disengaged from their horny pedi¬ 
cles. In this operation, not only the complex ap¬ 
paratus of the jaws, but even the horny cuticle and 
teeth of the stomach, are all cast off along with the 
shell; and, last of all, the tail is extricated. But 
the whole process is not accomplished without long 
continued efforts. Sometimes the legs are lacerat¬ 
ed or torn off’, in the attempt to withdraw them 
from the shell; and in the younger Crustacea the 
operation is not unfrequently fatal. Even when 
successfully accomplished it leaves the animal in a 
most languid state: the limbs, being soft and pliant, 
are scarcely able to drag the body along. They 
are not, however, left altogether without defence. 
For sometime before the old shell was cast off, pre¬ 
parations had been making for forming a new one. 
The membrane which lined the shell had been ac¬ 
quiring greater density, and had already collected 
a quantity of liquid materials proper for the con¬ 
solidation of the new shell. These materials are 
mi.ved with a large proportion of colouring matter, 
of a bright scarlet hue, giving it the appearance of 
red blood, though it differs totally from blood in all 
its other properties. As soon as the shell is cast 
off’, this membrane, by the j)ressure from within, is 
suddenly expanded, and by the rapid growth of the 
soft parts, soon acquires a much larger size than the 
former shell. Then the process of hardening the 
calcareous ingredient commences, and is rapidly 
completed ; while an abundant supfily of Iresh mat¬ 
ter is added to increase the strength of the solid 
walls, which are thus constructing for the support 
of the animal. Reaumur estimates that the lobster 
gains, during each change of its covering, an in¬ 
crease of one fifth of its former dimensions. When 
the animal has attained its full size, no operation of 
this kind is required, and the same shell is perma¬ 
nently retained. 

A provision seems to be made, in the interiour of 
the animal, for the supply of the large quantity of 
calcareous matter required for the construction of 
the shell at the proper time. A magazine of carbo¬ 
nate of lime is collected, previous to each change 
of shell, in the form of two rounded masses, one on 
each side of the stomach. In the crab these balls 
have received the absurd name of crab’s eyes, and 
during the formation of the shell they disappear. 

It is well known that when an animal of this 
class has been deprived of one of the claws, that 
part is in a short time replaced by a new claw, 
which grows from the stump of the one which had 
been lost. It appears from the investigations of 
Reaumur, that this new growth takes place more 
readily at particular parts of the limb, and especially 
at the joints ; and the animal seems to be aware of 
the greater facility with which a renewal of the 






422 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


claw can be effected at these parts; for if it chance 
to receive an injury at the extremity of the limb, it 
often, by a spontaneous effort, breaks off the whole 
limb at its junction with the trunk, which is the 
point where the growth iDore speedily commences. 
The wound soon becomes covered with a delicate 
white membrane, which presents at first a convex 
surface; this gradually rises to a point, and is found, 
on examination, to conceal the rudiment of a new 
claw. At first this new claw enlarges but slowly, 
as if collecting strength for the more vigorous 
effort of expansion which afterwards takes place. 
As it grows, the membrane is pushed forwards, 
becoming thinner in proportion as it is stretched; 
till at length it gives way, and the soft claw is ex¬ 
posed to view. The claw now enlarges rapidly, 
and in a few days more, acquires a shell as hard as 
that which had preceded it. Usually, however, it 
does not attain the same size; a circumstance which 
accounts for our frequently meeting with lobsters 
and crabs which have one claw much smaller than 
the other. In the course of the subsequent castings 
this disparity gradually disappears. The same 
power of restoration is found to reside in the legs, 
the antennae, and the jaws. 

LEECHES. 

The best medicinal leeches are found in waters 
much inhabited by frogs, who form the principal 
part of their sustenance. Water alone is not their 
natural element; for, in winter, they penetrate to a 
great depth in the mud at the bottom, leaving a 
small aperture to their den. For medicinal pur- 
j)oses, they should be kept in large, unglazed stone 
jars, filled with pond or river-water half-way to the 
brim, in order that the leeches may have room to 
ascend above the surface. Water, which has stood 
for a fortnight or three weeks, is said to be prefera¬ 
ble ; because this fluid contains the animalcula, re¬ 
quisite for the food of the leeches, and of which 
fresh water is destitute. It need not (unless in 
very hot weather, or when the leeches are dis¬ 
eased,) be changed oftener than twice a month in 
Summer, and once in Winter. 


GROTESQUES. 

[Encyclopaedia Americana.] 

Grotesques,in painting,are often confounded with 
arabesques. All ornaments compounded in a fan¬ 
tastical manner, of men, beasts, flowers, plants, &,c. 
are called sometimes arabesques, and sometimes 
grotesques; but there is a tlisiinction between them. 
Arabesques are flower-pieces, consisting of all kinds 
of leaves and flowers, real or imaginary. They are 
so called from the Arabians, who first u.sed them, 
because they were not permitted to copy beasts and 
men. As they were also used by the Moors, they 
are sometimes called moresques. The Romans or¬ 
namented their saloons with paintings, in which 
flowers, genii, men and beasts, buildings, &,c. are 
mingled together according to the fancy of the ar¬ 
tist. These ornaments are properly called grotes¬ 
ques, because they were found in the ruined build¬ 
ings of the ancient Romans, and in subterranean 
chambers, which the Italians call grottoes. The 
origin of these fantastic compositions is traced, by 


Bottiger, to the carpets of Persia and India, adorned 
with all the wonders of oriental fable. In the baths 
of Titus and Livia, at Rome, in Adrian’s villa at 
Tivoli, in the houses at Herculaneum and Pompeii, 
and many other places, such grotesques have been 
found; sometimes, indeed, showing an excess of 
ornament, but generally valuable for their arrange¬ 
ment and execution. Raphael was well aware of 
their beauty, and caused his pupils, particularly 
Giovanni da Udine, to use them as patterns in 
painting the porticoes of the Vatican. He likewise 
used them, as the ancients did for borders. The 
taste for grotesques, has, in part, degenerated into 
the monstrous and unnatural; grotesque has, there¬ 
fore, become a term of art to express a distorted 
figure, a strange monster, the offspring of an unre¬ 
strained imagination. 


PURCHASE OF AN IDOI.. 

[Oriental Annual.] 

Before we quitted this temple, a circumstance 
occurred which strikingly displayed the selfish and 
equivocal casuistry of the mercenary Hindoo. I 
happened to take a fancy to one of the little brazen 
gods, placed upon a sort of altar in the most sacred 
part of the edifice. It was a very clumsy cast in 
brass; but one which I had never before seen, and 
was therefore anxious to possess. Knowing that 
these deities had been occasionally sold by the 
Brahmins from their very altars, I proposed to pur¬ 
chase this, and made for it what I considered a very 
liberal offer. The obsequious priest, bowing his 
head, placed his hand upon his breast with the most 
ludicrous humility, and said that he could not sell, 
since that would be a desecration of the holy sanc¬ 
tuary of which he was an unworthy minister, and 
that he could not give, because he was too poor to 
replace the treasure of which the temple would be 
thus deprived ; but, he continued, ‘ suppose Sahib 
take, what can a poor Brahmin do?’ Upon this 
hint I acted ; and, without the slightest opposition 
from the good-tempered priest, took possession of 
the image. The holy man did not even offer a re¬ 
buke ; but, on the contrary, extended his open 
palm towards me, into which I dropped a pagoda 
that I had previously held between my finger and 
thumb, and upon which he closed his hand w’ith a 
courteous smile, bowing with the profoundest reve¬ 
rence the moment his flesh felt the delectable pres¬ 
sure of the gold. 


Strengthening Plasters. —We give the fol¬ 
lowing prescription on the authority of Lord Chan¬ 
cellor Bacon, who seems to have had faith in its 
efficacy ;—‘ Whelps, or young healthy boys, to be 
applied to the stomach by wav of strengtheninff- 
plaster. - 

Swiftness of Pigeons.— We have heard it stat¬ 
ed, that pigeons have been shot in New England 
with green rice, undigested, in their stomachs. The 
[ nearest rice-field, probably, is somewhere about a 
thousand miles from New England ; and all this dis¬ 
tance must have been traversed by the pigeon, dur¬ 
ing the few hours that were requisite to digest 
its food. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


423 



Chinese Idols. 


IDOLATRY OF THE CHINESE. 

The fisures of this enjirravins; are taken from a 
French publication, into which tliey were copied 
from a large design, sketched from the originals by 
a member of the Dutch embassy to China, in the 
seventeenth century. Idols, very similar in size and 
aspect, were seen by Lord Macartney, the English 
ambassador, in 1795. It will be perceived, by the 
diminutive appearance of the worshippers, who are 
kneeling or prostrate at their feet, that these figures 
are of gigantic stature. The one on the spectator’s 
left hand is twenty feet in height, and represents 
Immortality; his companion, on the right, with the 
protuberant paunch and laughing countenance, is 
equally colossal. We have seldom seen a more 
perfect image of sensual pleasure. The haughty 
figure in the centre, adorned with such singular 
magnificence of apparel, and with a richly orna¬ 
mented crown upon his head, is the supreme idol of 
the Chinese—the grand King-Kong himself. 

The vast empire of China—misnamed the Celes- 
TiAE Empire —is given up to the vilest idolatry. 
Idols are encountered at every step, not merely in 
the temples, but in the houses, and even in the ves¬ 
sels, where a part of the forecastle is consecrated to 
ihem,as the most honourable place. The idol is 
dressed and adorned with a splendour proportioned 
to the wealth of the captain of the vessel, and daily 
receives an offering, composed of flesh and fruits, 
together with the smoke of perfumes. Besides this 
regular service, the captain makes a solemn sacri¬ 
fice to his wooden deity, on all important occasions; 
as, for instance, in passing from one river into 
another, or in time of tempest, or when the sails 
flap idly in a calm. The Chinese have likewise a 


practice of deifying their dead ancestors, and of 
prostrating themselves before the monumental tab¬ 
lets which are erected to their memory. Yet they 
appear to have no real veneration for any of their 
idols; nor do they hesitate to profane the temples, 
by smoking their pipes and taking refreshments, 
and even by gambling within the consecrated pre¬ 
cincts. The priests are shameless impostors. They 
practise the mountebank sciences of astrology, divi¬ 
nation, necromancy, and animal magnetism, and 
keep for sale a liquid, which, they pretend, will con¬ 
fer immortality on those who drink it. The best 
account of the state of religion in China—if it be 
not a sin to apply the sacred name of religion to 
their absurd superstitions—is given by the Rever 
end Charles Gutzlaff, a recent missionary in that 
country. 

Notwithstanding the wretched idolatry of the 
Celestial Empire, it is supposed that the knowledge 
of a purer faith was offered to its inhabitants, even 
in the early ages of Christianity. At a later period, 
in the course of the si.vteenth century, great num¬ 
bers of Jesuits took up tlieir residence in China, 
and, during a long interval, were tolerated by the 
government. It is probable, however, that the Re¬ 
ligion of Truth was unfaithfully taught by these 
missionaries, and became, in some degree, assimi¬ 
lated to the delusions of the country. There are 
points of the Catholic mode of worship, which idol¬ 
aters might readily embrace, without experiencing 
any of those sacred influences that Christianity dif¬ 
fuses throughout all its various sects. The image 
of the Virgin, and the pictures of the Saints, might 
appear, to the gross imaginations of the Chinese, 
but little different from their own wooden deities; 

























































































































4:^4 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


and thus, while outward converts to Catholicism, 
they might, in fact, merely have become renegades 
from one system of idolatry to another. The Jesuits 
continued their labours until little more than a cen¬ 
tury ago ; when, from a suspicion of their intermed¬ 
dling with the politics of the Empire, they were 
banished, and the religion discountenanced, if not 
suppressed. Even at this day, however, expensive 
establishments are kept up at Macao, by the Ital¬ 
ians, Spaniards, Portuguese, and French, for the 
purpose of maintaining their missions in the inte- 
riour of the country. 

The first protestaot missionary. Dr. Morrison, 
was sent to China in 1807, bv the London Mission- 
ary Society. The Americans have also a mission 
there, connected with which there is a lithographic 
press, at which portions of the Scripture, and other 
tracts, are printed for distribution among the Chi¬ 
nese. It is designed to publish a complete trans¬ 
lation of the Bible, in the Chinese language, at the 
expense of the friends of missions in America. 
There appears reason to hope, that these and simi¬ 
lar measures may, sooner or later, be attended with 
greatly beneficial results. The Chinese, Mr. Gutz- 
latf tells us, will bear with just reproof, and even 
heap eulogiums on those who faithfully administer 
it. However corrupt themselves, they are capable 
of estimating the value of moral integrity in others; 
and one of them expressed his admiration, that a 
Christian missionary should remain unmoved amid 
the stream of vice, which was sweeping away all 
besides himself. But, at present, if the Chinese 
look for any Heaven, it is the Heaven of sensual in¬ 
dulgence, such as has been pictured by all men, in 
every age and country, where purer ideas have not 
been received from Revelation. And—as the gross 
and sensual images, which our engraving presents 
to the reader, will fully show—they deify their own 
lusts, and fall down and worship them. 

POTATOES. 

Journal of Useful Knowledge.] 

A French soldier placed half a dozen potatoes at 
the bottom of a cask upon a layer of sand and fresh 
earth, three or four inches thick; when the stalks 
had risen a few inches, he bent them down and 
covered them, four or five inches deep, with the 
same mixture. He continued this operation till the 
cask was full. Six or seven months after, upon 
emptying the vessel, which stood in a court-yard, 
he found that the half dozen potatoes had produc¬ 
ed an enormous quantity of new ones from the por¬ 
tions of the mother stems which had been succes¬ 
sively laid down and covered. 

THE MAHOR. 

[Notes on the West Indies.] 

The Mahor, or wild Cotton-tree, grows in Cuba 
to a vast size. There is one, on an estate called 
Santa Anna, a hundred feet high. Its trunk, which 
is forty-six and a half feet in circumference at the base, 
rises to sixty-five feet, without a single branch or a 
single knot on its white bark. The branches are 
worthy of the stem, and cover a diameter of a 
hundred and sixty-five feet. This immense tree is 
in itself a world, and shelters and feeds millions of 


insects. Several parasitical plants attach them¬ 
selves to it. Wild pine apples grow at the top, and 
the vine vegetates on the boughs, and, letting its 
branches droop to the earth, furnishes rats, mice, 
and the opossum, which would find it difficult to 
climb the smooth bark, a ladder, enabling them to 
reach the pine-cups, which form so many natural 
reservoirs for the rain water. The wood-louse 
founds extensive republics in this tree, and estab¬ 
lishes its large and black cities at the Juncture of 
some of the branches, whence it descends to the 
ground by a covered way, which it constructs of 
mortar, and of which it even provides two,—one to 
ascend, and the other to descend by. This little 
insect is of the size of a flea, is inoffensive, and a 
great treat to the inhabitants of the poultry yard, 
to whom it is given in its nest. 

Silver Hills. —An idea prevailed among the 
early settlers of the eastern part of New England, 
that three hills, on the banks of the Saco river, were 
as full of silver as the mountains of Peru. In the 
year 1660, William Phillips of Saco, became pro¬ 
prietor of all this incalculable wealth, by purchasing 
the hills from an Indian Sachem, named Captain 
Sunday. The purchase money was probably no 
more than a few hatchets and a bottle of rum—and 
yet Captain Sunday had the best of the bargain. 

Be Short. —These two words were written, in 
large letters, over the door of Cotton Mather’s study, 
as an intimation to his visiters to be as sparing as 
possible of his precious time. The same inscription 
might be profitably posted up in many other places 
—for instance, in front of a pulpit, for the admoni¬ 
tion of long-winded parsons; and, above all, it 
should be printed conspicuously, in letters of gold, 
on the walls of our legislative chambers. 

Time-Pieces.— In some parts of India, a thin 
metal cup, with a small hole in the bottom, is plac¬ 
ed in a vessel of w'ater ; wherein it sinks, in a cer¬ 
tain number of hours, and thus marks the progress 
of time. There are innumerable families in the 
back settlements of our owm country, who have no 
better method of noting the lapse of time, than by 
the height of the sun. To such, this Indian time¬ 
piece might be a valuable acquisition. 

‘ A Frenchman,’ says Cobbett, ‘ a Mr. Cusar, 
born in the West Indies, told me, that till he came 
to Long Island, he never knew how the flour came; 
that he w^as surprised when he learnt that it was 
squeezed out of little grains that grew at the tops 
of straw; for that he had always had an idea that it 
was got out of some large substances, like the yams 
that grow in tropical climates. He w'as a very sin¬ 
cere and good man, and I am sure he told me truth.’ 

May-Poles. —In the villages of Lower Canada, 
it is the custom to erect a high and splendidly 
painted May-pole before the door of the person, 
whom the inhabitants regard as their best citizen. 
Here they assemble, on the first of May, and gaily 
dance to the music of the violin ; for which instru¬ 
ment the modern Canadians have an hereditary 
fondness, derived from their French ancestry. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


425 


THE MAHAL, OR PALACE-TOMB, 

Of the Emperour Shah Jehan’s Wife. 

[Miss Roberts’s ‘ Hindostan.’J 

The reader of Eastern romance may here realize 
his dreams of fairy land, and contemplate those won¬ 
drous scenes so faithfully delineated in the brilliant 
pages of the Arabian Nights. Imagine a wild 
plain, broken into deep sandy ravines, the picture 
of rudeness and desolation, a tract as unpromising 
as that which Prince Ahmed traversed in search of 
his arrow. In the midst of this horrid wilderness, 
a palace of deep red stone, inlaid with white mar¬ 
ble, and surmounted by domes and open cupolas, 
appears. It is ascended by flights of steps ; in the 
centre is a large circular hall, with a domed roof, 
and a gallery running round, all in the most beau¬ 
tiful style of Oriental architecture. This is the gate 
of the Taaje Mahal, a building which, in any other 
place, would detain the visitant in rapture at the 
symmetry and grandeur of its proportions, and the 
exquisite elegance of the finishing; but the eyes 
have caught a glimpse of a delicious garden, and 
the splendours of this noble entrance are little re¬ 
garded. At the end of a long avenue of graceful 
cypresses, whose rich foliage is beautifully mirrored 
in marble basins, fed with water from numerous 
sparkling fountains, the Taaje rises, gleaming like 
a fairy palace. It is wholly composed of polished 
marble of the whitest hue; and if there be any 
faults in the architecture, they are lost in the splen¬ 
dour of the material, which conveys the idea of 
something even more brilliant than marble,— 
mother of pearl, or glistening spar. No descrip¬ 
tion can do justice to this shining edifice, which 
seems rather to belong to the fanciful creations of a 
dream than to the sober realities of waking life— 
constructed of gathered moonbeams, or the lilies 
which spring in paradise. The mausoleum is plac¬ 
ed upon a square platform of white marble, rising 
abruptly to the height of about twelve or fifteen 
feet, the steps being concealed, which is perhaps a 
blemish. The place of actual sepulture is a cham¬ 
ber within this platform ; round it on three sides 
are suites of apartments, consisting of three rooms in 
each, all of white marble, having lattices of perfo¬ 
rated marble for the free transmission of air, and 
opening to the garden. At each of the four cor¬ 
ners of the platform, a lofty minaret springs, and 
the centre is occupied by an octagonal building, 
crowned by a dome, surrounded by open cupolas of 
inferiour height. Nothing can be more beautiful 
or more chaste ; even the window-frames are of 
marble ; and it would seem as if a part of Aladdin’s 
palace had been secured from the general wreck, 
and placed in the orange groves of Agra. The 
plan of the building, which is purely Asiatic, is said 
to have been the design of the founder, who placed 
the execution in the hands of foreigners of emi¬ 
nence. The interiour is embellished with beautiful 
mosaics, in rich patterns of flowers, so delicately 
formed, that they look like embroidery upon white 
satin, thirty-five different specimens of cornelians 
being employed in a single leaf of a carnation ; 
while agates, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and other pre¬ 
cious materials, occur in profusion. The mauso¬ 
leum, washed by the Jumna, looks out upon that 


bright and rapid river; and its gardens of many 
acres, planted with flowery forest trees, and inter¬ 
spersed with buildings and fountains, stretch to the 
baidis of the stream. It is truly a place which a vo¬ 
tary of Mohammed would form from his ideas of 
the paradise of the true believer, haunted by beau¬ 
tiful birds of variegated plumage, and filled with 
blossoms of every scent and hue. 

At the distance of about a mile from the ‘ Palace- 
Tomb,’ for that is the signification of its name, 
stands the fort of Agra, a place of great strength in 
former times, before the introduction of fire-arms. 
One side is defended by the river, the others are 
surrounded by high battlemented walls of red stone, 
furnished with turrets and loop-holes, and, in ad 
dition to several postern entrances, a most magnifi¬ 
cent building, called the Delhi-gate. Perhaps Lord 
Byron himself, when he stood upon the Bridge of 
Sighs, his heart swelling with reminiscences of 
Othello, Shylock, and Pierre, scarcely experienced 
more overwhelming sensations than the writer of 
this humble paper, when gazing, for the first time, 
upon the golden crescent of the Moslems, blazing 
high in the fair blue heavens, from the topmost pin¬ 
nacle of this splendid relique of their power and 
pride. The delights of my childhood rushed to my 
soul; those magic tales, from which, rather than 
from the veritable pages of history, I had gathered 
my knowledge of Eastern arts and arms, arose in 
all their original vividness. I felt that I w'as indeed 
in the land of genii, and that the gorgeous palaces, 
the flowery labyrinths, the orient gems, and glit¬ 
tering thrones so long classed with ideal splendours, 
were not the fictitious offspring of romance. 

Europe does not possess a more interesting rel¬ 
ique of the days of feudal glory than that afforded 
by the fort of Agra. The interiour presents a suc¬ 
cession of inclined planes, so constructed (the stones 
with which they are paved being cut into grooves) 
that horses, and even carriages, may pass up and 
dow’n. The illustrations of fortified places, in 
Froisart’s Chronicles, offer an accurate representa¬ 
tion of these ascents, where knights on horseback 
are depicted riding down a steep hill, while de¬ 
scending from the walls. 

The fort is of very considerable extent, and con¬ 
tains many objects of interest and curiosity. The 
Mootee Musjid, or pearl mosque disputes the palm 
of beauty with the Taaje Mahal, and is by many 
persons preferred to that celebrated edifice. Neither 
drawing nor description can do it justice; for the 
purity of the material and the splendour of the ar¬ 
chitecture defy the powers of the pencil and the 
pen. An oblong hall stretches its arcades along 
one side of a noble quadrangle, surrounded by 
richly sculptured cloisters, whence at intervals 
spring light and elegant cupolas, supported upon 
slender pillars. The whole is of polished white 
marble, carved even to the very slabs that compose 
the pavement; and when moonlight irradiates the 
scene, the effect is magical. 

‘ The only advantage which the world can gain 
from the publication of the lives of individuals, is 
the knowledge of the circumstances that tend to the 
formation of character.’ 

54 






426 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE DEAD SEA AND THE RIVER JORDAN. 

[‘ T)iree Weeks in Palestine.’] 

Miirshalling our forces, now increased by the 
Sheikh and Ills garrison, with the e.xception of one 
man left beliind as a guard, we set out for the Dead 
Sea, distant about three liours, crossing the most 
dreary, parciied, and desert plain imaginable, hav¬ 
ing the appearance of land left bare by the receding 
waters of the lake, which seems to have shrunk 
considerably. 

At the first dawning, the tints of the rising sun, 
purple and gold, with the deep shadows concealing 
the nakedness of the land, gave beauty to the land¬ 
scape. The mountains encircling the lakes, which 
lay sleeping and motionless beneath them, reflect¬ 
ing their images, supplied a noble outline which 
fancy might fill up at its pleasure with a thousand 
Edens; but as the sun ascended, the illusion was 
quickly dissipated ; the full glare of day displayed 
the wilderness in its true colouring of awful deso¬ 
lation—a desolation that was felt, and that depres¬ 
sed the spirits. The mountains assumed one uni¬ 
form dusty brown hue, unrelieved by even a pass¬ 
ing shadow, for not a cloud was visible in the blaz¬ 
ing heavens; the sea was of a dull, heavy leaden 
tint, unlike the fresh, transparent purple which the 
living waters of a mountain lake usually display. 
One could easily imagine them the Waters of Obliv¬ 
ion, in search of which Zadoc, in the Persian tale, 
was despatched by the tyrant Amurath. The 
ground over which we rode, riven into chasms and 
ravines, showed not a blade of verdure; the few 
stunted shrubs that had struggled into life were 
masses of thorns with scarcely a leaf upon them, 
and wore the brown garb of the desert. The whole 
scene was a fearful exhibition of the blasting of the 
breath of the Almighty’s displeasure! 

In the centre of the plain stood a huge vulture, 
looking like the evil genius of the j)lace, who suf¬ 
fered us to approach within pistol shot, then sullenly 
rose with a loud scream of indignation at our inva¬ 
sion of his territories, and sailed slowly away over 
the lake to his eyry in the mountains of Moab. 
Enormous locusts, three and four inches in length, of 
a yellowish green colour, were flying about; they were 
so large, that, in the uncertain light of the morning, I 
at first mistook them for birds ; and a miserable hare 
no larger than a rabbit, of a dusty gray colour, start¬ 
ed from beneath a bush. These were the only 
wild creatures that we saw. 

The shores at this northern extremity are re¬ 
markably flat, and strewed with vast quantities of 
drift-wood, white and bleached by the sun, which 
is brought down by ‘ the swelling of Jordan.’ 
There were numerous shells resembling the cockle 
along the shore. One of my companions bathed in 
the waters, and his experience confirmed the ac¬ 
counts of their extraordinary buoyancy, which ena¬ 
bled him to float with a facility he had never known 
in the ocean. The lake was so shallow that he 
was obliged to wade a long way before he could 
obtain sufficient depth for swimming; the bottom, 
when stirred, threw up quantities of fixed-air bub¬ 
bles, and the water, as it dried upon his skin, left a 
slight white incrustation, and was intolerably nau¬ 
seous to the taste. My fellow traveller related the 


result of his bathing to one of the Frenchmen in 
company, who never went within two hundred 
yards of the lake, though he was there for the ex¬ 
press purpose of writing a book. ‘ Ah, bah I mon¬ 
sieur,’ he replied, ‘ it is all a lable !’ So much for 
accuracy of investigation ! My iViend, being some¬ 
what choleric, took him to task, upon which he beat 
a retreat. 

The pilgrims, caring nothing about the philoso¬ 
phy of the Dead Sea, were eager to reach the sin- 
cleansing waters of the Jordan, and hurried off in 
that direction ; and our guards annoyed us by urg¬ 
ing us forward, and allowing us no time to linger 
here, as we would fain have done, alleging the ever¬ 
lasting bugbear of the Arabs, though not a single 
human being, except our own party, was visible. 

Proceeding along the shore of the Dead Sea, we 
arrived at the mouth of the river, which was not 
more than fifty or sixty yards across, flowing be¬ 
tween steep banks about fourteen feet high, with 
sedges growing thickly at the bottom ; higher up, 
it is overshadowed by willows and other shrubs. 
Riding about two miles along the banks, and pass¬ 
ing through a thicket of tamerisks and oleanders, at 
a bend of the river thickly shaded with willows, we 
found the spot where tradition says the Israelites 
marched over Jordan, and where our Saviour was 
baptized. It was here fordable,—not more than 
four feet deep; the current rapid. The pilgrims 
quickly stripped, and rushing down the steep 
bank, plunged into the sacred stream. Many had 
brought a white robe for this ceremony; among 
these was a Greek priest, who was busily engaged 
in dipping his compatriots ‘seven times in Jordan.’ 
The process of ablution lasted half an hour, and if 
it did not, as they fondly imagined, wash their souls 
white, it had that very desirable eflect upon their 
bodies, which was in most instances highly needful. 
When they were reclad, and had filled their bottles 
with the holy water, and cut down branches of the 
willows to carry away as mementoes of the place, 
we returned towards Rihhah by a more direct route. 

Kissing a Q,ueen. —Pepys, in his diary, states 
that, in 1668, he went to Westminster Abbey, 
where by particular favour, he was permitted to see 
the body of Catherine of Valois, the Q,ueen of Henry 
the Fifth. The upper part of her body was put 
into his hands; ‘and,’ says Pepys, ‘I did kiss her 
mouth, reflecting upon it that I did kiss a queen ; 
and that this was my birth-day, thirty-six years old, 
and that I did kiss a Queen !’ Did her Majesty’s 
half-decayed corpse we wonder, smell differently 
from meaner clay ? 

Transportation by Water.— In the seaports of 
England and America, or of any commercial nation, 
imported commodities may be had cheaper than in 
some parts of the country from which they are 
brought. This remarkable circumstance results 
from the greater facility of transporting merchan¬ 
dize by water, than by land. It is still more sin¬ 
gular, that an article, which has been brought thou¬ 
sands of leagues on shipboard, may cost more in 
being transported through a few streets, by a hand¬ 
cart, than for its conveyance across the ocean. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


427 


THE TURC03IANS. 

[Cononj'’s ‘ Overland Journey to India.’] 

The Turcomans pride themselves much on their 
hospitality, and leel aHronted if a traveller passes 
their camp without stopping. When a stranger 
comes to an oubeh, he is invited into the first tent, 
the master of which welcomes him by taking his 
hands within his own, and, holding the bridle of his 
horse, orders his wife to prepare refreshment for 
their guest. There can hardly be a livelier illustra¬ 
tion of the manners of the Patriarchs than this:— 
instance Abraham’s running from his tent door in 
the plains of Mamre to meet and welcome the an¬ 
gels, praying them to rest themselves, and comfort 
their hearts with a morsel of bread ; and then his 
desiring Sarah, his wife, to make ready quickly 
three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make 
cakes upon the hearth. • The manners, in particu¬ 
lar, of the pastoral nations in Asia have undergone 
so little change, that you may see among them il¬ 
lustrations of nearly all the customs described in 
Scripture; and a traveller in any part of the East 
will meet with the most satisfactory evidences of 
the unaffected veracity of the sacred writers. To 
a European, the description of many simple Orien¬ 
tal customs appears a romance ; and, connected as 
they are with so much miraculous anecdote, it is 
gratifying to be assured that those who describe the 
lives and actions of the people of antiquity, did it 
not in any spirit of exaggeration, and that relations, 
which appear to us highly coloured, are told in the 
simple and natural idiom of the countries and days 
the writers lived in. 

As far as giving to eat and drink, the Turcomans 
are hospitable; but the very man who gives you 
bread in his tent will not scruple to fall upon you 
w'hen you are beyond its precincts. This same hos¬ 
pitality of wandering tribes has been so lauded by 
poets and others, that it has become a fashion to 
talk as if the virtue existed only , among demi-sav- 
ages; and the man who exercises it shall be excus¬ 
ed though he be a thief and a cut-throat. Your 
person is sacred, and your life is to be dearer to 
him than his own while you are under the shadow 
of his tent;—but you cannot remain there forever. 
Perhaps at the very moment you are eating his salt, 
your host is thinking how, at a future occasion, he 
may best transfer part of your wealth to himself, 
and when you do meet him on his plain, the odds 
are very much against you. 

We are taken with the poetically expressive id¬ 
iom of the Arab, who, as a hint to a stranger to 
surrender his property, says, ‘ Cousin, undress thy¬ 
self; thy aunt is without a garment;’—but we think 
it expedient to hang a man who translates and ap¬ 
plies the saying in our own country. The fact is, 
that in our love for the romantic, we judge these 
wild people nearly by the same standard with which 
they measure themselves. The Arabs for instance, 
—we only think of them as a nation of freemen 
whose deeds have been chivalrous, and whose annals 
are told in high-sounding verse, and we overlook 
their vices ; but the Bedouins are perhaps the great¬ 
est rogues who wander, (read Burckhardt’s Sum¬ 
mary of their character, and ask any one who has 
gone the land route to Mecca about them.) The 


virtues and vices of all Nomade people are much 
the same; they entertain exaggerated notions of 
hospitality and bravery, but they are generally gree¬ 
dy, mean, and thievish; and, though they may keep 
good faith with their own race, they will find means 
to evade the spirit of a pledge given to a stranger, 
if it be much their interest to do so. Their hospi¬ 
tality appears greater than that of settled people, 
because when travelling they rely upon each other 
for food and shelter; but they must of necessity do 
so. Perhaps in earlier times the feeling was exer¬ 
cised more as a virtue; but now there is to the full 
as much pride as generosity in it, for you will an¬ 
ger a man to the extent of making hirn your enemy 
if you pass his tent, though he may not have where¬ 
withal to feed you ; and even allowing that a gen¬ 
erous feeling prompts his courtesy, it is not so 
strong a one but that avarice will get the better of 
it, if you have that which tempts him.—It is a wild 
scene, a Turcoman camp, all its tenants are astir at 
day-break, and the women, after a short busy pe¬ 
riod, retire to work within their tents. Towards 
the evening, the men get together, and sit in circles 
discoursing: the mistress of a tent is seen seated out¬ 
side knitting; near her is an old negro woman, 
‘ dry and withered as the deserts of Libya,’ who 
is churning in a skin hung upon three sticks, or 
dangling the last born; and the young fry, dirty and 
naked, except perhaps a small jacket, or skull-cap, 
fantastically covered with coins, bits of metal, or 
beads and charms, run about in glee like so many 
imps, screaming and flinging dust on each other, 
the great game of these unsophisticated children of 
nature. As the day declines, the camels are driven 
in, and folded within the camp; soon after the sun 
has set, a few watchers are set; here and there per¬ 
haps in a tent, remain for a short time the ‘ light of 
the candle and the sound of the millstones,’ but 
soon the whole camp is in repose. 

There certainly is a charm about this mode of 
life, and I can understand the dislike a Turcoman 
has to living in a city. It has been thought that 
inhabitants of mountainous countries have the 
strongest feeling of love for their homes, because 
they retain the most vivid recollection of the bold 
scenery amidst which they were born; but the 
Swiss or Highlanders scarcely sigh more for their 
mountains than do the Arabs and the Turcomans 
for the desert—home is home all the world over. 


FASHION IN OTAHEITE. 

The attire of the Otaheitans, is amusingly describ¬ 
ed by travellers: it is said that ‘ they set the highest 
value on clothes of European manufacture'; and are 
more proud of displaying them than are our ladies 
of diamonds and Persian shawls, or our gentlemen 
of the utmost refinements of fashion. As they 
know nothing of our fashions, they pay no sort of 
attention to the cut, and even age and wear do not 
much diminish their estimation of their finery; a 
ripped-out seam, or a hole, is no drawback upon 
the elegance of an article. These clothes, which 
are brought to Otaheite by merchant ships, are pur¬ 
chased at a rag-market, and sold here at an enor¬ 
mous profit. The Otaheitan, therefore, finding a 
complete suit of clothes very expensive, eontents 






428 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


himself with a single garment; whoever can obtain 
an English military coat, or even a plain one, goes 
about with the rest of his body naked, except the 
universally worn girdle; the happy owner of a 
waistcoat or a pair of trousers, thinks his wardrobe 
amply furnished. We saw the master of the cere¬ 
monies to the queen with a sailor’s jacket, the only 
garment he bore ; he was an immense man, and 
the sleeves only reached his elbows; his personal 
beauty was further heightened by an engraving of a 
compass with all its points tattooed upon that part 
of his person which a master of the ceremonies ha¬ 
bitually exhibits to those who follow him. Such is 
the rage for pantaloons, that if an unhappy individ¬ 
ual is unable to attain to the possession of a pair, 
he has an imitation of them etched upon his legs. 
The sole garment of many is a shirt; and others, 
as much o|)pressed by the heat under a heavy cloth 
mantle as they would be in a Russian bath, are far 
too vain of their finery to lay it aside. Shoes, boots, 
or stockings, are rarely met with, and the coats, 
mostly too tight and too short, make the oddest ap¬ 
pearance imaginable ; many of their wearers can 
scarcely move their arms, and are forced to stretch 
them out like the sails of a wind-mill, while their 
elbows, curious to see the world, peep through slits 
in the seams. Let any one imagine an assemblage 
of these people, convened upon any occasion of 
solemnity or form, perfectly satisfied of the pro¬ 
priety of their costume, and wearing, to complete 
the comic effect, a most ultra-serious expression of 
countenance, and he will easily believe that we 
found it difficult to refrain from smiles. The attire 
of the females, though not quite so absurd, is hy no 
means picturesque; some wear white, or striped 
men’s shirts, which do not conceal their knees, and 
others are wrapped in sheets. Their hair is unbe¬ 
comingly cut close to the roots, and their heads 
covered with little chip hats of a most tasteless 
form, decorated with ribands and ffowers, made in 
Oiaheite. But the most valuable article of dress is 
a coloured gown, an indubitable sign of the posses¬ 
sor’s opulence, and the object of her unbounded 
vanity.’ 


ALEXANDER WILSON, BURNS, AND FRANKLIN. 

[Dunlap’s ‘ History of the Arts of Design.’] 

Paisley, the birth-place of Wilson, had long 
known him as the author of Watty and Mag, a 
popular ballad, which I recollect, in my earliest 
school-boy days, to have heard in our streets. 
Within a year or two after his work was finished, 
his countrymen at Paisley were urgent in their in¬ 
quiries of American travellers concerning him and 
his great production. ‘ You must allow, after all,’ 
said they, ‘ that you are indebted to a Scotchman 
for the true account of the Birds of America. He 
was our townsman, and it gratifies us to learn any 
particulars of him. Near this place he was once a 
faithful weaver among us, and Watty and Mag 
please us even now.’ Perhaps these expressions of 
popular feeling struck me with the greater force, 
inasmuch as an occurrence of a somewhat different 
complexion took place a day or two before. En¬ 
countering a Highland lad, who was discoursing 


sweet music to a song of Burns, I expressed my 
pleasure by remarking that we had no such poetry 
by American bards, ‘ You have not produced 
Burns,’ replied he, ‘ but you have produced a 
greater man than all Scotland has,—Doctor Frank¬ 
lin—he taught the way to make money.’ 

TO THE OSTRICH.— By Thomas Pringle. 

[Frienilship’s Offering.] 

Lone dweller of the wild Karroo, 

Sad is thy de.solate domain, 

Where grateful fruitage never grew. 

Nor waved the golden grain. 

What seekest thou midst these dreary haunts. 

Where mourning Nature droops and pants 
Beneath the burning skies ? 

‘Freedom 1 seek ; mankind I shun. 

Tyrants of all beneath the sun !’ 

Methinks the bird replies. 

Yes—this forsaken, silent waste. 

Where only bitter herbs abound. 

Is filly furnished to thy taste. 

And hlooms thy garden ground. 

A fountain, too, to thee is given. 

Fed by the thunder-cloud from heaven, 

.And treasured in the clifts; 

For thee boon Nature plants and sows; 

Thou reap’st the harvest as it grows. 

Rejoicing in her gifts. 

For ruthless foes thou reck’st not here. 

In \ain the slot-hound tracks thy foot: 

The huntsman, should he wai.der near, 

Soon flags from the pursuit. 

Like winged galley o’er the main. 

Thou speed St across the boundless plain 
'I’o some deep solitude. 

By human footstep never pressed. 

Where faithful males have scooped the nest 
That screens your callow brood. 

Thus thou art blest, shy, wandering bird ; 

And I could love to linger, too. 

Where voice of man hath ne’er been heard. 

Amidst the lone Karioo— 

Free o’er the wilderness to roam. 

And frame, like thee, my hermit home 
In some untrod recess ; 

Afar from turmoil, strife, and folly. 

And misery, and melancholy. 

And human selfishness. 


Botany Bay. —Until within a few years, this col¬ 
ony was the Paradise of evil-doers. Murderers, on 
the day of trial, might be seen carousing with their 
friends in a pot-house, in the presence of the con¬ 
stable. I’hieves, fashionably dressed, walked arm- 
in-arm to trial, with the constable following respect¬ 
fully behind, like a servant; while the bystanders 
offered their best wishes for the escape of the 
rogues. Receivers of stolen goods came to receive 
sentence, in splendid carriages, and attended by 
servants in livery. Such phenomena naturally re¬ 
sulted from the fact, that the mass of the inhabitants 
were familiar with vice, and had themselves been 
convicted criminals ; so that sin was without its 
recompense of shame. 

Ancient Ship. —Pepys relates, that when the 
wet dock at Deptford was constructed, a ship of 
five hundred tons w'as discovered in the mud of the 
Thames, where it had lain buried and forgotten, 
ever since the days of Queen Elizabeth. A great 
quantity of stone shot, eighteen inches in diameter, 
was found on board. Such balls were formerly 
used for cannon instead of iron. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


429 



THE GROUND PARROT. 

This beautiful bird is found in the low meadow 
lands of New Holland, and is called the Ground 
Parrot, because, unlike most of the other varieties 
of its genus, it seldom perches on trees, but is us¬ 
ually found on the ground. Short and clumsy legs, 
and claws very much curved, are general character¬ 
istics of the Parrot family ; but the Ground Parrot 
has long legs, and toes which enable it to walk with 
facility, while they unfit it for climbing trees. The 
upper part of the bird is a splendid green, and 
the under part, yellow; and these colours are cu¬ 
riously banded, striped, and mottled, with black 
and orange. 

Naturalists have described nearly three hundred 
varieties of the Parrot tribe. They are found both in 
the eastern and western hemispheres; those of the 
former being known by the names of Cockatoos, 
Parrots, Lories, and Parrakeets; and those of the 
latter are the Aras, or Maccaws, Amazons, Criks, 
and Popinjays. They are numerous in the south¬ 
ern and south-western parts of the United States, 
but are said never to occur so far north as Pennsyl¬ 
vania. The species found in North America is 
called the Carolina Parrot, and has also been ascer¬ 
tained to inhabit Guinea. In Kentucky, Wilson 
observed them in flocks, like pigeons; and when 
they alighted on the ground, ‘ it appeared at a dis¬ 
tance as if covered with a carpet, of the richest 
orange, green and yellow.’ Audubon, the distin¬ 


guished American naturalist, gives the following ac¬ 
count of a Carolina Parrot, which was a particular 
favourite of his,— 

‘ Anxious to try the effects of education on one 
of those which I procured at Big Bone lick, and 
which was but slightly wounded in the vving, I fixed 
up a place for it in the stern of my boat, and pre¬ 
sented it with some cockle burs, which it freely fed 
on in less than an hour after being on board. The 
intermediate time between eating and sleeping was 
occupied in gnawing the sticks that formed its place 
of confinement, in order to make a practicable 
breach; which it repeatedly effected. When I 
abandoned the river, and travelled by land, I wrap¬ 
ped it up closely in a silk handkerchief, tying it 
tightly round, and carried it in my pocket. When 
I stopped for refreshment, I unbound my prisoner, 
and gave it its allowance, which it generally de¬ 
spatched with great dexterity, unhusking the seeds 
from the bur in a twinkling; in doing which, it al¬ 
ways employed its left foot to hold the bur, as did 
several others that I kept for some time. I began 
to think that this might be peculiar to the whole 
tribe, and that they all were, if I may use the ex¬ 
pression, leftfooted ; but by shooting a number af¬ 
terwards while engaged in eating mulberries, I found 
sometimes the left, sometimes the right foot, stained 
with the fruit, the other always clean ; from which, 
and the constant practice of those I kept, it appears, 
that like the human species in the use of their hands, 
they do not prefer one or the other indiscriminately, 
but are either left or right footed. But to return to 
my prisoner: In recommitting it to ‘durance vile,’ 
we generally had a quarrel; during which it fre¬ 
quently paid me in kind for the wound I had in¬ 
flicted, and for depriving it of liberty, by cutting 
and almost disabling several of my fingers with its 
sharp and powerful bill. The path through the 
wilderness between Nashville and Natchez, is in 
some places bad beyond description. There are 
dangerous creeks to swim, miles of morass to strug¬ 
gle through, rendered almost as gloomy as night by 
a prodigious growth of timber, and an underwood 
of canes and other evergreens ; while the descent 
into these sluggish streams is often ten or fifteen 
feet perpendicular into a bed of deep clay. In 
some of the worst of these places, where I had, as it 
were, to fight my way through, the Parrakeet fre¬ 
quently escaped from my pocket, obliging me to 
dismount and pursue it through the worst of the 
morass before I could regain it. On these occa¬ 
sions I was several times tempted to abandon it, 
but I persisted in bringing it along. When at night 
I encamped in the woods, I placed it on the bag¬ 
gage beside me, where it usually sat, with great 
composure, dozing and gazing at the fire till morn¬ 
ing. In this manner I carried it upwards of a thou¬ 
sand miles in my pocket, where it was exposed all 
day to the jolting of the horse, but regularly liberat¬ 
ed at meal times, and in the evening, at which it 
always expressed great satisfaction. In passing 
through the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, the 
Indians, wherever I stopped to feed, collected 
around me, men, women, and children, laughing 
and seeming wonderfully amused with the novelty 
of my companion. The Chickasaws called it in 











430 


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their language ‘ Kelinky’ but when they heard me 
call it Poll, they soon repeated the name; and 
wherever I chanced to stop among these people, 
we soon became familiar with each other through 
the medium of Poll. On arriving at Mr. Dunbar’s, 
below Natchez, I procured a cage, and placed it 
under the piazza, where, by its call, it soon attract¬ 
ed the passing flocks; such is the attachment they 
have for each other. Numerous parties frequently 
alighted on the trees immediately above, keeping 
up a constant conversation with the prisoner. One 
of these I wounded slightly in the wing, and the 
pleasure Poll expressed on meeting with this new 
companion was really amusing. She crept close up 
to it as it hung on the side of the cage, chattering 
to it in a low tone of voice, as if sympathizing in its 
misfortune, scratched about its head and neck with 
her bill; and both at night nestled as close as pos¬ 
sible to each other, sometimes Poll’s head being 
thrust among the plumage of the other. On the 
death of this companion, she appeared restless and 
inconsolable for several days. On reaching New 
Orleans, I placed a looking glass beside the place 
where she usually sat, and the instant she perceived 
her image, all her former fondness seemed to re¬ 
turn, so that she could scarcely absent herself from 
it a moment. It was evident that she was com¬ 
pletely deceived. Always when evening drew on, 
and often during the day, she laid her head close to 
that of the image in the glass, and began to doze 
with great composure and satisfaction. In this 
short space she had learnt to know her name; to 
answer and come when called on ; to climb up my 
clothes, sit on my shoulder, and eat from my mouth. 
I took her with me to sea, determined to persevere in 
her education ; but, destined to another fate, poor 
Poll, having one morning, about daybreak, wrought 
her way through the cage, while I was asleep, in¬ 
stantly flew overboard, and perished in the Gulf of 
Mexico.’ - 



Esquimaux Dog. 

ESQUIMAUX DOGS. 


The Esquimaux are supposed to have been driv¬ 
en, by the hostility of other savage tribes, from a 
more southerly clime to the wintry regions which 
they now inhabit. In intellect, and all the arts of 
life, they must be ranked among the lowest varie¬ 
ties of the human race. Their food consists of the 
flesh of seals, sea-horses, and occasionally rein-deer, 
all of which, until recently, they were accustomed to 
devour raw, and often in a putrid state. They 


keep great numbers of dogs, which serve as a guard 
to their huts, and likewise to draw tneir sledges, 
and in cases of necessity, are used as food. They 
are of a large size, and are distinguished from the 
rest of the canine species by their inability to bark, 
instead of which they send forth a long and dismal 
howl. Mr. Fisher, surgeon to one of the expedi¬ 
tions under Captain Parry, mentions that two fami¬ 
lies of Esquimaux, consisting of four men, four wo¬ 
men, and nine children, were provided with no less 
than fifty or sixty of these dogs. 



View of the Village of Economy, Penn. 

VILLAGE OF EC0N03IY. 


The village of Economy is situated on the Ohio, 
eighteen miles below Pittsburgh, on a bluflT, elevat¬ 
ed about fifty feet above the low-water mark of the 
river. A colony of German emigrants originally 
settled in this vicinity, but afterwards removed fur¬ 
ther w'est; whence, however, they returned, about 
twelve years since, and laid the foundation of Econ¬ 
omy. Factories of various kinds, with steam ma¬ 
chinery, were established; the land was brought 
under high cultivation ; and the inhabitants paid 
considerable attention to the culture of the vine, and 
produced very tolerable imitations of their native 
German wines. They called themselves Harmon¬ 
ists, and were subject to the patriarchal authority of 
Rapp, an aged German, of somew'hat visionary no¬ 
tions in politics and religion. The leading charac¬ 
teristics of the sect, or colony, were a community 
of goods, and the prohibition, or discouragement, of 
marriage. We do not understand that, as among 
the Shakers, the latter regulation was based on re¬ 
ligious tenets. It had been adopted by Rapp as a 
means of preventing the too rapid increase of his 
colony; and all the members w'ere to live together 
as brethren and sisters, denying themselves a nearer 
and dearer intimacy, merely from motives of expe¬ 
diency. The ordinance of celibacy was not, how¬ 
ever, so strictly observed, but that marriages did 
sometimes occur; and, even in cases where the 
ceremony had been omitted, the fruits of connubial 
intercourse would occasionally make their appear¬ 
ance. Although these infant proselytes to his sect 
might not be very welcome, Rapp received them gra 
ciously, and established a school for their education. 
We are not aware that any account of the condi¬ 
tion of the settlement has recently been given to 
the public. 


























OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


431 


HABITATIONS OF MAN. 

A description of all the methods by which people 
have sheltered themselves from the elements, illus¬ 
trated with engravings of every kind of domestic 
edifice, would form a curious and interesting work. 
In some states of society, man has burrowed be¬ 
neath the earth ; in regions where all the year is 
Summer, he rears a bower of branches; within the 
Arctic circle, the Esquimaux use the eternal snows 
as a quarry, whence they hew the building-materials 
of their huts; in the southern islands, the houses 
are a kind of basket-work; in parts of India, they 
are a light fabric of bamboo; and, in more than one 
country, mud cottages may be seen, at no great dis¬ 
tance from marble palaces. 

The first habitations of the hardy settlers of our 
country were constructed of the ruins of the forest, 
which had fallen beneath their axes. The log-house 
was a rude, but comfortable dwelling, homely and 
substantial, like the characters of those who built it. 
In our memory, there is a vivid picture of such an 
edifice, which we used to visit in our boyhood, 
while running wild on the borders of a forest-lake. 
It had a little square window, the size of four panes 
of glass; the chimney was built of sticks and clay, 
like a swallow’s nest; the hearth was a huge, flat, 
unhewn stone; and the fire place, where sat an old 
Revolutionary pensioner and his dame, occupied 
nearly the whole breadth of the house. Similar 
dwellings still exist in the remoter parts of New- 
England ; a few of them are scattered along the 
road that leads through the heart of the While 
mountains. 

The Laplanders build even ruder structures than 
these. Their wretched hovels, composed of sods, 
loose stones, turf, and bushes, have a fire-place in 
the centre, the acrid smoke from which continually 
circulates through the habitation, and is the only 
means of stifling its filthy smells. It is a charac¬ 
teristic distinction between these people and the 
American backwoodsmen, that the former spend 
their lives in the miserable huts which they inherit¬ 
ed from their fathers, and bequeath them to their 
children ; while the latter is almost certain to erect 
a smart f^rame-house, if not an edifice of brick or 
stone, on the site of his log-cottage. 



Lapland Huts. 

The Kaskaias, who roam through the Far West, 
have houses of buffalo-skins, which are taken down 
at every migration in their wandering life, and may 
be erectal again, within a few moments after their 


evening-halt. There are six or eight poles, twenty 
or thirty feet in length, to every lodge. Four of 
these are tied together at the smaller extremities, 
and are covered with skins, while the but-ends rest 
upon the ground, and form the main support of the 
structure, which the remainder of the poles are em¬ 
ployed in strengthening. Thus, in a very brief in¬ 
terval, the green space on the banks of a stream is 
covered with a little village of tall, conical-shaped 
lodges, the whole labour of constructing which is 
performed by the squaws. As short a time suffices 
for their removal; the skins are packed on the 
horses, belonging to the family ; and men, squaws, 
and children mount, and take a new ramble through 
the wilderness, dragging their tent-poles at the 
horses’ heels. By the broad traces which they leave 
behind, a domestic party, carrying their lodges 
along with them, may always be distinguished from 
a band of warriours, who leave only the track of 
their footsteps. 



Kaskaia Skin Lodge. 

The dwellings constructed by the Beaver are su- 
periour to many which shelter the heads of human 
beings. But, blessed be God, whether our habita¬ 
tion be a cave, a hut, a lodge of skins, or a marble 
palace, the name of home has a hallowing influence, 
which renders it the only spot on earth where true 
comfort may be found. 



Russian Droski. 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 

Every mode of conveyance will naturally be a 
subject of interest to Americans, who are emphati¬ 
cally a travelling people, but have a particular dis¬ 
like to the use of their own feet, for the purposes 
of locomotion. In the streets of St. Pelersbuig, 
the capital of Russia, the places of the hacks and 
omnibuses, which constitute the public vehicles in 







































432 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Dther cities, are supplied by what is called a Droski. 
Barrow, one of the latest travellers in Russia, de¬ 
scribes it as having four wheels, with a narrow 
bench placed lengthwise between them, so near the 
ground that the skirts of a person’s coat must either 
be covered with dust, or draggled with mud. If 
two passengers, besides the driver, ride in the Dro¬ 
ski, one of them sits at the hinder part, leaning 
against the low back of the vehicle, and with his 
legs astride of the bench; while his companion is 
forced to sit sideways, without any support for his 
back. The driver, who likewise bestrides the bench, 
is separated from his foremost passenger only by a 
slender iron bar, about six inches in height, and is 
therefore often jostled against him. On his back 
he wears a tin-plate, inscribed with the number of 
his vehicle. These droski-men are represented as 
such filthy objects, that every decent gentleman, on 
alighting, feels an impulse to shake himself, in or¬ 
der to get rid of the vermin which may have been 
communicated from the driver. 


WILD HORSEMEN. 

Philosophers have always been puzzled to con¬ 
trive such a definition of man, as should completely 
distinguish him from every other animal. We are 
not aware that, among the many attempts of this 
sort, he has ever been described as an animal that 
gets on horseback. Yet this is one of the most pe¬ 
culiar characteristics of the human race; for no 
animal, except man, systematically imposes on 
another the burden of his conveyance from place to 
place. This is a natural instinct of mankind; and 
in whatever country men and horses exist together, 
the four legs of the latter are compelled to perform 
the business of the biped’s single pair. 

Among the most famous horsemen in the world 
are the Mamelukes. These bold riders are of Turk¬ 
ish or Circassian origin, and, at an early age, are 
imported into Egypt as slaves. They are there in¬ 
structed in the art of horsemanship, and the prac¬ 
tice of arms, and become the only troops of the 
nation, which is therefore, in a great measure, un¬ 
der their sway. Their whole life being spent in 
the saddle, they acquire an incredible dexterity in 
the management of their horses, and, individually, 
are terrific antagonists in battle. They have no 
acquaintance, however, with scientific warfare, and 
may be defeated by a greatly inferiour body of 
regular cavalry. 



Mamelukes. 


The Sioux, otherwise called the Dacotahs, are 
an Indian people in the region of the Mississippi 
and Missouri, entirely distinct from any other nation 
of the red-men. In 1824, their numbers were esti¬ 
mated at twenty-five thousand, of whom six thou¬ 
sand were warriours. They have not, like many 
Indian tribes, any tradition of having emigrated 
from another country, but believe that the Great 
Spirit created their fathers, among the same prai¬ 
ries where they themselves are now riding their 
wild horses. 



A Sioux on Horseback. 


To the Sioux the art of horsemanship must have 
been an acquisition of modern date ; for the herds 
of wild horses, which now trample the vast prairies 
of the West, are of European origin, and descended 
from sires, who had immemorially been subjugated 
to the service of man. Washington Irving, in his 
Tour on the Prairies, describes the taming of a 
young horse; a task so easily accomplished, thai 
the steeds of the desert would appear never to hav« 
relapsed entirely into the wild state, but still to re 
tain an hereditary fitness for the saddle. 

Indian Juggler. —Major Long received, from u 
French trader, an account of a singular feat wbicli 
was performed by an Indian Juggler. On a dry 
prairie, and at a distance from any stream or spring, 
this man oflfered to fill an empty keg with water. 
Being promised a keg of whisky, in consiueration 
of his performing this seeming miracle, tne Indian 
first turned the water-keg with the bung-hole down¬ 
ward, in order to convince the spectators that it 
was really empty. No water ran out. He then 
began to dance, lifted the keg toward heaven, and 
enacted various other mummeries; till presenting 
the keg to another Indian, he invited him to drink. 
It was then passed round among the spectators; 
and all, the trader himself not excepted, were con¬ 
vinced that the keg really contained good and pure 
water. Let our readers exercise their ingenuity to 
guess how this water came there. 

Electricity.— Flashes of electric light are some¬ 
times produced, by briskly tearing a piece of cotton 
cloth. - 

John Ziska, one of the leaders of the Hussites, 
(a religious sect, which was driven to take up arms 
by persecution,) ordered his skin, after death, to be 
made into a covering for a drum ; that, though his 
voice would be heard no more, he might still siii 
up the hearts of his followers, as in his lifetime. 






















OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


433 



Third Presbyterian Church at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 


THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT PITTSBURGH. 

On the spot where Pittsburgh is now situated, at 
the junction of the Alleghany and Mononghahela 
rivers, stood Fort Du Quesne, a post of great mili¬ 
tary importance in the Old French War. After it 
feH into the hands of the British, in 1758, sixty 
thousand pounds were expended by them in strength¬ 
ening the fortifications. The place, however, was 
never afterwards remarkable, as the scene of warlike 
events ; although the troubled times of the Revolu¬ 
tion, and its exposure to attack from the Indians, 
long prevented any considerable increase of the set¬ 
tlement. The rise of its present prosperity dates 
from the year 1793. The situation of Pittsburgh, 
at the head of the Ohio river, is a fortunate one ; 
but the chief cause which rendered it, for a long 


time, the only manufacturing town in the Union, 
and which still keeps it the most noted one, is the 
great abundance of coal. On the opposite side of 
the Mononghalela river, there is a coal-hill, upwards 
of three hundred feet high ; and inexhaustible quan-- 
titles of the same mineral are found in the vicinity 
of the city. The number of furnaces and fires, 
which are continually sending up their smoke, 
causes a gloomy cloud to hang over Pittsburgh, 
and darkens the interesting scenery in its neigh 
bourhood. 

Almost every variety of manufacture is here car¬ 
ried on. Those of cottons and woollens ; pottery, 
copper-ware, iron-mongery, cutlery, and glass, are 
especially important. Specimens of cut-glass have 
been produced in Pittsburgh, which may compare 

55 


























































434 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


»vith the best productions of European art. The 
construction of boats and steam-boats constitutes 
another extensive branch of business. It would 
scarcely be conceived that the building of ships 
should employ a portion of the capital and labour 
of Pittsburgh, standing, as it does, at the distance 
of two thousand miles from the sea, by the shortest 
navigable course; yet ships, built and launched at 
this far inland city, find their way down the Ohio 
and Mississippi, and emerge, through the mouth of 
the latter river, into the boundless element. 

In every American town, if its inhabitants thrive, 
their growing prosperity is marked by the number 
and beauty of the churches. Such to a considera¬ 
ble degree, is the case in Pittsburgh. The Third 
Presbyterian Church, of which we give a cut, stands 
at the corner of Third and Ferry Streets, having a 
front of sixty-seven feet on the former, and a depth 
of ninety-three feet on the latter. The entrance is 
by three doors in the centre of the basement story, 
which is built of stone, and contains a large lec¬ 
ture-room and two spacious school-rooms. The 
body of the church is brick, overlaid with Roman 
cement, in imitation of stone. The steeple is of 
wood, and ascends to the height of one hundred 
and sixty-three feet from the ground. On the floor 
of the church, there are accommodations for eight 
hundred people, and for four hundred in the gallery. 
The cost of the structure is estimated at about 
twenty-five thousand dollars. 

REMARKAI5LES AT RANGOON. 

Rangoon, the capital of Burmah, is situated on a 
branch of the Irrawaddy, called the river of Ran¬ 
goon. It contains between forty and fifty thou¬ 
sand inhabitants, fifteen hundred of whom are 
priests. There are four principal streets, the 
houses of which are built entirely of bamboo, and 
covered and lined with matting. On account of 
the swampy nature of the soil, each edifice is ele¬ 
vated on bamboo poles, and all the filth and rub¬ 
bish of the family is swept into the space beneath, 
through the interstices of the floor, which is a sort 
of bamboo open-work, carpeted with mats. Hogs 
wallow in this deposit of dirt; and a potent stench 
ascends through the floor, and taints the air on 
every side. The houses are open towards the 
street; so that, except in the back apartment, all 
the domestic arrangements of the family may be 
seen, in the same manner as if the walls of the edi¬ 
fices in one of our own streets, from the foundation 
to the eaves, were suddenly to be removed. 

The inhabitants wear silks of gay and dazzling 
hues, which, by a peculiar art in the dying, are cal¬ 
culated to resist the powerful action of the sun, and 
retain their lustre till worn out. These silks are 
excessively dear, and scarcely form an article of 
commerce, as each family possesses a loom, in 
which it manufactures the fabric for its own use. 
Bamboo boxes are another article of domestic work¬ 
manship, which have a considerable sale; they are 
made in nests, fitting into each other, and are dec¬ 
orated with paint and varnish. The ordinary 
drinking-cups are likewise made of bamboo. Per¬ 
sons of rank, however, use none but gold or silver 
vessels, which are cast in a mould, and afterwards 


ornamented with the twelve signs of the zodiac, and 
various other dev ces. There is a strict prohibition 
against coriveyirg these cups out of the country. 

The wome'^i of Rangoon, and throughout the 
Burman emp.re, are permitted to walk the streets, 
at their owr pleasure, and enjoy a degree of free¬ 
dom which is granted to the females in no other 
part of India. They are generally pretty, but have 
their lips disagreeably died with red, and their teeth 
discoloured, by continually chewing the betel-nut. 
A still more unpleasant peculiarity in their appear¬ 
ance, and which is even shocking to an unaccus¬ 
tomed observer, is the position of their arms; the 
limb, by way of ornament, is dislocated in infancy, 
and dangles downward from the elbow, with the 
inner part turned outward. Whether this strange 
practice unfits them for domestic avocations, we are 
not able to say. The women are addicted to smok¬ 
ing cigars, and it is not unusual to see a mother 
take a lighted cheroot from her own mouth, and in¬ 
sert it into that of the infant at her breast. 

The Burman law, in regard to debt, is one of ex¬ 
treme singularity. The creditor may seize his 
debtor’s servants, or even his wife, and, in short, 
every thing that he possesses; but the debtor’s own 
person is held sacred from the slightest molestation. 
It would not be amiss, while imprisonment for debt 
is so important a subject of discussion among oiu 
legislators, to enquire into the operation of this 
law. 

There are two languages in Rangoon ; the Bur¬ 
man, which is in ordinary use by all classes, and the 
Pali, or sacred language, which is confined to the 
priests, and in which the holy books are written. 
The books in the Burman language are made of 
strips of palm-leaves, on which the letters are beau¬ 
tifully marked with a small, sharp instrument; the 
leaves are strung together, and fastened at both 
ends. The Pali, or sacred volumes, are made of 
the bark of bamboo, cut and plaited, sometimes 
written in black letters, and sometimes in copper or 
silver. 

There is no coin at Rangoon ; all the currency 
consisting of ingots of silver, worth twenty-eight 
rupees; and when smaller change is needed, these 
ingots are cut in pieces and weighed, by means of 
weights formed of a mixture of gold, silver, and 
copper. Each weight is stamped with the figure 
of a goose, which is the national ensign of Burmah, 
as an eagle is that of the United States. 

The inhabitants are believers in astrology, and 
put great confidence in lucky and unlucky days, 
and in all sorts of signs and omens. There was an 
ancient prophecy among them, that, when a vessel 
should come up the river to Rangoon, without the 
aid of oars or sails, the ruin of their country was at 
hand. Shortly before the taking of Rangoon by 
the British, a steamer arrived from Calcutta ; and 
the people, deeming the prophecy about to be ful¬ 
filled, considered all further resistance as of no avail. 


Flesh of the Boa.— In many parts of India, 
the natives go in pursuit of the Boa for the sake 
of its flesh. When captured, this immense serpent 
is cut into short pieces, and sold in the market. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


435 


OLD MAIDS IN FRANCE. 

[Mrs. Trollope’s ‘ Paris and the Parisians.’] 

Several years ago, while passing a few weeks in 
Paris, I had a conversation with a Frenchman upon 
the subject of old maids, which, though so long past, 
I refer to now for the sake of the sequel, which has 
just reached me. 

We were, I well remember, parading in the Gar¬ 
dens of the Luxembourg; and, as we paced up and 
down its long alleys, the ‘ miserable fate,’ as he call¬ 
ed it, of single women in England was discussed 
and deplored by my companion as being one of the 
most melancholy results of faulty national manners 
that could be mentioned. 

‘ I know nothing,’ said he, with much energy, 
‘ that ever gave me more pain in society, than see¬ 
ing, as I did in England, numbers of unhappy wo¬ 
men who, however well born, well educated, or 
estimable, were without a position, without an 
establishment, and without a name, excepting one 
that they would generally give half their remaining 
days to get rid of.’ 

‘ I think you somewhat exaggerate the evil,’ I 
replied; ‘ but even if it were as bad as you state it 
to be, I see not why single ladies should be better 
off here.’ 

‘ Here !’ he exclaimed in a tone of horrour: ‘ do 
you really imagine that in France, where we pride 
ourselves on making the destiny of our women the 
happiest in the world,—do you really imagine that 
we suffer a set of unhappy, innocent, helpless girls 
to drop, as it were, out of society, into the neant 
(nothingness) of celibacy, as you do ? Far from us 
be such barbarity !’ 

‘ But how can you help it ? It is impossible but 
that circumstances must arise to keep many of your 
men single ; and, if the numbers be equally balanc¬ 
ed, it follows that there must be single women too.’ 

‘ It may seem so ; but the fact is otherwise ; we 
have no single women.’ 

‘ What, then, becomes of them ?’ 

‘ I know not; but were any Frenchwoman to 
find herself so circumstanced, depend upon it she 
would drown herself.’ 

‘ I know one such, however,’ said a lady who 
was with us; ‘ Mademoiselle Isabelle B— is an old 
maid.’ 

‘ Is it possible 1’ cried the gentleman, in a tone 
that made me laugh very heartily. ‘ And how old 
is she, this unhappy Mademoiselle Isabelle ?’ 

‘ I do not know exactly,’ replied the lady ; ‘ but 
I think she must be considerably past thirty.’ 

‘ C’est une horreur!’ he e.xclaimed again ; adding, 
rather mysteriously, in a half whisper, ‘ Trust me, 

she will not bear it long !’ 

__I had certainly 

forgotten Mademoiselle Isabelle and all about her, 
when I again met the lady who had named her as 
the one Lie existing old maid of France. While 
conversing with her the other day on many things 
which had passed when we were last together, she 
asked me if I remembered this conversation. I 
assured her that I had forgotten no part of it. 

‘ Well, then,’ said she, ‘ I must tell you what 
happened to me about three months after it took 
place. I was invited with my husband to pay a 


visit at the house of a friend in the country,—the 
same house where I had formerly seen the Made¬ 
moiselle Isabelle B— whom I had named to you. 
I recollected our conversation in the Gardens of the 
Luxembourg, and inquired of our host for the lady 
who had been named in it. 

‘ Is it possible that you have not heard what has 
happened to her ?’ he replied. 

‘ No, indeed, I have heard nothing. Is she mar¬ 
ried, then ?’ 

‘ Married!-Alas, no! she has drowned herself.^ 

Terrible as this denouement was, it could not be 
heard with the solemn gravity it called for, after 
what had been said respecting her. Was ever co¬ 
incidence more strange! My friend told me, that 
on her return to Paris she mentioned this catastro¬ 
phe to the gentleman who had seemed to predict 
it; when the information was received by an excla¬ 
mation quite in character.—‘ Heaven be praised ! 
then she is out of her misery !’ 

This incident, and the conversation which follow¬ 
ed upon it, induced me to inquire in sober earnest 
what degree of truth there might really be in the 
statement made to us in this well-remembered con¬ 
versation ; and it certainly does appear, from all I 
can learn, that the meeting a single woman past 
thirty, is a very rare occurrence in France. The 
arranging a suitable marriage is in fact as necessary 
and as ordinary a duty in parents towards a daugh¬ 
ter as the sending her to school. The proposal for 
such an alliance proceeds quite as frequently from 
the friends of the lady as from those of the gentle¬ 
man ; and it is obvious that this must at once very 
greatly increase the chance of a suitable marriage 
for young women ; for though we do occasionally 
send our daughters to India in the hope of obtaining 
this much-desired result, few English parents have 
as yet gone the length of proposing to any-body, 
or to any-body’s son, to take their daughter ofl' their 
hands. 

I have reason to believe, however, that my friend 
of the Luxembourg Gardens exaggerated a good 
deal when he asserted that there were no single 
women in France. They do exist here, though 
certainly in less numbers than in England,—hut it 
is not so easy to find them out. With us, it is not 
unusual for single ladies to take what is called 
brevet rank; —that is Miss Dorothy Tomkins be¬ 
comes Mrs. Dorothy Tomkins—and sometimes 
downright Mrs. Toinkins, provided there be no 
collateral Mrs. Tomkins to interfere with her; but 
upon no occasion do I remember that any lady in 
this predicament called herself the widow Tomkins, 
or the widow any thing else. 

Here, however, I am assured that the case is dif¬ 
ferent ; nothing is more common than for unmar¬ 
ried ladies to assume the title of widow; so that, 
let the number of spinsters be great or small, no 
one but the near connexions and most intimate 
friends of the party know any thing of the matter. 
Many a veuve respectable (respectable widow) has 
never had a husband in her life; and I have heard 
it positively affirmed, that the secret is often so well 
kept, that the nieces and nephews of a family do 
not know their maiden aunts from their widowed 
ones. 





436 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


This shows, at least, that matrimony is consider¬ 
ed here as a more honourable state than that of 
celibacy; though it does not quite go the length of 
proving that all single women drown themselves. 

THE CASSAVA ROOT, OR MANIOCK. 

[Ligoii’e ' History of Barbadoes/—published in 1673.] 

This, before it comes to be eaten, suffers a strange 
conversion ; for, being an absolute poison when it 
is gathered, by good ordering, comes to be whole¬ 
some and nourishing ; and the manner of doing it 
is this ;—They wash the outside of the root clean, 
and lean it against a wheel, whose sole is about a 
foot broad, and covered w-ith lattin, made rough, 
like a large grater. The wheel to be turned about 
with the foot, as a cutler turns his wheel. And as 
it grates the root, it falls down in a large trough, 
which is the receiver appointed for the purpose. 
This root, thus grated, is as rank poison as can be 
made by the art of an apothecary, of the most veno¬ 
mous simples he can put together; but being put 
into a strong piece of double canvass, or sack-cloth, 
and pressed hard, that all the juice may be squeezed 
out, and then opened upon a cloth, and dried in 
the sun, it is ready to make bread. And thus it is 
done: 

They have a piece of iron, which I guess is cast 
round, the diameter of which is about twenty inches, 
a little hollowed in the middle, not unlike the 
mould that the spectacle makers grind their glasses 
on, but not so much a concave as that; about half 
an inch thick at the brim or verge, but thicker to¬ 
wards the middle, with three feet like a pot, about 
si.x inches high, that fire may be underneath. To 
such temper they heat this pone, as they call it, as 
to bake, but not burn. When it is made thus hot, 
the Indians, whom we trust to make it, because they 
are best acquainted with it, cast the meal upon the 
pone, the whole breadth of it, and put it down with 
their hands, and it will presently stick together; 
and when they think that side almost done enough, 
with a thing like a battledore, they turn the other; 
and so turn and return it so often, till it be enough, 
which is presently done. So they lay this cake 
upon a flat board, and make another, and so another, 
till they have made enough for the whole family. 
This bread they made, when we came first here, as 
thick as a pancake ; but after that, they grew to a 
higher degree of curiosity, and made it as thin as a 
wafer, and yet purely white and crisp, as a new- 
made wafer. Salt they never use in it, which I 
wonder at; for the bread being tasteless in itself, 
they should give it some little seasoning. There is 
no way it eats so well as in milk, and there it tastes 
like almonds. They offer to make pye-crust, but 
very few attain to the skill of that; for, as you 
work it up with your hand, or roll it out with a 
roller, it will always crackle and chop, so that it 
will not be raised to hold any liquor, neither with, 
nor without, butter or eggs. 

KILLING A TURTLE. 

[Ligon’s ‘ History of Barbadoes.’] 

When you are to kill one of these fishes, the man¬ 
ner is, to lay him on his back on a table, and when 
he sees you come with a knife in your hand to kill 


him, he vapours out the grievousest sighs, that ever 
you heard any creature make, and sheds as large 
tears as a stag, that has a far greater body and larger 
eyes. He has a joint or crevis about an inch within 
the utmost edge of his shell, which goes round 
about his body, from his head to his tail, on his 
belly side; into which joint or crevis you put 
your knife, beginning at the head, and so rip up 
that side, and then do as much to the other; 
then lifting up his belly, which we call his callippee, 
we lay open his bowels, and, taking them out, 
come next to his heart, which has three distinct 
points, but all meat above where the fat is ; and 
if you take it out, and lay it in a dish, it will stir 
and pant ten hours after the fish is dead. Sure, 
there is no creature on the earth, or in the seas, 
that enjoys life with so much sweetness and delight 
as this poor fish the turtle; nor none more delicate 
in taste, and more nourishing than he. 


‘ EARTH TO EARTH, AND DUST TO DUST.’ 
By Rev. G. Uroly. 

‘ Earth to earth, and dust to dust !’ 

Here the evil and the just. 

Here tlie youthful and the old. 

Here the fearful and the hold. 

Here the matron and the maid 
In one silent bed are laid ; 

Here the vassal and the king. 

Side by side lie withering ; 

Here the sword and sceptre rust— 

‘ Earth to earth, and dust to dust !’ 

Age on age shall roll along. 

O’er this pale and mighty throng ; 

Those that wept them, those that weep. 

All shall with these sleepers sleep — 

Brothers, sisters of the worm. 

Summer’s sun or winter’s storm. 

Song of peace or battle’s roar. 

Ne’er shall break their slumbers more. 

Death shall keep his sullen trust— 

‘ Earth to earth, and dust to dust !’ 

But a day is coming fast. 

Earth, thy mightiest and thy last 
It shall come in fear and wonder. 

Heralded by trump and thunder ; 

It shall come in strife and toil ; 

It shall come in blood and spoil ; 

It shall come in empire’s groans ; 

Burning temples, trampled thrones ; 

Then ambition, rue thy lust!— 

‘ Earth to earth, and dust to dust !’ 

Then shall come the judgment sign ; 

In the East the King shall shine. 

Flashing from heaven’s golden gate. 

Thousand thousands round his state. 

Spirits with the crown and plume 
Tremble then, thou sullen tomb ! 

Heaven shall open on our sight. 

Earth be turned to living light. 

Kingdom of the ransomed just— 

‘ Earth to earth, and dust to dust !’ 

Then thy mount, Jerusalem, 

Shall be gorgeous as a gem ; 

Then shall in the desert rise 
Fruits of more than Paradise ; 

Earth by angel feet be trod. 

One great garden of her God ! 

Till are dried the martyr’s tears 
Through a thousand glorious years !— 

Now, in hope of him we trust, 

‘ Earth to earth, and dust to dust !’ 


Salt Butter, if kept all night in milk, will oe- 
come fresh. 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


437 


GENERAL MARION. 

[Paulding's Life of Washington.] 

The States south of the Potomac had early par¬ 
taken in the sufferings of the war. Virginia had 
been ravaged by Dunmore; and North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia had not escaped. 
South Carolina had most especially suffered. Many 
of the inhabitants of that State were loyalists, and 
bore an inveterate hatred, not only to the cause of 
liberty, but to all its supporters. Internal fires 
burned within the State, while the flames raged on 
its borders. The British, probably instigated and 
exasperated by the representations of the tories, re¬ 
paid the wrongs alleged to have been inflicted on 
their friends, by retaliating with still greater severity. 
At one time the enemy even flattered himself that 
the Southern States were conquered. But there 
was still a spirit stirring within them, which might 
be repressed for a while, but could not be subdued. 
The flame of liberty was kept alive in the pine-bar¬ 
rens, the swamps, and the mountains, by Pickens, 
and Sumpter, and Huger, and Horry. Above all, 
there was Marion, who, when all seemed lost, re¬ 
tired to the woods, and with a few followers, wor¬ 
thy of such a leader, kept the war alive, when 
scarcely a spark was left to kindle it into a flame. 

Among the fine spirits of the Revolution, there 
were few whose character and services were more 
worthy of remembrance and admiration than those 
of Francis Marion. He was a man of great talents 
as well as great courage. His patriotism was warm 
and thrilling, and his love of liberty unconquerable. 

After the fall of Charleston, Tarleton and his myr¬ 
midons insulted and ravaged the lower parts of the 
State almost with impunity ; and the tories were 
emboldened to new acts of ill-neighbourhood, if not 
of inhumanity, to their unfortunate countrymen. 
Their houses were burned, their plantations laid 
waste, and their wives, mothers, and daughters in¬ 
sulted and abused. There was no force that could 
make head against external and internal enemies, 
and the country lay at their mercy. 

In this situation, the services of Marion were in¬ 
valuable. Patient of fatigue, and capable of en¬ 
during every privation ; intrepid and cautious ; quick 
and persevering; a soldier and a philosopher ; he 
never remitted his exertions to sustain what re¬ 
mained of the liberties of his country, nor ever de¬ 
spaired of her cause. Collecting together a little 
band of hardy and active spirits, he retired into the 
inaccessible swamps where he watched his opportu¬ 
nity, darted out on his enemies, struck his blow, 
and before it was known whence he came, was safe 
in his woods again. Within his sphere, he might 
be said to have carried on a war of his own, for the 
State authorities were distant, inaccessible, and al¬ 
most destitute of power. His mode of subsisting 
himself and his soldiers is affectingly illustrated by 
the following striking anecdote, derived from an old 
friend and fellow-soldier of Marion, many years 
ago. 

While occupying one of his fastnesses, in the 
midst of a swamp, a British Officer with a flag, pro¬ 
posing an exchange of prisoners, was one day 
brougTit blindfold to his camp. His exploits had 
made his name now greatly known, and the officer 


was curious to look at this invisible warriour, who 
was so often felt but never seen. On removing; the 
bandage from his eyes, he was presented to a man 
rather below the middle size, very thin in his person, 
ot a dark complexion and withered look. He was 
dressed in a homespun coat that bore evidence of 
flood and field, and the rest of his garments were 
much the worse for wear. ‘ I came,’ said the offi¬ 
cer, ‘ with a message for General Marion.’ ‘ I am 
he,’ said Marion, ‘ and these are my soldiers.’ The 
officer looked around, and saw a parcel of rough, 
half-clothed fellows, some roasting sweet potatoes, 
others resting on their dark muskets, and others 
asleep with logs for their pillows. 

The business being settled, the officer was about 
to depart, when he was rather ceremoniously invit¬ 
ed by Marion to stay and dine. Not seeing any 
symptoms of dinner, he was inclined to take the in¬ 
vitation in jest; but on being again pressed, curi¬ 
osity as well as hunger prompted him to accept. 
The general then ordered his servant to set the ta¬ 
ble and serve up dinner; upon which the man plac¬ 
ed a clean piece of pine bark on the ground, and, 
raking the ashes, uncovered a quantity of sweet po¬ 
tatoes. These constituted Marion’s breakfasts, 
dinners and suppers, for many a time that he watch¬ 
ed the flame of liberty in the swamps of South 
Carolina. 

Some jests occurred at this patriarchal feast, but 
in conclusion the conversation took a serious turn. 
The British officer learned, in reply to various ques¬ 
tions, that Marion and his soldiers were serving 
without pay ; living without quarters; sometimes 
half clothed, at others half starved ; and expressed 
his pity for their situation. The reply of Marion 
ought never to be forgotten by my youthful readers. 

‘ Pity not me,’ said the soldier of freedom, smil¬ 
ing; ‘ I am happier than you, for I am fighting to 
free, while you are striving to enslave, your coun¬ 
trymen. When I am hungry, I comfort myself 
with the hope that I am doing something for my 
fellow-creatures ; when I am cold and wet, I warm 
myself with the consciousness that I am suffering 
for my country; and when the cause in which I am 
engaged, and to which I have pledged my life, 
seems shrouded in gloom and despair, I still recol¬ 
lect that there is yet virtue in man, and justice in 
his Maker. The children of my country in after 
generations may never hear of my name, or know 
that I laboured in their cause; but on my soul, sir, 
the thought that I am now contending for their 
freedom and happiness, is what I would not ex¬ 
change for the feelings of any man that lives or 
ever lived, who was the oppressor of his fellow- 
creatures.’ 

The soldier of Britain made no reply. He re¬ 
turned to his commander with a serious, nay, .sor¬ 
rowful countenance; and on being questioned as tc 
the cause, made this remarkable answer:— 

‘ Sir, 1 have seen an American general, his offi¬ 
cers and soldiers serving without pay, without shel¬ 
ter, without clothing, without any other food than 
roots and water—and they are enduring all this for 
liberty! What chance have we of subduing a 
country with such men for her defenders.’ It is 
said he soon after threw up his commission and 





438 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


retired from the service, either in consequence of a 
change in his feelings, or of hopelessness in the suc¬ 
cess of the cause in which he had engaged. 

SPEARING FISH. 

[Head’s 'Forest Scenes, in North America.’] 

April 21st, —The evening turned out remaraa- 
bly fine, and the water was as smooth as a looking 
glass—Every thing was ready for my fish spearing 
expedition, the preparations for which were ex¬ 
tremely simple. The fish spear consisted of a 
straight handle about fifteen feet long, to which a 
couple of barbed iron spikes, of sufficient size to 
pierce a moderate-sized salmon, were affixed. The 
birch-bark, for the purpose of light, was prepared 
in pieces three or four double, each the size of a 
large quarto book; and one at a time of these was 
stuck in a cleft pole five or six feet long, placed at 
the head of the canoe, overhanging the water in 
such a manner that the blazing bark might shine 
upon it. It was no sooner dark than I went to the 
water’s edge, where Liberte and another Canadian 
were ready with the canoe. As he held the vessel 
to the shore, I steadied myself by his shoulder, 
stepped in cautiously, and took my seat in the mid¬ 
dle. The canoe was a very eggshell, and as cranky 
as a washingtub, more fitted to carry ghosts than 
men ; while Liberte was as ugly as Charon himself. 
A boy of twelve years old could have carried it, not¬ 
withstanding it was to hold three of us. We had 
an establishment of tinder and matches, and some 
pieces of fat pork cut into slips as a substitute for 
candles. 

As soon as we embarked, the men paddled away 
along shore towards the head of the bay; and as 
soon as we came near some small streams which set 
into the bay, we stopped, and the men, having 
struck a light, kindled the birch bark in the cleft 
pole. Crackling like soft fat, the unctuous matter 
produced a clear flame, which lighted up the watery 
depth beneath us to the brightness of day. The 
soft ashes which fell occasionally from the fire 
caused a ripple, which for a moment confused the 
objects underneath; but otherwise at a depth of 
ten feet every thing was clear and resplendent. The 
slightest form was distinctly visible,—every pebble, 
even the beetle that crawled on the ground. We 
passed some perch lying close to the bottom, and 
soon afterwards a rapid quiver of the water an¬ 
nounced the presence of some larger fish. Liberte 
now became animated, and pointing his spear in 
the proper direction, made signal to the man in the 
stern to give way. He struck once, twice, without 
success; but the third time brought a large fish up 
on his spear. It was a sucking carp; a worthless 
fish, full of bones, and very watery. However, we 
pursued the remainder, and killed two more. We 
advanced nearer the head of the bay, and at the 
same time saw two other lights proceeding from the 
canoes of Indians who had visited the neighbour¬ 
hood, and were pursuing the same occupation with 
ourselves. 

All of a sudden Liberte again sounded an alarm, 
and off we were again in pursuit of a fish, which I 
could not for a long time see; a fine salmon-trout, 
but of a nature infinitely wilder than the carp. We 


chased him like lightning, turning and doubling in 
his wake, till I was obliged to hold boili sides of the 
canoe to keep myself from being thrown out into 
the water. However I caught sight of the fish, 
every now and then, when he was for a moment 
still; then he made a dart, and all again was ob¬ 
scure. We were some minutes after him, having 
lost him, and come upon him again; but in the end 
he eluded our pursuit, and made his way into deep 
water, till the glimmer of his silver sides was lost in 
the lurid yellow gleam that, becoming by rapid de¬ 
grees more and more opaque, confined to its very 
narrow limits our subaqueous prospect. I changed 
places with Liberte, with some risk of being upset, 
and I look the spear, kneeling down in the head of 
the canoe. (We had regularly replenished our 
lights, which burnt out every five minutes or there¬ 
abouts.) We went back to where we left the carp, 
and found them again. I struck at them several 
times, but without success. I found it not only 
difficult to hit them, from the refraction of the 
water, but impossible, even had I judged the dis¬ 
tance correctly, to drive the spear, by its long bend¬ 
ing handle, straight forward. I saw some perch 
close to the bottom, and I speared one of them. 
We were in about ten feet water, and I found it 
was necessary to aim a foot at least below the ob¬ 
ject. I had the less difficulty, as they were not in 
motion. I also saw at the bottom a hideous look¬ 
ing fish, yellow with black spots, the body like that 
of a snake, with a large head, about a foot and a 
half long, and somewhat in form resembling the 
small fish found under stones in running streams in 
England, and called the ‘ Miller’s Thumb.’ I 
speared him, and found him so strong, that I verily 
expected he would have broken the handle of my 
spear. He was what the Canadians call a Cat-fish. 
In his writhing he had a knack of twisting his sup¬ 
ple body like an eel round the spear, and with a 
force that, considering his size, was quite surprising. 
He was, of course, not eatable. 

ADULTERATIONS OF TEA. 

[Desmarest’s Chemical Recreations.] 

The Chinese frequently mix the leaves of other 
shrubs with those of the tea plant; this fraud is ea¬ 
sily discovered by adding to an infusion of it a 
grain and a half of sulphate of iron. If it is true 
green tea, the solution placed between the eye and 
the light assumes a pale bluish tint; if it is bohea 
tea, the solution is blue, inclining to black; but if 
it is adulterated, it shows all the colours, yellow, 
green, and black. - 

Ink. —The writing-ink, which is blackest when 
first applied to the paper, is not of the best quality. 

It owes its depth of colour to a deficiency of the 
tanno-gallate of iron—an ingredient which renders 
the ink more durable, the more abundantly it is 
contained in it, but which is deposited in the bat¬ 
tle by keeping. There is the greatest quantity of 
this ingredient in new ink, which is pale when it 
flows from the pen, but, in a few days, turns black 
upon the paper. - 

Constantinople was besieged twenty-nine times, 
between the years 477, before Christ, and 1453, of 
the Christian Era, when it was taken by the Turks. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


439 


IMPORTANCE OF FRESH AIR. 

[Philosophy of Living.] 

In all large assemblies the air is apt to become 
impure by being deprived of its oxygen ; and hence 
the oppression, difficulty of breathing, head-ache, 
and fainting, aided, perhaps, by diminishing the ca¬ 
pacity of the chest by a tight dress. The rooms of 
schools, and public schools especially, where many 
children are assembled, and those not the most 
cleanly, as well as churches, are hardly ever suffi¬ 
ciently ventilated. It is generally supposed that if 
a room is cool the air must be pure ; but if it be 
even uncomfortably cold, and at the same time 
crowded with persons, it is just as necessary that 
the air should be constantly renewed, as if it were 
midsummer. 

It is a matter of the first importance that the air 
should be subject to constant change and renewal 
at all times, but particularly in sleeping-rooms, and 
at night. Nothing is more common than for a per¬ 
son to retire into a small bed-room and close the 
door and windows, thus precluding all possibility of 
a supply of fresh air, and in the morning to com¬ 
plain of weakness and head-ache, without once sus¬ 
pecting the true cause. In the southern part of 
the United States it is not unfrequent for travellers 
to sleep in the open air, wrapped in a blanket, for 
many successive nights, and seldom is it that they 
ever take cold, or suffer in consequence, even when 
in delicate health. Where then is the propriety of 
excluding from our bed-rooms every breath of pure 
and wholesome air ? The door may be left ajar, or 
the window a little open, to admit the external air, 
without allowing a current to blow upon the body, 
or incurring the least risk of unpleasant consequen¬ 
ces. The air of school-rooms, and most other apart¬ 
ments heated with stoves, is rendered unfit for respi¬ 
ration by being deprived of its moisture, a certain 
portion of which is necessary for the due perform¬ 
ance of the functions of the lungs. A heated, 
dry air cannot be inhaled, generally, for any length 
of time by a healthy individual, or one afflicted with 
a cough or predisposed to affections of the chest; 
a basin of water on a stove prevents a dry state of 
the air, and is a precaution which should in no case 
be disregarded. Besides the lack of moisture in the 
air of a stove-room, it is so rarefied by heat that a 
sufficient quantity of oxygen cannot be inhaled to 
carry on healthy respiration ; and hence the uneasy, 
suffocating sensation of those confined to such an 
atmosphere, the effect being precisely the same as 
if but half a breath were taken. 

To render the air unfit for respiration, and una¬ 
ble to sustain life, it is not necessary that any no.x- 
ious or otherwise injurious matter should be added 
to it; merely depriving it of oxygen causes it to 
produce as fatal effects as when the most deadly 
poisons are blended with it. The same mortality 
may be caused in one latitude as another by con¬ 
finement of the atmosphere,—on the top of the Al- 
leghanies as in the black hole of Calcutta. This is 
one, among many reasons, why the poor, inhabiting 
the basements and cellars in cities, are more obnox¬ 
ious to disease, and particularly to cholera, than 
those who live in well-ventilated apartments. As 
many houses are constructed, there is no possibility 


of having them ventilated ; they are built for the 
poor, and no pains are taken to make them comfort¬ 
able ; and there is as little chance to pass a cur¬ 
rent of air into the basement as into the hold of a 
ship, or even a well sixty feet deep. Much pains 
were taken by our corporation, (that of New York,) 
and much money expended, during the years of 
1832 and 1834, to cleanse the streets and all other 
places from filth ; load after load of chloride of lime 
was sprinkled over the city, in alleys and cellars, 
and through highways and byways; but I very 
much doubt whether a single aperture was made in 
any house to supply its inmates with pure fresh air. 
Chloride of lime may neutralize offensive effluvia; 
and if there be such a thing as contagion, destroy it 
—but it can never restore oxvgen to the atmos- 
phere when once it has been deprived of it. No 
house should be built without being so constructed 
as to allow every room to be freely ventilated at 
any time; and this could be done with little addi¬ 
tional expense, and without the slightest incon- 
vience. 


SIMILITUDES. 

[Monthly Magazine.] 

What can Love be likened to — 

To the glittering, heeling dew ; 

To heaven’s bright, but fading bow ; 

To the white, but melting snow ; 

To fleeting sounds, and viewless air ; 

To all that’s sweet, and false, and fair. 

Whereto can we liken Hope?— 

To the arch of heaven’s wide cope. 

Where birds sing sweetly, but are flying ; 

Where days shine brightly, but are dying ; 

So near, that we behold it ever ; 

So far, that we shall reach it never. 

What can Beauty’s semblance boast?— 

The rose resembles her the most; 

For that’s the sweetest among flowers— 

The brightest gem in Flora’s bowers ; 

And all its sweetness soon is past. 

And all its brightness fades at last. 

And what are Dreams, that light Night’s gloom ? 

Doves that, like Noah’s, go and come, 

To teach the soul this orb of clay, 

Shall not its prison be for aye— 

That Time’s dark waves shall soon subside, 

And brighter worlds spread far and wide. 

And what’s like Popular Renown, 

When the destroyer it doth crown ?— 

The honey which the wild bee’s power 
Wrings from the bosom of the flower ; 

The harmless drones no honey bring,— 

They win the sweets who wear the sting. 

And what is like Ambition’s flight ?— 

The eagle, on his airy height; 

On whose broad wings the sunbeam plays, 

Though from the world they hide his rays. 

Drinking the dew before it falls. 

For which the parched earth vainly calls. 

Infection. —Some people dying of the plague in 
England, their bodies were buried together on a 
hill. Nearly a hundred years afterwards, five per¬ 
sons happtened to be digging there, and uncovered 
some decayed fragments of linen. Recollecting the 
tradition that this was the burial-place of those who 
died of the pestilence, they threw the earth back 
into the hole, as speedily as possible. Nevertheless, 
they all sickened of putrid fever, and three of the 
number died. 






THURINGIAN QUADRILLE 


BY ch; ZEDNER. 




KINLOCK OF KINLOCK. 


A FAVORITE SCOTCH AIR, ARRANGED FOR THE PIANO FORTE. 















































































































































































































































































































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


441 



Second Baptist Church, Albany, New York. 


The site of the new Baptist Church in Albany, 
near the corner of Pearl street and Maiden-lane, 
was formerly occupied by a venerable structure, 
known as the Vander Heyden Palace, This latter 
edifice was constructed in 1725, with bricks im¬ 
ported from Holland, and in a style of architecture 
that probably originated in the streets of Amster¬ 
dam. So long as it existed, there was no better 
specimen of the mansions which were erected by 
the old Dutch nobility of the province; and the 
ancient structure has been immortalized, we be¬ 
lieve, in one of the delightful sketches of Washing¬ 
ton Irving. It would appear something like sacri¬ 
lege to destroy any of the few monuments of past 
magnificence, that may exist among us, unless to 
supply their place by the best efforts of modern 
architecture. The beauty of the new church, how¬ 
ever, an engraving of which accompanies this article, 
will not permit us to regret that the old brick walls 


of the Vander Heyden Palace have been torn down, 
to make room for such a successor. The founda¬ 
tion of this edifice was laid in 1834. Its front, 
which is on the western side of North Pearl street, 
is ornamented by a stately and elegant portico, of 
the Ionic order; and the roof is crowned by a 
dome and lantern, the extreme height of which, 
above the ground, is one hundred and twenty feet. 


Napoleon’s Mother. Madame Letitia Bona¬ 
parte died at Rome aged eighty-five years, on the 
third of February 1836. The widow of a Corsican 
officer, she was the mother of the greatest potentate 
that ever lived, and of a whole brood of lesser kings. 
Since 1814, she had resided at Rome. Of late 
years, she had lost her sight, and suffered greatly 
from the infirmities of age, being chiefly confined 
to her bed. 











































































































































































































































442 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



[Peasants on Stilts.] 


In the Landes, a province of Gascony, in France, 
the country people are accustomed to walk on stilts 
—a method of travelling, the most convenient that 
they could adopt, on account of the deep sands 
which impede their progress on foot. To a distant 
spectator, being elevated from three to five feet 
above the ground, while the legs of the stilts are in¬ 
visible, they appear as if walking in the air. A 
long pole, like that used by a rope-dancer, is neces¬ 
sary to enable them to keep their balance. Being 
habituated to this mode of walkings from infancy, 
they acquire the most astonishing dexterity, and 
can run races as fleetly as a horse, and dance with 
equal grace and agility. They can take leaps, and, 
what is even more remarkable, they can stoop, so 
as to pick up the smallest object from the ground. 
Among other convenient effects, these stilts keep 
the wearer’s feet from the burning sands in Sum¬ 
mer, and from the ice-cold water which overflows 
the country in Winter; and by elevating him to so 
considerable a height, enable him to view the sur¬ 
rounding landscape to a much wider extent, than 
would otherwise be practicable. Eight or ten miles 
an hour is said to be no extraordinary speed, for a 
man on stilts. When the Emperour Napoleon was 
travelling through Landes, he had out-ridden the 
horsemen of his guard ; but their place was supplied 
by the country people, who assembled around his 
carriage, on stilts, to the number of two hundred, 
and kept pace with it for two hours, at the rate of 
seven miles^an hour. It would appear that, the 
legs being so much lengthened by the stilts, the 
speed of the traveller is proportionably increased. 


Such instruments might be convenient appen¬ 
dages to the natural leg, on the further extremity of 
Cape Cod, where the sands are at least as deep as 
in any other region of the globe. Even in case of 
a tumble, the yielding nature of the ground would 
protect the wearer from material injury. But else¬ 
where in our country, the soil is too rugged, and 
the rocks too abundant, to render it advisable for 
any man to risk a broken nose, by elevating him¬ 
self above the heads of his fellow-citizens. 


LIGHTNING RODS. 

In Belgium and the Netherlands, buildings are 
defended by lightning-rods of a peculiar construc¬ 
tion, which, instead of relieving a thunder-cloud of 
its electricity, drive it into a distant region of the 
air. It would appear, however, that the effect is 
not invariably beneficial. From a manuscript letter 
of Professor Van Mons, the distinguished horticul- 
turalist of Antwerp, we translate the following pas¬ 
sage:—‘We have had two Winters successively 
without frost, and two Summers without rain. In 
the course of each Summer, thirty storms have 
threatened to burst upon us, but have invariably 
been prevented from exploding by the lightning- 
rods. Finally, the clouds have gathered in regions 
so high, as to be beyond the controul of the rods, 
and have there burst forth, sending their moisture 
to the earth in the shape of huge hail-stones. Be¬ 
fore the introduction of lightning-rods, we had, at 
every change of the moon, in Summer, a storm in 
the lower regions of the air, accompanied with an 
abundance of warm rain. These rains are now 
I no longer known.’—This, truly, is a most remarka- 
j ble instance of a change of climate effected by hu¬ 
man agency. A modification of the temperature of 
the air, so as to render the seasons colder or warmer, 
would have been hardly more wonderful. Yet we 
derive the same moral from the result, as from the 
tale of the astronomer, in Rasselas,—that the ad¬ 
ministration of the Elemental Kingdom would 
only be changed for the worse, by the interference 
of man. 


Walrus. —This misshapen sea-monster is taken 
in great abundance on the coast of Finland. The 
oil derived from its fat, and the ivory of its tusks, 
are particularly excellent in their quality ; and its 
hide, though not hitherto applied to any use in 
manufactures, is said to be well adapted for carriage- 
traces and braces; being of superiour strength to 
any other kind of leather. The Walrus uses its 
tusks for the purpose of detaching shell-fish or crus- 
taceous animals from the rocks, at the bottom of 
the sea. Sometimes, when inclined to sleep, he fas¬ 
tens himself by his tusks to a rock ; and during 
his nap, the tide ebbs, and leaves him suspended in 
such a manner that he is unable to extricate him¬ 
self. In the morning, probably, the poor Walrus 
wonders how he came to be hung upon a peg. 

A Sign of Life. —It was a rule among ancient 
physicians, that, as long as a sick person’s eye 
was so clear that the nurse could discern her own 
image in the pupil of it, his recovery was not to be 
reckoiied liopeless. 













OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


443 


FOGS OF LONDON. 

[Mudie’s • Observations of Nature.’] 

In the evening, the land, especially where it is 
bare and dry, cools much sooner than the water; 
and as it is the change of temperature, and not the 
absolute temperature that produces the change of 
evaporation, vapour then gathers over the pools and 
marshes, and the courses of the rivers ; and among 
bare hills with deep valleys, and lakes and rivers, 
the fog is often seen white and dense, in the hol¬ 
lows, as if some white fluid had been poured into 
thetn. 

City fogs, such as the fog of London, which is at 
times very annoying, and always very offensive, are 
owing to a similar cause; (temporary local heat,) 
only in the case of these, that cause is in the city. 
In tlie early morning, when the production of fog 
has l)een lessened by the slackening of the fires dur¬ 
ing the hours of rest, and the upper air, which may 
be very dry and tranquil without tlie limits of the city- 
heat both upwards and laterally, may have melted 
the fog of the preceding day, the air may be mod¬ 
erately clear. But when the half-million of fires are 
lighted, and send up their heat, the whole moisture 
of the surrounding air is poured over the city ; and 
that, mingling with the evaporation from the city 
itself, becomes so dense, that the charcoal, and the 
nitrate of ammonia, and all the other matters which, 
at ordinary limes, the air disperses in great part, 
float, mi.xed with the watery vapour, and produce an 
atmosphere approaching as nearly to the consistency 
of a quagmire in the air as it is perhaps possible to 
obtain. 

But unpleasant and inconvenient as the London 
fog is, and much as it prevents all means of obser¬ 
vation, there is still something in it worthy of atten¬ 
tion to the observer of nature. The fog is a natural 
production, though some of the elements of it are 
brought together by artificial aid ; and thus, though 
th^y be somewhat dismal charms, it has still some 
of the charms that belong to all natural phenomena. 
It is curious to find a sort of twilight representation 
of London in that very substance which completely 
hides London itself; and yet such is the case. It 
is not to be understood that the wards, and cities, 
and boroughs, which compose the metropolis are as 
well represented by their several fogs as they are by 
other means; but still they are represented by 
these. 

The air over London moves upwards and down¬ 
wards with the tide of the river; and over rivers of 
such magnitude the light winds are more frequently 
in the direction of the tides than in the cross direc¬ 
tion. The light winds that accompany the fog, 
though they barely reach the streets, and are not 
indeed very perceptible when so little can be seen, 
are usually from tlie east. Hence, if the tide is up¬ 
ward and the wind at east, the fog will be borne 
slowly westward, until the fog, which is produced 
at Black wall may reach as far as Chelsea before the 
turn of the tide. That is one of the causes which 
produces, or at least enables a person at Chelsea to 
see, the ‘fog-map.’ But again, as the heat of the 
population and their fires, and the smoke of the 
latter, produce the fog, the fog must be most dense 
where those are most abundant; and though the 


quantity added as the moving mass creeps west¬ 
ward, must, to some extent, weaken the sivades of 
density as first produced, yet these are not alto¬ 
gether obliterated. Hence, if one takes post some¬ 
where about Earl’s court, on a morning with the 
wind at east, first comes the fog of Brompton, and 
a part of Chelsea and Knightsbridge; then comes 
the Green Park, a great deal lighter. St. James’s 
is not very dense, because the houses there are 
large, and the fires not many. It then gradually 
thickens to St. Giles’s, and the hundreds of Drury, 
Lincoln’s Inn Fields lighten the prospect a little; 
but the thick mass of buildings ail the way to St. 
Paul’s make it soon dark again. St. Paul’s is but 
a speck ; and after that it is usually dark as Erebus 
till you are quite tired of it. If the fog of one of 
the great breweries, or other works, which bounti¬ 
fully bestow all their smoke on the neighbourhood, 
happens to pass over you, it is perfect obscurity, 
more especially if the air which is now passing over 
you happened to be there when they were feeding 
the fire. 

The London fog is no indication of rain, nor, in¬ 
deed, are any of the creeping fogs that are formed 
in the hollows. They are, indeed, the very reverse 
—they show that the upper air resists and keeps 
down the fog, so that the temperature of its own 
humidity is not altered. But the London fog has 
a rain of its own, and that rain is filthy to man and 
pernicious to vegetation. It rains soot and a ‘ vil- 
lanous combination ’ of acrid matters, which soil 
the people and their provisions, even while they are 
in the act of eating. Broccoli, and also the close¬ 
leaved vegetables, always have a nauseous bitter 
taste in thick fogs. 

But the fog depends on the quantity of moisture 
there is in the earth, or mud, or whatever happens to 
be exposed to the air; and so the density of the 
fog must vary with that. Some parts of London 
are on a thick bed of fine dry sand and gravel, 
w’hich allows the water to sink into the ground, so 
that it is not these that cause fog. Others are on 
sludge or mud, natural or artificial, and that works 
up between the stones of the pavement, forms mire 
on the surface, and converts the street into a very 
successful manufactory of fog: and other parts 
again are on an exceedingly tough clay the surface 
of which is kept cold by continual humidity and 
evaporation. 

We may here find a use in observing the efTects 
of the London fog; for it will be found, w'here 
other circumstances are the same, to be no bad in¬ 
dicator of the healthiness of the different places. 
When the air is more than usually humid, and the 
surfaces of the walls in consequence cold, they melt 
dew out of the w'armer and humid air, just as the 
windows of a room, in which there are many people, 
melt dew out of the moist and warm air w ithin ; or 
as the surface of the air and of vegetables melts 
dew out of the warm air of the evening, which does 
not cool so fast as these solid substances. The 
dew of the fog takes the coat of the fog along w’ith 
it; and thus, wherever the bricks and stones become 
soonest discoloured, and the former show symptoms 
of decay, and the latter get discoloured with green 
mould, and other little plants, the place, whatever 




444 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


may be its height above the mean level, is always 
the most damp and unwholesome. Wherever the 
bricks lose their colour fast, and become granular 
at the edges, it will be found that the mortar is most 
decomposed, and has an efflorescence of salts of 
lime on it; and it will be found that the buds of 
the trees are black, and full of cankers, and rusty, 
and in places breeding fungi, unless they are nat¬ 
ural inhabitants of moist atmospheres. The flags 
in the pavement, and even the granite in the streets, 
bear marks of this humid and corrosive nature ; and 
an atmosphere which produces those efl'ects cannot 
be the most salubrious for human beings. So much 
for the earth fogs. 

INDULGENCE OF CHILDREN. 

[Abdy’s ‘ United States.'] 

There are two features in the (American) na¬ 
tional character that few strangers fail to observe; 
and, as I often heard the justice of the imputation 
acknowledged—particularly by those who are most 
exempt from both failings, (it would be indelicate 
to bring my friends into public court as witnesses,) 
I have reason to think the remark is correct. The 
Americans are too an.xious to make money, and too 
apt to spoil their children. Parental afl'ection may, 
perhaps, be the cause of the one, as it is of the 
other, though it is hardly consistent with any ra¬ 
tional object it may have in view, to ‘ heap up riches,’ 
and to make those who are to ‘ gather them ’ unfit 
to employ them properly ;—to increase both the 
quantity of temptation and the chances of yielding. 
It was truly painful to see how fretful and restless 
the children were made by this inconsiderate indul¬ 
gence. I have known them to lose all the pleas¬ 
ures of a little excursion, because they could not 
get what was in fact unattainable, and what they 
never would have asked for, if their unreasonable 
wishes had not been habitually complied with. I 
shall not readily forget an interesting child I saw at 
an hotel, crying on the stair-case, as if her little 
heart would break ; on inquiring of her elder sister, 
who was below, what was the matter, she said— 
‘ It is only because she will not go up stairs alone.’ 
I told her she ought not to indulge her, as she was 
old enough to find her way by herself:—‘ So I 
think,’ was her reply, ‘ but if papa was here, he 
would make me go up with her.’ The boys are 
much more spoiled than the girls, and that is the 
case pretty mugh all the world over. As if a ‘male 
child’ were really and truly of more value than a 
female, more notice is taken of it. When one of 
these spoiled children cries, it is usually quieted 
with a sugar-plum. The consumption of confec¬ 
tionary is thus in a state of progressive increase. 
Sweetmeats, like tobacco, are first used as a reme¬ 
dy, and then as a luxury ; the one is just as good a 
styptic for tears, as the other is in curing the tooth¬ 
ache. Both, at last, become necessaries, and are 
continued when there are neither tears to be shed, 
nor teeth to ache. Whenever these pitiable little 
beings make their appearance at the dinner-table in 
the hotels, there is sure to be pouting or squalling, 
because they have got something to eat they do not 
want, or want something they cannot get. I had, 
unfortunately, an opportunity of watching for three 


weeks the way in which a little girl of two years 
old was managed by her parents. When w'ith her 
father, who was kind and assiduous in supplying all 
her wants and whims, she was constantly whining 
out, ‘ Ma! jNla!’ when with her motlior, her cry 
was, ‘ Pa ! Pa !’ with equal pertinacity ; her prefer¬ 
ence for the absent parent being meted out with 
the nicest impartiality. Both pursued the same 
method to quiet her;—not by taking her at once to 
the other, or telling her she must not be indulged ; 
but by striving to coax her attention to some other 
object, and keeping up in her mind a continued 
alternation of excitement and disappointment. The 
poor thing was thus systematically taught evasion 
and deception, and her request was met by the same 
want of rational consideration, whether it were pro¬ 
per or capricious. The answer to any observation 
upon the eflects of indulgence is—‘ poor creatures ! 
they will soon have hardships enough ; a little in¬ 
dulgence now can do them no harm:’ a singular 
sort of preparation for a world that is acknowledged 
to require self-control or resignation in all who are 
to pass through it. They manage their horses dif¬ 
ferently—they accustom them, at the earliest age, to 
the saddle and the bit; and teach them, when young, 
to bear and obey. The result in both cases is what 
might be expected. Their children are plagues, 
and their horses admirable. It might really be 
thought that common sense had nothing to do with 
the treatment of youth ; and that there were no 
years of discretion but what have been fixed by le¬ 
gislative enactment. Men are governed by names; 
and because, by a perversion of language, ‘ childish’ 
and ‘foolish’ mean the same thing, ‘child’ and 
‘ fool’ are taken to be convertible terms ; and lan¬ 
guage which is fitted for nothing but to amuse the 
one, is too often employed to instruct the other. 


Animalcula. —It is show'n by the microscope, 
that every part of the bodies of warm-blooded ani¬ 
mals, (comprising man, and all other animals of the 
higher orders,) is the habitation of innumerable liv¬ 
ing beings. This is equally the case in health, as 
in disease. Some physicians suppose, that, though 
these minute beings may be innocuous to the ani¬ 
mals whose bodies form their natural habitation, yet 
the intrusion of strange species may cause sickness 
or death. 


Lemon Juice, when bought at the shops, is not 
always pure. The most pernicious adulteration of 
w’hich it is susceptible, is by means of mineral acids, 
the irritating properties of which render it extremely 
hurtful in cases of inflammation of the digestive or¬ 
gans, for which the pure juice is very beneficial. 
It is more commonly mixed with vinegar or tartaric 
acid. - 

Peruvian Bark is sometimes sold, after the 
quinine, which is the only valuable part of it, has 
been extracted by means of acids. After this pro¬ 
cess, the yellow and gray varieties of the bark as¬ 
sume a brown colour, like tobacco, become less bit¬ 
ter, and acquire a saline taste. The reddish bark 
grows more intensely red, and becomes more saline 
than either of the other varieties. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


445 




ROADS, TUNNELS, AQUEDUCTS, AND EXCAVATIONS. 

Some pf the most striking results of human en¬ 
ergy, acting upon the physical world, are displayed 
in the conquest of the obstacles which Nature has 
opposed to the locomotive propensities of man. 
Chasms yawn beneath his feet. Mountains, tower¬ 
ing to the skies, forbid his passage, and appear to 
form a barrier almost as insuperable, as the difficul¬ 
ties which impede his flight to distant planets. 
But the chasm is overpassed, as if with the wings 
of an eagle; ‘.he mountain crumbles before the 
traveller’s footsteps, or opens an avenue for him, 
through its inmost heart. Perhaps there is no surer 
test of the real prosperity of a country, and of its 
progress in most matters comprehended under the 
term, civilisation, than the degree of industry, science, 
and expense, which is bestowed on its roads, and 
other methods of internal or foreign communication. 

In Switzerland, the great road across the Alps is 
one continued miracle, the credit of which, however, 
is not due to the inhabitants of the country, but to 
a Magician who wrought far more wondrous mira¬ 
cles than this. It was constructed by order of Na¬ 
poleon, and completed in 1805, previous to which 
period, the mountains had been impassable, except 
for foot-passengers and horsemen. The road is 
twenty-four feet wide, and is fenced in some places 
by wooden rails, and in others by a parapet of 
granite. In its whole extent between the valley of 
the Rhone and Piedmont, there are six tunnels, 
hewn through the solid rock, and twenty-two 
bridges, thrown across chasms, cascades, and moun¬ 
tain-streams. Often, the road clings to the side of 
a tremendous precipice, the upright wall of which 
rises thousands of feet above the traveller’s head, 
and sinks to an equally terrific depth below. A faint 
idea of this Alpine route, and its awfully majestic 
scenery, may be obtained from the followmg cut. 


ments not less remarkable. The great Tunnel, near 
the commencement of the Liverpool and Manches¬ 
ter Rail-Road, is a work unrivalled in its kind. Its 
width, at the base, is twenty-two feet; the arched 
roof is sixteen feet high ; and, with these dimen¬ 
sions, the tunnel holds its course under ground, 
through the various strata of rock and clay, for 
more than a mile and a quarter. The passage, 
which would otherwise be enveloped in midnight 
gloom, is illuminated with gas, the radiance of 
which is thrown back from the white-washed walls 
and roof, and is occasionally heightened by the 
glare of the engines, as they hurry through this sub¬ 
terranean region. 


After emerging from the Tunnel, the same Rail- 
Road passes through an excavation of rock, which 
may justly be considered another wonder, although 
it is open to the sky. The height ot the wall, on 
each side, is seventy feet; and, at this depth, the 
cars glide along the resounding chasm, with barely 
room enough to pass, on their separate tracks. 


[An .\lpine Pass.] 

In England—although the face of the country 
would seem to require no such gigantic efforts of 
skill and industry, as alone could have constructed 
a road across the Alps—there have been achieve -1 


[Excavation of Olive Mount.J 
































446 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 




America, young as she is, and vast as are the 
woods and wildernesses which yet diversify her sur¬ 
face, need not shrink from a comparison with any 
country in the world, as regards the facilities of 
internal communication. The Erie canal is as 
wonderful a work, in its way, as Napoleon’s road 
across the Alps, in Switzerland. The aqueducts, 
by means of which this canal is conducted over ra¬ 
vines and rivers, are eighteen in number. A rep¬ 
resentation is here given of one which crosses the 
Mohawk, presenting the singular spectacle of a navi¬ 
gable stream, and a vessel gliding along its course, 
at the rate of four miles an hour, many feet above 
the broken and turbulent current of a river. 


[Fire Hunting.] 


[Aqueduct on the Erie Canal.] 

Another remarkable object is the Deep Cut of 
the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. This pas¬ 
sage extends four miles through a hill ninety feet 
high, being the greatest depth at which an avenue 
has been opened for any canal in the world. A 
bridge, with a single arch of two hundred and fifty- 
tive feet, is thrown across the excavation; and 
wheel-carriages rattle between the canal-boats and 
the sky. 


In the western and south-western states^ the hun¬ 
ters have a singular method of shooting deer. Two 
of them go forth into the forest at night, one with 
his rifle, and the other with a flaming torch, a fire¬ 
brand, or a pan of coals, on the lop of which, he 
kindles a blaze, '^i’he light glcair.s around, and be¬ 
ing disccined by the deer through the darksome 
avenues of the woods, it either attracts them to¬ 
wards it, like an insect to a candle, f)r bewilders 
them, so that llrey are umible to take flight. I'he 
glistening of their eyes betaays them to the 
hunter, who takes aim directly between the two 
brilliant orbs, and seldom fails to stretch the an¬ 
tlered victim on the ground. Where this custom 
prevails, it would appear dangerous for a benighted 
wanderer in the forest to draw near a light lest the 
' glistening of his eyes should expose him to the fate 
' which was intended for the deer. 


[Deep Cut on Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.] 

It is probable that the art and industry of man 
will continue to be applied to these and similar pur¬ 
poses, and will finally open paths to regions hith¬ 
erto the most inaccessible ; unless some great con¬ 
vulsion of the earth shall overwhelm the roads and 
choke up the canals^ leaving to another race the 
task of constructing all anew. 


Cod-fish, when drawn up from a great depth in 
the sea, are often burst asunder by the expansion of 
their air-bladders. 


Captain Molly. —We find the following anec¬ 
dote in Durivage’s Historical Cyclopedia ;—‘ In the 
beginning of the battle of Monmouth, one Molly 
Pitcher was occupied in carrying water from a 
spring to a battery, where her husband was em¬ 
ployed in loading and firing a cannon. He was 
shot dead at last, and she saw him fail. An officer 
rode up, and ordered off* the cannon. ‘ It can be 
of no use now,’ said he. But Molly stepped up, 
oflTered her services, and took her husband’s place, 
to the astonishment of the army. She fought well, 
and half-pay for life was granted her by Congress. 
She wore an epaulette, and was called Captain 
Molly, ever after.’ 


Historical Anecdote.— At the commencement 
of the Revolution, the British officers had a small 
theatre in Boston. One night, when the perform¬ 
ance was a farce called the ‘ Blockade of Boston,’ 
an orderly sergeant rushed upon the stage, and cal¬ 
led out, ‘The Yankees are attacking our works 
on Bunker’s Hill!’ The audience mistook liim 
for a personage of the farce; but General Howe 
saw that the man’s trepidation was not feigned, 
and immediately ordered the officers to theif 
alarmposts. 































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


447 


DOMESTIC LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

[Paulding’s ‘Life of Washington.’] 

From the period of his marriage, Washington re¬ 
sided constantly at Mount Vernon, and put in prac¬ 
tice that system of regularity and of temperance in 
every species of indulgence and labour, which he 
persevered in, as far as was consistent with his cir¬ 
cumstances and his situation, during the remainder 
of his life. His moments were numbered, and di¬ 
vided, and devoted to his various objects and pur¬ 
suits. His hours of rising and going to bed were 
the same throughout every season of the year. He 
always shaved, dressed himself, and answered his 
letters by candle-light in Summer and Winter; and 
his time for retiring to rest was nine o’clock, 
whether he had company or not. He breakfasted 
at seven o’clock in summer, and eight in winter; 
dined at two, and drank his tea, of which he was 
very fond, early in the evening, never taking any 
supper. His breakfast always consisted of four 
small corn-cakes, split, buttered, and divided into 
quarters, with two small-sized cups of tea. At 
dinner he ate with a good appetite, but was not 
choice of his food ; drank small beer at his meals, 
and two glasses of old Madeira after the cloth was 
removed. He scarcely ever e.vceeded that quantity. 
The kerr>els of two or three black walnuts com¬ 
pleted the repast. He was very kind, afl’ectionate, 
and attentive to his family, scrupulously observant 
of every thin-g relating to the comfort, as well as the 
deportment and manners, of the younger members. 

His habits of military command produced a simi¬ 
lar system with regard to his servants, of w'hom he 
exacted prompt obedience. This condition com¬ 
plied with, they were sure of never being subjected 
to caprice or passion. Neglect or ill conduct was 
promptly noticed, for the eye of the master was 
every where, and nothing connected with the econo¬ 
my of his estate escaped him. He knew the value 
of independence, and the mode by which it is ob¬ 
tained and preserved. With him idleness was an 
object of contempt, and prodigality of aversion. 
He never murdered an hour in wilful indolence, or 
wasted a dollar in worthless enjoyment. He was 
as free from extravagance as from meanness or par¬ 
simony, and never in the whole course of his life 
did he turn his back on a friend, or trifle with a 
creditor. 

Thus, in the dignified simplicity of usefulness, 
did this great and good man employ himself until 
the commencement of the troubles which preceded 
the Revolution. His occupation was husbandry ; 
his principal amusement was hunting the deer, 
which then abounded in the forests of the Potomac. 
Here his skill in horsemanship rendered him con¬ 
spicuous above all his competitors. He also read 
much, and his hour was early in the morning. 

His custom was to retire to a private room, where 
no one was permitted to interrupt him. Much cu¬ 
riosity prevailed among the servants to know what 
he was about, and old Jeremy, (his black servant) 
relates, that, in order to gratify it, he one morning 
entered the room under pretence of bringing a pair 
of boots. Washington, who w'as reading, raised his 
eyes from the book, and getting quietly up,—‘ I tell 


you,’ said Jeremy, ‘ I go out of de room faster dan 
I come in!’ 

After his retirement from the Presidency, the few 
remaining years of his life were passed in peaceful 
occupations, and in the bosom of repose. Mount 
Vern-on w'as of course thronged with visitors ; it 
was the shrine where his countrymen came to pay 
their devotions, and where distinguished foreigners 
hastened from all parts of Europe, to behold and 
converse with the man who, after delivering a na- 
tion from foreign oppression, had left it in posses¬ 
sion of the freedom he had won; who twice abdi¬ 
cated a power for which thousands and tens of 
thousands had sacrificed themselves and their 
country. 

He exhibited the same wise economy of time, 
the same attention to his domestic afl'airs and rural 
pursuits, the same cheerfulness in hours of relaxa¬ 
tion, and the same solicitude for the happiness of 
those around him. He always rose at, or before 
the dawn of day, lighted his candle and entered his 
study, where he remained a considerable time, as 
was supposed, at his devotions. But no one ever 
knew, for none ever intruded on his sacred privacy. 
When his occupation was finished, he rung for his 
boots, and walked or rode out for his morning exer¬ 
cise or avocations. Visitors did not interfere in 
the least with his course of life; they were made 
welcome, by permission to do as they pleased, and 
by being convinced by all they saw that their pres¬ 
ence caused no restraint, nor diminished the pleas¬ 
ures of others. Like all truly great men, the man¬ 
ners of Washington, though eminently dignified, 
were adorned by the most unaffected simplicity. 
He relished the innocent gayety of youth, and the 
gambols of children, and enjoyed a decorous jest 
or humorous anecdote. If, while perusing a book 
or a newspaper in the domestic circle, he met with 
any thing amusing or remarkable, he would read it 
aloud for their entertainment; and never failed to 
participate in every harmless frolic that was going 
on around him. His dignity was not that of pride, 
but of intellect and virtue ; and among those he 
loved, he laughed and joked like others. He was 
accustomed sometimes to tell the following story :— 

On one occasion, during a visit he paid to Mount 
Vernon while President, he had invited the com¬ 
pany of two distinguished lawyers, each of whom 
afterwards attained to the highest judicial situations 
in this country. They came on horseback, and 
for convenience, had bestowed their wardrobe in 
the same pair of saddle-bags, each one occupying 
his side. On their arrival, wet to the skin by a 
shower, they were shown into a chamber to change 
their garments. One unlocked his side of the bag, 
and the first thing he drew forth was a black bottle 
of whisky. He insisted that this was his com¬ 
panion’s repository ; but on unlocking the other, 
there was found a huge twist of tobacco, a few 
pieces of corn-bread, and the complete equipment 
of a waggoner’s pack-saddle. They had exchang¬ 
ed saddle-bags with some travellers by the way, and 
finally made their appearance in borrowed garments 
that fitted them most ludicrously. The general 
was highly diverted, and amused himself with an¬ 
ticipating the dismay of the waggoner when he dis- 



448 


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covered the mistake of the men of law. It was 
during this visit that Washington prevailed upon 
one of his guests to enter into public life, and thus 
secured to his countr)^ the services of one of the 
most distinguished magistrates of this or any other 

Another and more touching anecdote is derived 
from a source, which, if I were permitted to men¬ 
tion, would r>ot only vouch for its truth, but give it 
additional interest. When Washington retired 
from public life, his name and fame excited in the 
hearts of the people at large, and especially of the 
more youthful portion, a degree of reverence which, 
by checking their vivacity or awing them into si¬ 
lence, often gave him great pain. Being once on a 
visit to Colonel Blackburn, ancestor to the exem¬ 
plary matron who now possesses Mount Vernon, a 
iarge company of young people were assembled to 
welcome his arrival, or on some other festive occa¬ 
sion. The general was unusually cheerful and ani¬ 
mated, but he observed that whenever he made his 
appearance the dance lost its vivacity, the little gos- 
sippings in corners ceased, and a solemn silence 
prevailed, as at the presence of one they either fear¬ 
ed or reverenced too much to permit them to enjoy' 
themselves. He strove to remove this restraint by 
mixing familiarly among them, and chatting with 
unaffected hilarity. But it was all in vain ; there 
was a spell on the little circle, and he retired among 
the elders in an adjoining room, appearing to be 
much pained at the restraint his presence inspired. 
When, however, the young people had again be¬ 
come animated, he arose cautiously from his seat, 
walked on tiptoe to the door, which was ajar, and 
stood contemplating the scene for nearly a quarter 
of an hour with a look of genuine and benevolent 
pleasure, that went to the very hearts of the parents 
who were observing him. 

As illustrating his character, and affording an ex¬ 
ample of his great self-command, the following an¬ 
ecdote is appropriate to my purpose. It was rela¬ 
ted by Judge Breckenridge himself. The judge 
was an inimitable humourist, and, on a particular 
occasion, fell in with Washington at a public house, 
where a large company had gathered together to 
discuss the subject of improving the navigation of 
the Potomac. They supped at the same table, and 
Mr. Breckenridge essayed all his powers of humour 
to divert the general; but in vain. He seemed 
aware of his purpose, and listened without a smile. 
However, it so happened that the chambers of 
Washington and Breckenridge adjoined, and vvere 
only separated from each other by a thin partition 
of pine boards. The general had retired first, and 
when the judge entered his own room, he was de¬ 
lighted to hear Washington, who was already in 
bed, laughing to himself with infinite glee, no doubt 
at the recollection of his stories. 

The industry of Washington was one of his 
great characteristics ; his time was regularly divi¬ 
ded ; his recreations and his labours never inter¬ 
fered with each other. When his work was done, 
and not till then, did he come forth among his 
guests or his family, in the serene majesty of his 
virtue, cheerful and kind, indulgent and conciliatory, 
pis voice was attuned to kindness, and those ac¬ 


customed to be the object of his smiles, say that 
there was something in them peculiarly touching. 
They were full of benignity and chastened cheer¬ 
fulness. They were more apt to draw tears of 
gratitude, than to awaken gaiety. One of his kins¬ 
men, now no more, who was, when a child, much 
at Mount Vernon, has told me that when the gen¬ 
eral patted him on the head, and gave him one of 
his affectionate smiles, he always felt the tears 
swelling under his eyelids. 

One of his favourite nephews, in describing his 
last parting with Washington, says;—‘ When I 
took leave of him, he stood on the steps of the 
front door, where he took leave of myself and 
another, and wished us a pleasant journey, as I was 
agoing to Westmoreland on business. It was a 
bright frosty morning, he had taken his usual ride, 
and the clear healthy flush on his cheek, and his 
sprightly manner, brought the remark from both of 
us that we had never seen the general look so well. 

I have sometimes thought him decidedly the hand¬ 
somest man I ever saw; and when in a lively mood, 
so full of pleasantry, so agreeable to all with whom 
he associated, that I could hardly realize that he 
was the same Washington whose dignity awed all 
who approached him.’ 

THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 

[Paulding’s ‘ Life of Washington.’] 

The mother of Washington, on whom the care 
of bringing him up devolved ®n the death of his 
father, is described to me, by those who know her 
well, as a woman of ordinary stature, once a great 
belle and beauty in that part of Virginia called the 
Northern Neck. High-spirited, yet of great sim¬ 
plicity of manners, uncommon strength of mind, 
and decision of character, she exacted great defer¬ 
ence from her sons, of whom George was the fa¬ 
vourite. The only weakness of her character was 
an excessive fear of thunder, which originated in 
the melancholy death of a young female friend, who 
was struck dead at her side by lightning, when Mrs. 
Washington was about fifteen years old. 

The same inflexible regard to the performance of 
those ordinary duties of life, on which so much of 
our own happiness and that of others depends ; the 
same strict punctuality in keeping her word, and 
discharging all the obligations of justice, by which 
Washington was distinguished, characterized his 
mother. There was a plain honesty and truth 
about her, peculiar to that age, and which has been 
ill-exchanged for empty professions and outward 
polish. As a native of Virginia, she was hospitable 
by birth-right, and always received her visitors with 
a smiling welcome. But they vvere never asked to 
stay but once, and she always speeded the parting 
guest, by afl'ording every facility in her power. 
She possessed all those domestic habits and quali¬ 
ties that confer value on women, but had no desire 
to be distinguished by any other titles than those of 
a good wife and mother. She was once present, 
and occupied the seat of honour, at a ball given to 
Washington at Fredericksburg, while in the full 
measure of his well-earned glory ; and when nine 
o’clock came, said to him with perfect simplicity, 

‘ Come, George, it is time to go home.’ 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


449 



[View of Cincinnati, Ohio.] 


CINCINNATI. 

The city of Cincinnati stands on the north bank 
of the Ohio, at a spot where the hills, on either side 
of the river, retire from the shores, leaving an inter¬ 
mediate space of about twelve miles in circumfer¬ 
ence. The river flows through the valley which is 
thus formed, dividing it into two unequal portions, 
the larger of which, comprehending two thirds of 
the whole area, and containing about four square 
miles, lies on the Ohio shore. The site of Cincin¬ 
nati is on two parallel plains, usually termed the 
Hill and the Bottom, the former of which is elevat¬ 
ed fifty or si.xty feel above the latter. The extent 
of the valley, from Deer-creek on the east to Mill- 
creek on the west, is nearly three miles. Until the 
year 1788, the Indian or the hunter, standing on 
the circular line of hills, above the valley, of which 
we have described the outline, would have seen 
only the gigantic trees, and the river sundering the 
primeval forest with its tranquil breadth. Nearly 
twenty years later, from the same position, nothing 
was visible, save a rough backwoods settlement of 
five hundred people. But soon a marvellous change 
was to take place; in 1820, the once solitary vale 
had become populous with nearly ten thousand 
souls; and now, if the traveller take a view of Cin¬ 
cinnati from its wall of hills, he will behold busy 
streets, compact and massive edifices, the spires of 
churches, the smoke of manufactories, and all other 
characteristics of a city, containing thirty-five thou¬ 
sand inhabitants. 

Seven of the streets of Cincinnati are sixty-six 
feet wide, and separated from each other by spaces 


of three hundred and ninety-six feet, and are intei- 
sected, at right angles, by streets of the same width, 
and at equal intervals. Among other public build¬ 
ings are a Court House, a Jail, four Market Houses, 
a Bazaar, two Theatres, a Medical College, a Hos¬ 
pital and Lunatic Asylum, and between twenty and 
thirty Churches. A large an)ount of capital is em¬ 
ployed in manufactures, with steam-machinery; and 
there is a dense population in the vicinity of the 
buildings for this purpose. An obscure portion of 
the city, Mrs. Trollope informs us, is inhabited by 
free negroes, and thence derives the local designa¬ 
tion of Little Africa. The market of Cincinnati, 
according to the same lady, (whose favourable judg¬ 
ments, at least, are entitled to implicit confidence,) 
is hardly surpassed, for its excellence, cheapness, 
and abundance, by any in the world. She likewise 
speaks with admiration of the noble landing-place, 
more than a quarter of a mile in extent along the 
river, well-paved, and surrounded with neat buildr 
ings. Fifteen steamboats, she observes, have been 
counted here at once; and there was yet space for 
fifteen more to be ranged in the same line. The 
years that have elapsed since Mrs. Trollope resided 
there, are no small period in the history of so recent 
a city as Cincinnati, and have doubtless prodigiously 
improved it. 

It is the great trade which is carried on with the 
East, the West, and the South, and even with for¬ 
eign countries, in addition to its own internal in¬ 
dustry, that has made Cincinnati the largest and 
wealthiest city, except New Orleans, in the Valley 
of the Mississippi. Its rapid, yet healthful growth 

57 



















































































450 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


has rendered it famous throughout the world. It 
is one of those wonders, the result of favourable sit¬ 
uation and energetic enterprise, to which the Ameri¬ 
can so proudly points, as peculiar to his own land, 
when the European boasts the ruined magnificence 
of other times. 


MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS. 

The Rev. Mr. Batchman, of Charleston, South 
Carolina, has published an interesting essay on the 
Migration of Birds. This has long been a subject 
of discussion among naturalists and others ; nor has 
it been found easy to account for the sudden ap¬ 
pearance of large flocks of birds, in the first warm 
weather of Spring, and their no less sudden depar¬ 
ture, on the first cold day of Autumn ; while, per¬ 
haps, they were never seen during their migration, 
nor had been traced to any other region. The 
mystery of their movements has led most people, 
and even many scientific men, to suppose that the 
swallow, and other species, betake themselves to 
caves, hollow trees, lakes and ponds, or burrow un¬ 
der the mud, and thus remain in a torpid state, 
throughout the Winter. Mr. Batchman, however, 
is satisfied, from a view of the interiour system of 
the swallow, that it could not, like some quadru¬ 
peds, exist in a state of torpidity, beyond a day or 
two ; and the same is true of all other birds. Swal¬ 
lows, by way of experiment, have been immersed 
under water, but were invariably drowned, in the 
course of a few moments, and were not to be re¬ 
vived by warmth, nor even by electricity. It is un¬ 
deniable that birds have been found in caves, hol¬ 
low trees, and similar situations, in a partly torpid 
state; but they had doubtless taken these lodgings 
merely for a single night, and were surprised by a 
sudden attack of cold, which rendered them inca¬ 
pable of motion. 

The structure of migratory birds is suitable to 
rapid and long-continued flight. Their feathers are 
so light that they will float many hours in the at¬ 
mosphere, requiring scarcely any support; their 
bones, which are of a lighter substance than those 
of quadrupeds, are hollow, and filled with air, in¬ 
stead of marrow. They have large lungs, which 
adhere to the ribs, and are provided with air-cells, 
extending into the abdomen. The length and 
strength of their wings is great, in proportion to the 
size of their bodies; and thus they are enabled to 
soar above the clouds, and pass from clime to clime, 
and from a wintry region to a warm one. Hawks, 
wild pigeons, and some species of wild duck, fly at 
the rate of forty miles an hour; and geese, ducks, 
and pigeons, have been taken in the Northern States, 
with undigested rice in their stomachs, which they 
must have eaten, within twenty-four hours previous, 
in Carolina or Georgia. It is a pity that a con¬ 
tract cannot be made with a flock of wild geese, for 
the transportation of the mails! 

Mr. Batchman is of opinion, that there are few 
or no birds, which do not migrate to greater or less 
distances, either to enjoy a warmer climate, or for 
the convenience of food. Those which continue 
in the northern regions, are either carnivorous, as 
the owl, the hawk and the raven, and eat the few 
smaller birds that are then to be found, or else fol¬ 


low the hunters and the wolves, and pick the bones 
of their prey;—or they are of those kinds which 
feed on the buds of trees, or the seeds of pine and 
spruce, or of plants, protruding above the snow, or 
on grass seed, scattered in barn-yards and about 
hay-stacks. But all the species that feed on in¬ 
sects and worms, and all that gain their sustenance 
in moist, muddy places, are compelled to migrate, 
during the Winter, to a milder clime. Those birds 
which only partially migrate, removing southward, 
yet still remaining within the verge of Winter, such 
as the eagle, the hawk, and the owl, have warm, 
thick, downy plumage, which generally extends, 
like a pair of stockings, over the feet and toes. 
Ducks and petrels, in addition to this warm cloth¬ 
ing, are provided with little reservoirs of oil, which 
they exude in sufficient quantity to lubricate their 
feathers, and thus prevent tlie water fron) penetrat¬ 
ing to their skins. Often, while swimming, they 
draw (jp their feet within the down of their breasts, 
and thus float comfortably upon the wintry billows. 
Birds have a further protection agaiiist cold in their 
internal warmth ; their temperature being eight or 
ten degrees higher than that of man. 

Some species of birds migrate from one extremity 
of the Union to the other. Others migrate only 
partially and occasionally. Thus partridges, which, 
by their weight and shortness of vving, are unfit for 
continued flight, sometimes pass from New Jersey, 
across the Delaware river, into Pennsylvania, in 
quest of more abundant food; their flight is so 
heavy, that they become wearied and drop into the 
water, and continue the passage by swimming. In 
the same manner, wild turkies cross the Ohio, Mis¬ 
souri, and Mississippi rivers, and are taken in large 
numbers, wet and exhausted, while in the water, or 
immediately alter landing. The rail, on the other 
hand, migrates to a vast distance. Mr. Batchman 
was informed, by an Indian trader, that he had 
found their nests among the reedv marshes of the 
northern lakes. In the Middle States, immense 
multitudes of these birds appear, in the middle of 
October, and fill the air with their clamorous cackle, 
where, but the day before, not an individual could 
have been found. At a later period, they appear 
among the reeds and marshes of South Carolina, 
whence they proceed still further south, and return 
in the Spring. The fact that rails, like several 
other species of migratory bads, perform their jour¬ 
neys during the night, has thrown a great mystery 
around their movements, and given rise to the idea 
that they lie torpid in the mud. 

As the period of migration approaches, the birds 
become restless, and appear conscious that an im¬ 
portant crisis is at hand. Two species of wild 
geese, which Mr. Batchman kept in a half-domesti¬ 
cated state, being prevented from flying, by having 
their wings severed at the joint, annually attempted 
to perform their migration by running. Some birds 
assemble in troops; and the young set forth on 
their untried way, without the guidance of the old. 
Some fly in long, straggling flocks, and others in 
dense masses. Some pursue their far journey, all 
alone. It is supposed that, in each migration, they 
revisit the very same spots where thev had built 
their nests, the preceding year. 





OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


451 


THE STREET POLICE OF PARIS. 

[‘ Paris and the Parisians.’] 

I will not tell you that this police is bad, for 
that, I doubt not, many others have done before 
me; but 1 will tell you that I consider it as some¬ 
thing wonderful, mysterious, and perfectly incom¬ 
prehensible. In a city where every thing intended 
to meet the eye is converted into graceful ornament; 
where the shops and coffee-houses have the air of 
fairy palaces; and the markets show fountains 
where the dainty naiads might delight to bathe ;— 
in such a city as this, where the women look too 
delicate to belong wholly to earth, and the men too 
watchful and observant to suffer the winds of heaven 
to visit them too roughly;—in such a city as this, 
you are shocked and disgusted at every step you 
take, or at every gyration of the wheels of your 
chariot, by sights and smells that may not be de¬ 
scribed. Every day increases my astonishment at 
this; for every day brings with it a fresh conviction 
that much of the enjoyment of life is altogether de¬ 
stroyed in Paris by the neglect of such a degree of 
municipal interference as might secure the most 
elegant people in the world from the loathsome dis¬ 
gust occasioned by the perpetual outrage of com¬ 
mon decency in their streets. On this branch of 
the subject it is impossible to say more; but there 
are other points on which the neglect of street-po¬ 
lice is as plainly, though less disgustingly apparent; 
and some of these I will enumerate for your infor¬ 
mation, as they may be described without impro¬ 
priety ; but when they are looked at in conjunction 
with the passion for graceful decoration, so deci¬ 
dedly characteristic of the French people, they offer 
to our observation an incongruity so violent, as to 
puzzle in no ordinary degree whoever may wish to 
explain it. You cannot at this season (April) pass 
through any street in Paris, however pre-eminently 
fashionable from its situation, or however distin¬ 
guished by the elegance of those who frequent it, 
without being frequently obliged to turn aside, that 
you may not run against two or more women cov¬ 
ered with dust, and probably with vermin, who are 
busily employed in pulling their flock-mattresses to 
pieces in the street. There they stand or sit, caring 
for nobody, but combing, turning, and shaking the 
wool upon all comers and goers; and finally, occu¬ 
pying the space round which many thousand pas¬ 
sengers are obliged to make what is always an in¬ 
convenient, and sometimes a very dirty detour, by 
poking the material, cleared from the filth, which 
has passed into the throats of the ladies and gentle¬ 
men of Paris, back again into its checked repository. 
I have within this half hour passed from the Italian 
Boulevard by the Opera House, in the front of which 
this obscene and loathsome operation was being 
performed by a solitary old crone, who will doubtless 
occupy the place she has chosen during the whole 
day, and carry away her bed just in time to permit 
the Duke of Orleans to step from his carriage into 
the Opera without tumbling over it, but certainly 
not in time to prevent his having a great chance of 
receiving as he passes some portion of the various 
animate and inanimate superfluities which for so 
many hours she has been scattering to the air. 

A few days ago I saw a well-dressed gentleman 


receive a severe contusion on the head, and the 
most overwhelming destruction to the neatness of 
his attire, in consequence of a fall occasioned by his 
foot getting entangled in the apparatus of a street¬ 
working tinker, who had his charcoal fire, bellows, 
melting-pot, and all other things necessary for car¬ 
rying on the tinning trade in a small way, spread 
forth on the pavement of the Rue de Provence. 
When the accident happened, many persons were 
passing, all of whom seemed to take a very obliging 
interest in the misfortune of the fallen gentleman, 
but not a syllable either of remonstrance or remark 
was uttered concerning the invasion of the high¬ 
way by the tinker; nor did that wandering individ¬ 
ual himself appear to think any apology called for, 
or any change in the arrangement of his various 
chattels necessary. 

Whenever a house is to be built or repaired in 
London, the first thing done is to surround the 
premises with a high paling, that shall prevent any 
of the operations that are going on within from an¬ 
noying in any way the public in the street. The 
next thing is to arrange a foot-path round this pal¬ 
ing, carefully protected by posts and rails, so that this 
unavoidable invasion of the ordinary footpath may 
cause as little inconvenience as possible. But 
were you to pass a spot in Paris under similar cir¬ 
cumstances, you would fancy that some tremen¬ 
dous accident,—a fire, perhaps, or the falling in of 
a roof—had occasioned a degree of difficulty and 
confusion to the passengers which it was impossi¬ 
ble to suppose could be suffered to remain an hour 
unremedied ; but it is, on the contrary, permitted 
to continue, to the torment and danger of daily 
thousands, for months together, without the slight¬ 
est notice on the part of the municipal authorities. 
If a cart be loading or unloading in the street, it is 
permitted to take and keep a position the most in¬ 
convenient, in utter disregard of any danger or de¬ 
lay which it may and must occasion to the car¬ 
riages and foot-passengers who have to travel 
round it. 

Nuisances and abominations of all sorts are with¬ 
out scruple committed to the street at any hour of 
the day or night, to await the morning visit of the 
scavenger to remove them ; and happy indeed is it 
for the humble pedestrian if his eye and nose alone 
suffer from these ejectments; happy, indeed, if he 
comes not in contact with them, as they make their 
unceremonious exit from window or door. ^Quel 
honheurP (how fortunate!) is the exclamation if 
he escape; but a look, wholly in sorrow, and no¬ 
wise in anger, is the only helpless resource should 
he be splashed from head to foot. 

On the subject of that monstrous barbarism, a 
gutter in the middle of the streets expressly form¬ 
ed for the reception of filth, which is still per¬ 
mitted to deform the greater portion of this beau¬ 
tiful city, I can only say, that the patient endur¬ 
ance of it by men and women of the year one thou¬ 
sand eight hundred and thirty-five, is a mystery 
difficult to understand. 

It really appears to me, that almost the only 
thing in the world which other men can do, but 
which Frenchmen cannot, is the making of sewers 
and drains After an hour or two c f very violent 




452 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


rain last week, that part of the Place Louis Quinze 
which is near the entrance to the Champs Elysees 
remained covered with water. The Board of 
Works having waited a day or two to see what 
would happen, and finding that the muddy lake did 
not disappear, commanded the assistance of twenty- 
six able-bodied labourers, who set about digging 
just such a channel as little boys amuse themselves 
by making beside a pond. By this well-imagined 
engineering exploit, the stagnant water was at 
length conducted to the nearest gutter, the pickaxes 
were shouldered, and an open muddy channel left 
to adorn this magnificent area, which, were a little 
finishing bestowed upon it, would probably be the 
finest point that any city in the world could boast. 

Perhaps it will hardly be fair to set it among my 
complaints against the streets of Paris that they are 
not Macadamized—the last and most luxurious im¬ 
provement. The exceeding noise of Paris, pro¬ 
ceeding either from the uneven structure of the 
pavement, or from the defective construction of 
wheels and springs, is so violent and incessant as to 
appear like the etlect of one great continuous cause 
—a sort of demon torment, which it must require 
great length of use to enable one to endure without 
suflering. Were a cure for this sought in the Mac¬ 
adamizing of the streets, an additional advantage, 
by-the-by, would be obtained, from the difficulties 
it would throw in the way of the future heroes of 

a barricade. - 

AFRICAN SNAKES. 

There are many species of snakes among the 
Dutch settlements in South Africa, and though but 
two or three are poisonous, yet the snakes of these 
varieties are the most numerous. One of the veno¬ 
mous species is the puff-adder, so called because 
it puffs out its neck, when enraged. Another is 
the ring-hals, which has a white or yellow ring 
round the neck. Lieutenant Moodie, who resided 
ten years in South Africa, remarks that new-comers 
have a great dread of snakes, but that, in a year or 
two, they think as little of them as of lizards in 
England. They are never known to bite, unless 
trodden on, or otherwise molested, and then always 
warn the foe, whom they are about to attack, by 
hissing. It is remarkable that all snakes, whether 
poisonous or not, are conscious of the detestation 
in which they are held by man and the inferiour 
animals, and either glide from their path, or put 
themselves on their defence. 

The Secretary-bird, which is held sacred in that 
part of the world, is a great enemy and destroyer 
of snakes. He may be seen stalking through the 
fields, at a slow and solemn pace, looking about 
him for his prey. On discovering a snake, he im¬ 
mediately strikes him with his long legs, which are 
guarded from the venom by scales. Then, if the 
snake be not killed outright, the bird seizes him in 
his claws, and bears him, twisting and twining, to 
a great altitude in the air, whence he lets him drop 
upon the ground, and devours him forthwith. A 
young Secretary-bird has been seen to swallow a 
puff-adder, three feet long, and thicker than a 
man’s wrist. 

Various remedies are used for snake-bites. The 
most common process is, to tie a handkerchief 


tight above the wound, which being done, the bit¬ 
ten person is advised to make haste to some spring 
of running water, and there to cut deep into the flesh 
around the aflected part, suflering the blood to run 
freely. As any thing that promotes the circula¬ 
tion of the blood, tends to counteract the venom, 
n)edical men prescribe ammonia, on account of its 
stimulating properties. The Hottentots sometimes 
suck the poison out of the wound, either with the 
mouth, or by means of a horn. But the most effi¬ 
cacious remedy appears to be the slagen-wortel, 
the virtues of which have recently been discovered. 
Two Hottentot slave-girls, in the interiour of the 
colony, were herding sheep, when one of them was 
bitten by a venomous snake. Her companion re¬ 
mained w’ith her awhile, endeavouring to support 
her to the habitation of their Dutch master; but 
the effects of the poison were so rapid and violent, 
that she was compelled to leave her, and run home 
for assistance. On returning w'ith some of the farm- 
servants, she found the girl, whom she had left in 
so desperate a condition, sitting up, and in a very 
comfortable state. In the convulsions of her agony, 
she had gnawed a plant, which was growing by 
her side, and had thus unconsciously made use of 
the only medicine that could have cured her. The 
plant (the botanic name of which is Clatvla Capen- 
sis, or Anthenwidcs,) was thence called Slagen- 
wortel, or snake-root. 


SINGULAR EFFECT OF RHEUMATISM. 

[Ticknor’s ‘ Philosophy of Living.’] 

A young military officer, after attending a grand 
military ball, and exhibiting his prowess by dancing 
half the night, exposed himself for a short time to 
a cool atmosphere; in a little while he complained 
of pain and stiffness of the joints, and next day had 
an attack of acute rheumatism, which rendered him 
helpless, and kept him confined to his l)ed three 
long months; and for a long time after he regained 
the power of walking, his arms were affected in a 
most peculiar manner. He could move neither 
hand from the table to his mouth ; but with the 
right he could raise his food about half way ; then, 
by changing his fork into the left hand, the food 
was made to perform the journey to his mouth. 
But the left hand could descend only halfway to the 
table, when the fork was again changed into the 
right; and this, for many weeks, w’as the only way 
in which he could feed himself. Instances almost 
innumerable, of all species and grades of inflamma¬ 
tory diseases, might be cited, resulting solely from 
neglect in not adding a covering to the shoulders 
at least, in going into the cool, moist air of evening; 
a shawl in mild seasons, or a cloak or cape for fe¬ 
males in winter, would save many valuable lives. 


Indian Agriculture.— The aborigines of New 
England were accustomed to plant their corn in 
hills, each of which was manured with one or more 
fishes. The early settlers adopted the same method. 


Jews in New York.— About the year 1675, the 
Common Council of New York refused the petition 
of the Jews for liberty to exercise their religion. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


453 



SCHENECTADY LYCEUM. 

We are occasionally indebted to contemporary 
journals for the original designs of some of the nu¬ 
merous embellishments, which are montlily present¬ 
ed in the American Magazine. The above cut of 
the Schenectady Lyceum is enlarged from an en¬ 
graving in the New York Mirror; a publication of 
deservedly high repute, for excellence both in litera¬ 
ture and art. 

Schenectady, in the State of New York, is the 
seat of Union College, one of the most flourishing 
among the higher institutions of learning, in the 
United States. But, until the recent erection of 
the edifice here represented, the town w'as destitute 
of any proper accommodation for a school or 


academy. This deficiency has been fully supplied 
by the structure before us, which, as to its exte- 
riour, is a striking and beautiful piece of architec¬ 
ture, and in its interiour, presents a novelty of ar¬ 
rangement, apparently well adapted to the purposes 
which its founder had in view. The form of the 
school-room is octagonal. The teacher’s desk is 
so situated that he can overlook the whole school¬ 
room ; while the scholars sit with their backs to 
him, and are separated from each other by partitions 
between the seats. Thus all the scholars have the 
consciousness of being continually under the eye of 
the superintendent, and, as he is himself unseen, 
they cannot, as in other schools, take advantage of 
any momentary withdrawal of his attention. The 





































































































































































































































































454 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


present principal of the Academy is Mr. E. A. 
Huntington, who occupies the basement and first 
story. The second story contains the hall of the re¬ 
cently established Lyceum Society, and will be other¬ 
wise devoted to literary and scientific purposes. 

The edifice is in the form of an octagon, with a 
belfry and steeple, and is built of brick, stuccoed in 
imitation of granite. The architecture is modern 
gothic, of which many specimens now exist in our 
country, in churches and other buildings, to which 
the peculiarities of its style are adapted. There is 
something more pleasant to the beholder, in its 
somewhat fantastic variety, than in the severe and 
simple beauty of the Grecian architecture. The 
two buildings in front of the Lyceum, on each side 
of the gateway, likewise belong to the establish¬ 
ment, and are constructed in a similar style with 
the principal edifice. 

TEA AND COFFEE. 

Ticknor’s ‘ Philosophy of Living.’] 

No two rival candidates for political distinction 
have, within the last two years, been more severely 
abused than have these two articles of drink. By 
some their virtues are extolled and magnified, while 
by others they are vilified and depreciated. In 
fact, tea is closely connected with political revolu¬ 
tions in our beloved country ; and since the time of 
its first overthrow in Boston harbour with the over¬ 
throw of the British dynasty in this country, the 
Chinese plant has experienced remarkable vicissi¬ 
tudes in character. Though vilified by man, it has 
always sustained a fair reputation with the ladies; 
and, while it continues in good repute with them, 
there is little fear of its banishment from society. 
Notwithstanding the extravagant praises and equally 
extravagant denunciations of tea, we cannot other¬ 
wise conclude than that neither is strictly just. The 
tea that is found in our markets, under all its va¬ 
rious names, is the production of the same plant; 
the dift’erences in the various kinds being caused, 
in part, by the time of plucking the leaves, the 
manner of curing, and by the quality of the soil, 
and locality, in which the plant is cultivated. Green 
tea is more astringent than black, and possesses, in 
a much greater degree, the peculiar properties of 
the plant; causing, in some, nervous irritability and 
an unpleasant watchfulness. The Chinese are all 
tea-drinkers, from the most elevated to the most 
abject; and black tea is their universal favourite. 
Black tea, being less exciting to the nervous system 
than the other kind, is generally more proper for 
those of delicate health or feeble constitution, or 
those whose habits are chiefly sedentary. 

The use of Coflee is, in this country, every year 
becoming more general; heretofore its scarcity and 
extravagant price have put it beyond the reach of 
the poor. Q,uite recently, certain individuals among 
us have discovered that the eflects of coffee are 
pernicious in a high degree; they have classed it 
with ardent spirit, and, thanks to their discernment 
and good intention, with rum, we may expect tea 
and coffee to disappear, and disease to become as 
rare as ‘ creeping things’ in Ireland since the visit of 
good Saint Patrick. It is no new thing for this article 
to be slandered and abused; it, as well as tobacco, 


were preached against at tne time of their introduc¬ 
tion into Europe, as may be seen from the follow¬ 
ing passage in an old sermon: ‘ They cannot wait 
until the smoke of the infernal regions surround 
them, but encompass themselves with smoke of their 
own accord, and drink a poison which God made 
black, that it might bear the devil’s colour.’ Tea 
and coffee are called stimulants—yet they do not, 
like distilled or vinous liquors, increase the action of 
the heart, thereby quickening the circulation of the 
blood, any more than hot water itself would do. 
All that can be claimed for this ‘par nobile fratr'nm^ 
as stimulants, is, that they possess the property of 
greatly exciting the nervous system, and causing an 
exhilaration of the animal spirits, without any intoxi¬ 
cating effect. Dr. Jackson says, tea and coffee .dif¬ 
fer from alcoholic liquors, by ‘ never causing con¬ 
gestions, or deranging violently the functions of the 
organs, or producing confusion of ideas and suspen¬ 
sion of the intellectual operations.’ Cofl'ee is a par¬ 
ticular favourite of the literati, and to it we may be 
indebted, in part, for some of the boldest flights of 
genius, and some of the brightest scintillations of 
fancy. Those who are fond of these two articles 
err particularly in two respects—first, in taking them 
too warm; and secondly, in taking them in an un¬ 
due proportion to their food. In respect to hot tea, 
I believe it is positively less injurious than simple 
hot water; the tea possessing astringent and mod¬ 
erately tonic properties which go far to counteract 
the relaxing, debilitating eflects of the hot water. 
Inveterate cofl’ee drinkers are quite apt to indulge 
too freely in their cups at breakfast; and herein 
consists the great mistake—taking it as food instead 
of drink. The addition of sugar and milk, or 
cream, I consider injurious to most weak, delicate 
stomachs. They are likely to become acid, and 
ferment, thereby causing distress and nausea. 

There are some peculiarities of constitution that will 
not tolerate the use of either of these substances in 
the smallest quantity ; and that any one in health is 
benefitted by them is a question which admits of no 
discussion. A person in health is well enough with¬ 
out them; but may he indulge in their use without 
risk of injury ? After an attentive consideration of 
the subject, I am induced to answer this question 
in the affirmative, for the following brief reasons. 
First, I have never known them to be productive of 
evil, in ordinary cases, when used as they should 
be, of not too great strength, sufficiently cool, and 
in quantity proportioned to the food. Secondly, 
since mankind will indulge in luxuries of some sort, 
it is far better that they should be confined to those 
of a harmless nature, than that they should use 
those of positive evil tendency. Could every rum- 
rum-drinker be persuaded to use no more intoxicat¬ 
ing drink than tea and cofl'ee, we should no longer 
hear of ruined fortunes, families reduced to beggary, 
and whole nations deluged wiih crime ; but by at¬ 
tempting too much, we gain nothing. Those, there¬ 
fore, who class tea and coffee in ffieir eflects with 
ardent spirit, are hurried away by a mistaken, though 
well-meant zeal; and it becomes them to pause in their 
course, and consider whether or not their notions are 
incompatible with every day’s observation, and the 
dictates of common sense. 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


455 


S anecdotes of parrots. 

[Natural History of Parrota.] 

Some years since, a parrot in Boston, that had 
been taught to whistle, in the manner of calling a 
dog, was sitting in his cage, at the door of a shop. 
As he was exercising himself in this kind of whistle, 
a large dog happened to be passing the spot. The 
animal, imagining that he heard the call of his mas¬ 
ter, turned suddenly about, and ran towards the 
cage of the parrot. At this critical moment, the 
bird exclaimed, vehemently, ‘ Get out, you brute 
The astonished dog hastily retreated, leaving the 
parrot to enjoy the joke. 

A gentleman who resided at Gosport, in Hamp¬ 
shire, (Eng.) and had frequent business across the 
water to Portsmouth, was astonished one day, on 
going to the beach to look for a boat, and finding 
none, to hear the words, distinctly repeated ‘ Over, 
master ? Going over ?’ (which is the manner that 
watermen are in the habit of accosting people, when 
they are waiting for passengers.) The cry still as¬ 
sailing his ears, he looked earnestly around him, to 
discover from whence the voice came; when, to his 
great surprise, he beheld the parrot, in a cage, sus¬ 
pended from a public house window, on the beach, 
vociferating the boatman’s expressions. 

Willughby mentions a parrot, which, when a per¬ 
son said to it, ‘ Laugh, Poll, laugh,’ it laughed, ac¬ 
cordingly ; and, immediately after, screamed out, 
‘ What a fool! to make me laugh.’ 

A parrot which had grown old with its master, 
shared with him the infirmities of age. Being ac¬ 
customed to hear scarcely any thing but the words, 
‘ I am sick,’ when a person asked it, ‘ How do you 
do?’ ‘I am sick,’ it replied, with a doleful tone, 
stretching itself along, ‘ I am sick.’ 

That parrots are sufficiently alive to their own 
interest, is a fact well illustrated by the history of a 
large Red Macaw, which belonged to an honoura¬ 
ble and gallant friend of ours, who was lately gov- 
ernour of Trinidad. This parrot was accustomed 
to ffy about all over the capital of the island, and 
being known as the governour’s bird, he met every 
where with that respect which is usually paid to 
those who are clothed in scarlet and gold, and who 
live in palaces. At first, his peregrinations were 
made with great care, to keep himself free from all 
chance of exposure to injury or insult from the ca¬ 
naille. But, as he gradually discovered that the 
inhabitants, of all kinds and colours, so far from of¬ 
fering him offence of any sort, were rather disposed 
to yield the wall or the ‘crown of the causeway ’ to 
him, wherever he appeared, he grew proud, and 
bold, and conceited, and strutted through the streets 
with an air of insolent superiority, as if he regarded 
all birds, beasts, and human beings, as reptiles of 
the earth in comparison with himself. Now would 
he, like Peter Pindar’s Jackdaw, stop to ‘ peep 
knowingly into a marrowbone;’ at another moment, 
he would fly in at the window of some house or 
shop, where he would pry through all the apart¬ 
ments, and into every hole and corner, as if he 
were the master of it. Again, if he felt himself fa¬ 
tigued, or if, perchance, his fancy struck him to do 
so, he would whip upon the head or shoulder of 
any passenger man, woman, or child,—^just as a 


Londoner would pop into a hackney coach or a 
cabriolet, as a means of transportation from one end 
of the town to the other. But, whilst thus follow¬ 
ing out the bent of his amusement, he never lost 
sight of his more solid interests ; for, by a certain 
hour of the day, he was sure to find his way to that 
part of the town where the fruit market was held, 
and there, like the Bashaw of some Turkish pro¬ 
vince, he went about helping himself from all the 
baskets, the owners of which, by their reception of 
him, seemed to consider themselves highly honour¬ 
ed by his thus condescending to plunder them, and 
he generally returned to the government-house so 
gorged, that he required a siesta of some considera¬ 
ble duration before he was able to entertain the 
company with the utterance of his every day facetiae. 

Parrots are sometimes extremely quick in picking 
up certain words that happen to strike their ears, 
and this they often do very untowardly, so as after¬ 
wards to repeat them with an apparently mischiev¬ 
ous intent; of which, however, they ought to be 
entirely acquitted, since the strange coincidences 
which they sometimes produce, are merely the re¬ 
sult of accident, like those which are often set down 
as the accomplishment of modern dreams or pro¬ 
phecies. We remember a Parrot which belonged 
to a lady, which was the innocent means of getting 
his mistress into a very unfortunate scrape. A 
friend of hers having called one forenoon, the con¬ 
versation of the two ladies took that turn towards 
petty scandal, to which we grieve to say, it is but 
too frequently bent. The friend mentioned the 

name of a lady of their acquaintance. ‘ Mrs.-!’ 

exclaimed the owner of the Parrot, ‘ Mrs.- 

drinks like a fish.’ These words were hardly utter¬ 
ed, when the footman, in a loud voice, announced 

‘ Mrs.-!’ and as the new visitor, a portly, proud 

dame, came sailing into the room, ‘ Mrs.-!’ 

exclaimed the Parrot, ‘ Mrs.-drinks like a fish.’ 

Mrs.-wheeled round, with the celerity of a 

troop of heavy dragoons, furiously to confront her 

base and unknown maligner. ‘Mrs.-!’cried 

the Parrot again, ‘ Mrs.- drinks like a fish.’ 

‘ Madam,’ exclaimed Mrs.-to the lady of the 

house, ‘ this is a piece of wickedness towards me 
which must have taken you no short time to pre¬ 
pare. It shews the blackness of your heart towards 
one for whom you have long pretended a friend¬ 
ship ; but I shall be revenged.’ It was in vain that 
the mistress of the Parrot rose and protested her 

innocence; Mrs.-flounced out of the room in 

a storm of rage, much too loud to admit of the 
voice of reason being heard. The Parrot, delighted 
with his new caught up words, did nothing for some 
days but shout out, at the top of his most unmusical 

voice, ‘ Mrs.-! Mrs.-drinks like a fish.’ 

Meanwhile, Mrs.-’s lawyers having once taken 

up the scent, succeeded in ferreting out some in¬ 
formation, that ultimately produced written proofs, 
furnished by some secret enemy, that the lady’s 
imprudence in the propagation of this scandal had 
not been confined to the instance we have men¬ 
tioned. An action at law was raised for defama¬ 
tion. The Parrot was arrested and carried into 
court, to give oral testimony of the malignity of 
the plot which was supposed to have been laid 

















456 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


against Mrs.-’s good fame; and he was by no 

means niggardly of his testimony, for, to the great 
amusement of the bench, the bar, and all present, 
he was no sooner produced, than he began, and 

continued loudly to vociferate, ‘Mrs.-! Mrs. 

-drinks like a fish !’ till judges and jury were 

alike satisfied of the merits of the case; and the re¬ 
sult was, that the poor owner of the Parrot was cast 
with immense damages. 

EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING. 

[Translated from the Magasin Universel.] 

We extract the following passage from an essay 
on electricity, published in the Memoirs of the Royal 
Society of London, by Mr. Scoresby, one of the 
most distinguished philosophers in England. 

The packet-ship New York, on its passage from 
America to Liverpool, had arrived near the eastern 
limit of the Gulf-stream, when the sky became ob¬ 
scured by heavy clouds, and the captain was appre¬ 
hensive that the vessel would be struck by an elec¬ 
tric discharge. He therefore conceived the idea of 
affixing a conductor to the main-mast, consisting of 
an iron rod, about four feet long, terminating in a 
point, and connected with a chain of the same metal. 
The chain extended down along the mast, and, by 
its weight, kept the point of the conductor upright, 
elevated two or three feet above the main top. The 
lower extremity was strongly fastened to an oar, 
and formed the communication between the con¬ 
ductor and the sea. At one o’clock, the passen¬ 
gers and crew were terror-struck by a dreadful clap 
of thunder, breaking over their heads, simultaneously 
with a vivid flash of lightning. The ship, for the 
moment, appeared all in flames; the electric dis¬ 
charge descended along the iron chain, which it 
melted in its passage. A sheet of fire darted into 
the ladies’ cabin ; and every part of the vessel was 
filled with sulphureous vapours, of such density that 
it was impossible to distinguish objects at the 
distance of two paces. But although the con¬ 
ductor was destroyed, it had done its office—the 
ship was saved. 

Some of the sailors, however, and one of the offi¬ 
cers, had been thrown down on the deck, by the 
violence of the reaction, caused by the electric cur¬ 
rent, as it descended from the conductor into the 
sea. One remained stupified, during many hours; 
the hands of another, having received the electric 
shock, were completely paralysed, and continued in 
that state a considerable time. But the electric 
shock produced the most singular effect on one of 
the passengers, who was infirm, and advanced in 
age, and also remarkably corpulent. This man was 
in so helpless a condition, that, for three years, he 
had not walked the space of half a mile; nor had 
he made his appearance on deck, since the com¬ 
mencement of the voyage. When the lightning 
struck the vessel, he was in his birth. Immediately 
after the shock, he leaped out of bed, mounted on 
deck, and hurried to-and-fro with the most perfect 
facility, but in a state of mental alienation. Fortu¬ 
nately, the derangement of his intellectual faculties 
was but momentary, while the good effect of the 
electricity on his infirmities was permanent. Not 
only did he preserve the use of his limbs during the 


rest of his voyage, but, on the arrival of the vessel 
at Liverpool, found himself able to take a pretty 
long walk to the hotel. 

LIME AS A MANURE. 

A writer in the American Journal of Science re¬ 
marks, that the German settlers in Pennsylvania 
brought with them the practice of using lime as a 
manure. To this cause he attributes it, that their 
farms have generally retained their original fertility, 
and, in some instances, produce larger crops than 
those which were reaped from the virgin soil. The 
descendants of the Dutch and English settlers have 
not, even yet, learned to imitate the Germans in 
this particular ; and their farms, the soil of which 
appears to be precisely the same, produce only fif¬ 
teen or twenty bushels of wheat to the acre, while 
those of the Germans yield thirty or forty. There 
is the same proportion in regard to other products. 

On the other side of the Atlantic, the farmers use 
lime in immense quantities. In England, two hun¬ 
dred bushels per acre are applied to sandy soils, 
and three or four hundred to clay ; and this dress¬ 
ing is repeated every twenty-one years. The quick¬ 
lime is laid in small heaps, and is spread over the 
field as soon as it becomes slacked by the air. In 
the department of I’Ain, in France, where eighty 
bushels per acre are used, the lime is also laid in 
heaps, but is covered with earth until slacked ; the 
earth and lime are then thoroughly mixed, and al¬ 
lowed to remain another fortnight, before being 
spread. In Flanders, the lime is generally mixed 
with the ashes of bituminous coal or of turf, or is 
made into a compost with other manures; and is 
applied once in ten or twelve years, in the propor¬ 
tion of forty or fifty bushels to an acre. In the 
department of Sarthe, twelve bushels of lime, in 
compost, are used once every three years. This, 
which is the least expensive method, is said likewise 
to be the best, and the most suitable to the agricul¬ 
ture of our own country. 

Pine Barkens. —In lower Virginia, the poorest 
natural soils are equally remarkable for their inca¬ 
pacity to produce any valuable crop, and for their 
luxuriant growth of pine-trees, or broom-grass. 
Such tracts, after being cleared, are soon covered 
with grass, three or four feet in height, and, unless 
cultivated, are again overgrown with trees, which 
attain a giant size, in less than half the time that 
would be required in the best soils of England. 
Yet the same land would not, perhaps, yield three 
bushels of wheat per acre. 

Tobacco. —The raising of a crop of tobacco is 
said to be an excellent method of preparing the 
land for a crop of wheat. But in Virginia, the 
cultivation of tobacco is so lucrative, that crop after 
crop is raised, until the land loses its fertility and, 
becomes merely a caput mortuum. 

Mustard and cress-seeds will take root and 
grow in moist flannel. Thus a crop of these vege¬ 
tables may be raised w’ithin doors, and be made to 
cover the whole surface of a flannel petticoat, hang¬ 
ing upon a nail. 














UF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


457 


S'rRENGTH AND PERSONAL APPEARANCE 
OF WASHINGTON. . 

[Paulding's ‘ Life of Washington.’] 

It may not be uninteresting to my young readers 
to describe him (VVasliington) as tie is represented 
in a portrait painted at Mount Vernon in 1772, by 
the elder Mr. Peale, a copy of which is now before 
me. That worthy okl gentleman used to relate 
that, while engaged in this work, he was one day 
amusing himself with the young men of the family 
in playing at quoits and other exercises, when 
Washington joined, and completely outdid them all. 

As nothing relating to the Father of his Country 
can be uninteresting to his children, I will here give 
another little anecdote illustrating his strength, in 
the words of one of his nearest connexions, who is 
still living. ‘ We were sitting,’ said he, ‘ in the 
little parlour fronting the river, to the right as you 
enter the portico. The general and several others 
were present—among them two young men re¬ 
markable for their strength, when a large back-log 
rolled from the chimney out upon the hearth. The 
general took the tongs and very deliberately, with¬ 
out apparent effort, put it back in its place. A 
quarter of an hour afterwards he went out, and the 
ease with which he handled it became the subject 
of remark. The log was taken down, and not a 
man of us could lift it, much less put it in place 
again. Finally, one with the tongs, another with the 
shovel, we all set to, and succeeded in replacing it. 
The general, though remarkably strong in all his 
limbs, was particularly so in his hands-and fingers.’ 

The portrait to which I refer, and which was 
taken shortly before Washington entered on his last 
and great career, represents a man in the vigour of 
his prime, in the uniform of the provincial troops ; 
a cocked hat of the fashion of the times; a blue 
coat, faced and lined with scarlet; waistcoat and 
breeches of the same colour. The coat and waist¬ 
coat, in the left-hand pocket of which is seen a 
paper endorsed ‘ Order of March,’ are both edged 
with silver lace, and the buttons of white metaL 
A gorget, shaped like a crescent, and bearing the 
arms of England, is suspended from the neck by a 
blue riband, and an embroidered lilac-coloured sash 
thrown over the left shoulder. The right-hand is 
partly thrust into the waistcoat, and covered with a 
thick butt'buckskin glove, and the left arm is passed 
behind the back so as to sustain a fusee, the barrel 
of which projects above the shoulder. This was 
the very dress he wore on the fatal field of Rock 
Hill, where Braddock fell. 

The face is that of a fresh and somewhat flo-rid 
man, with light-brown hair. The eye a deep clear 
blue, full of spirit and vivacity ; the nose resem¬ 
bling that of his subsequent likenesses, but much 
more becoming, and the mouth indicating most 
emphatically that unconquerable firmness of pur¬ 
pose, that inspired perseverance, that cool yet ar¬ 
dent character, which the history of his whole life 
exhibits. I should judge from this picture that 
Washington was naturally of a vivacious tempera¬ 
ment, for his eye is full of fire, and its expression 
rather gay than grave ; and I shall, in the course of 
this work, lay before my young readers some proofs 
in support of my opinion. The incessant cares and 


labours he encountered soon after this period, and 
the weight of those momentous interests which so 
heavily lay on his mind, a''^d would have w'eighed 
almost any other to the earth, were amply suffi¬ 
cient to repress this natural vivacity. Hence, from 
the date of his accepting the command in the great 
crusade for the establ^shment of the rights of his 
country, he was seldom known to be gay, scarcely 
ever laughed aloud, and his character was that of 
gravity, if not something more. 

Washington was upwards of six feet in height; 
robust, but of perfect symmetry in his proportions; 
eminently calculated to sustain fatigue, yet without 
that heaviness which usually accompanies great 
muscular power, and abates active exertion. His 
movements were graceful; his manner displayed a 
grave self-possession, and was easy and affable. 
All who ever associated with him have remarked 
that indescribable dignity which, though it created 
an affectionate confidence, at the same time repres¬ 
sed all freedoms, and forbade the indulgence of the 
slightest indecorum in his presence. His most re¬ 
markable feature was his mouth, which was per¬ 
fectly unique. The lips firm and compressed. 
The under jaw seemed to grasp the upper with 
force, as if the muscles were in full action, even 
while he sat perfectly still and composed. Yet an 
air of benignity and repose always pervaded his 
face, and his smile displayed an extraordinary at¬ 
traction. No man ever possessed in a higher de¬ 
gree the art, or rather the moral and physical quali¬ 
fications, to ensure the respect and affection of all 
that came within the circle of his influence. 

TO SENECA LAKE. —By J. G. Percival,. 

On thy fair bosom, silver lake, 

The wild swan spreads his snowy sail. 

And round his breast the ripples break. 

As down he bears before the gale. 

On thy fair bosom, waveless stream. 

The dipping paddle echoes far. 

And flashes in the moonlight gleam, 

And bright reflects the polar star. 

The waves along thy pebbly shore. 

As blows the north wind, heave their foam. 

And curl around the dashing oar. 

As late the boatman hies iTim home. 

How sweet, at set of sun, to view 
Thy golden mirror spreading wide. 

And see the n)ist of mantling blue. 

Float round the distant mountain’s side ! 

At midnight hour, as shines the moon, 

A sheet of silver spreads below ; 

And swift she cuts, at highest noon. 

Light clouds, like wreaths of purest snow. 

On thy fair bosom, silver lake. 

Oh ! could I ever sweep the oar. 

When early birds at morning wake. 

Or evening tells us toil is o’er ! 


Ph(enician Relic. —The Society of Antiquaries, 
in London, possess a cylindrical vessel of granite, 
decorated with a peculiar Greciafl ornament on a 
hoop-like circle, which surrounds the exteriour. It 
was brought, many years ago, from the Musquito 
shore of Central America, and is considered an ad¬ 
ditional proof that the shores of the western copti 
nent were peopled by the ancient Phoenicians. 

58 







458 


PICTORIAL LIRRARY 


THE DEVIL’S HILL. 

In Don Juan de Ulloa’s Travels in South Ameri¬ 
ca, (an excellent old book,) a legend is related of a 
poor man in Spain, who was about to commit sui¬ 
cide, when a courteous stranger accosted him, and 
inquired the cause of his trouble. Being informed 
that it proceeded from poverty, he oti'ered to carry 
him to a country where he should have whatever 
quantity of gold he pleased. An hour was accord¬ 
ingly appointed for their departure. Meantime the 
Spaniard, thinking that he must make provision for 
a considerable journey, bought some loaves of bread, 
hot from the oven, with the baker’s name and resi¬ 
dence stamped upon them ; he then lay down to 
sleep, in the open air, at the spot assigned for his 
meeting with the stranger. His nap began in the 
province of Estramadura, in Old Spain ; but when 
he unclosed his eyes, he found himself on the sum¬ 
mit of a hill in South America, with the plain of 
Chisquipata stretched at his feet. Descending the 
hill, he was invited to breakfast with an inhabitant 
of the country, and, at table, produced his loaves of 
bread, which had not wholly lost the warmth of the 
Spanish oven. Ilis host, as it happened, had emi¬ 
grated from Estramadura, and recognised the baker’s 
stamp, and knew that these warm loaves could have 
been baked nowhere but in Spain. Of course, he 
looked with no little wonderment at his guest; nor 
was the latter less perplexed, on discovering that he 
had journeyed from one side of the globe to the 
other, while asleep, and without so much as dream¬ 
ing of it. They could explain the mystery no oth¬ 
erwise, than as a trick of Satan, in the person of 
the courteous stranger; and the people of Quito 
have ever since called the height, where the Span¬ 
iard started from his sleep, the Devil’s Hill. But 
considering that the poor man was relieved from 
hopeless poverty, and rescued from suicide, and 
conveyed, without the peril and wearisomeness of a 
sea-voyage, to a land where there was gold in every 
hill, it would rather appear to have been the deed 
of his patron-saint. Certainly, it has not come 
within our experience, that the Devil ever did so 
good-natured a thing. 

Doll’s Eyes. —It would scarcely be believed, 
that the manufacture of these little articles causes 
the circulation of several thousand pounds per an¬ 
num. Children’s toys, however trifling they may 
appear separately, are matters of great importance, 
when it is considered how many hands they set in 
motion, and how many mouths they are the means 
of feeding. Mr. Osle, when examined before a 
committee of the House of Commons, stated that he 
had seen a large room, filled with merely the legs 
and arms of dolls, which were piled in stacks from 
the floor to the ceiling, so as scarcely to leave space 
to pass between them. He received an order for 
five hundred pounds’ worth (between two and three 
thousand dollars) of glass eyes, which were to be 
inserted into the heads of dolls. Whenever we 
see a company of these little figures, staring at us 
from the windows of a toyshop, we should give 
them credit for having bestowed" bread on many a 
poor family, that must otherwise have gone with¬ 
out it 


The Pyramids.- —It has been computed that the 
steam-engines of England, worked by thirty-six 
thousand men, would require only eighteen hours 
to raise from the quarries, and elevate to its present 
height, the same quantity of stone that was used in 
building the pyramids. Yet, at the period of the 
construction of these huge piles, one hundred thou¬ 
sand men were employed for twenty years upon 
them—a number equal to two millions for one year. 
This fact strikingly shows the immense acquisition 
of power, that is derived from the use of machinery. 
The workmen were miserably fed ; and yet, accord¬ 
ing to Herodotus, sixteen hundred talents, equal to 
many millions of dollars, were expended merely in 
supplying them with onions, garlic, and radishes. 

Whaling. —The crew of the King George, an 
English whaler on the coast of Greenland, struck a 
fish during a severe gale, when the thermometer 
stood at zero, or below. The weather became thick, 
and the boats were unable to regain the ship for 
above two days and nights; throughout which time, 
the crews were exposed to the most intense cold 
and violent storm. One man died on the ice, and 
a second soon after reaching the ship. The frost 
deprived some of their fingers and toes, and others 
of their entire hands and feet; the surgeon was 
obliged to perform no less than thirty-five amputa¬ 
tions of fingers and toes, in one day. 

Weight in Water.— W ater sustains so much 
of the weight of any substance, as is equal to the 
weight of the water which is displaced by that sub¬ 
stance. Brick is said to be exactly twice the weight 
of water. A person will therefore be able to lift 
exactly twice the weight of brick, when sunk under 
water, that he could lift on dry land. A mass of 
brick, weighing one hundred pounds in the water, 
will weigh one hundred and fifty, when half-way 
out of the water, and two hundred pounds, when 
lifted entirely into the air. 

South American Carriers.— W hen a road v\’as 
to be constructed across the Andes, in South 
America, a petition against the project w'as present¬ 
ed by numbers of persons, who had long gained a 
livelihood by carrying travellers in baskets, over 
those difficult passes of the mountains, where none 
but themselves could tread. This is a striking in¬ 
stance of the unreasonableness of those who demand, 
that public improvements, which would be vastly 
for the benefit of the many, should be rejected for 
the advantage of a few. 

Relicts of Witchcraft. —The pins, which the 
New England witches were said to have thrust into 
the bodies of those w'hom they afflicted, in 1692, 
are still preserved among the records of the court, 
in Salem. - 

Jews in China.— There are Jews in China, who 
still retain their religion and practice their peculiar 
ceremonies; although they and their ancestors are 
said to have been resident there ever since the sec¬ 
ond century before Christ. Their numbers, how¬ 
ever, have long been decreasing, and they have now 
only one synagogue. 











OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


459 


SOUND OF THUNDER. 

, [VV'estminsler Review.] 

There is a simple explanation of the peculiar 
sounds of thunder. It is proved from the evidence 
of the eye, that the electric spark in thunder storms 
passes through very considerable distances ; and, 
from the same evidence and that of other experi¬ 
ments, it is known that its passage is what may be 
denominated instantaneous. Hence, as the pro¬ 
gress of sound is only at the rate of 1142 feet per 
second, the ear must receive the sound which pro¬ 
ceeds from different points in the tract of the spark, 
successively and not all at once. If a line of sol¬ 
diers a mile long, should all discharge their mus¬ 
kets together on a visual signal, as for instance the 
dropping of a flag, an ear near one of the flanks 
must hear a prolonged roll for nearly five seconds, 
diminishing in strength ; if near the middle, it must 
hear the roll for about two seconds and a half, but 
doubled in strength, though on the whole dimin¬ 
uendo as before; if at a fifth of the way from one 
flank to the other, it must hear one second of double 
strength, followed by three seconds of inferiour force, 
each severally diminuendo.* But if in the middle 
of the line there should be formed a zig-zag, it is 
clear that it might be so situated as instead of the 
reports of one or two muskets, to bring to the ear 
at once the reports of four or five ; this therefore is 
competent to cause a crescendo, and by increasing 
the number and extent of the zig-zags, it may be 
varied in an indefinite number of ways. Now if 
the course of lightning may be judged of by the eye, 
it assumes precisely this form of zig-zags. Again, 
if the ear should be placed in the perpendicular to 
the middle of the line of soldiers and at a considera¬ 
ble distance, the eflect of the discharge would ap¬ 
proach to that of a single report; an eflect some¬ 
times heard at sea, where thunder has been taken 
for the guns of a distant action. When the sound 
of thunder is very loud and brief, like the explosion 
of a near cannon, it is probable the discharge has 
taken place into some neighbouring body on the 
earth’s surface, and from a cloud at a short distance; 
for happily it seems to require a nearer approach to 
produce the electric discharge into the earth, than 
from cloud to cloud. And in cases of accident by 
lightning, the near witnesses seldom fail to describe 
this species of sound. In this manner all the phe¬ 
nomena of the sound of thunder may be considered 
as accounted for. 

* This phenomenon of successive sound may he observed in a 
single battalion by a hearer placed near a flank, on the pieces be¬ 
ing struck on the ground together in the last motion of ‘ Order 
Arms,’ by signal from the fugelman. 

VIOLINS. 

[Gardiner’s ‘ Music of Nature.’] 

The Violin had its origin in Italy, about the year 
1600; but those which are esteemed of the greatest 
value were made at a later period, about 1650, at 
Cremona, by the family of A. and J. Amati, and 
their contemporary Stradvarius, of the same place. 
These instruments are found to be very much su- 
periour to any that have been made since that time, 
which acknowledged excellence is chiefly to be at¬ 
tributed to their age. The Amati is rather smaller 


in size from the Violins of the present day, and is 
easily recognised by its peculiar sweetness of tone. 
The Stradivari is larger and louder; and is so highly 
esteemed, that many have been sold for the sum of 
two hundred guineas. Age seems to dispossess 
these Cremona Violins of their noisy qualities, 
nothing being left but the pure tone. If a modern 
Violin is played by the side of one of these instru¬ 
ments, it will appear much the loudest of the two, 
but on receding a hundred paces, when compared 
with the Amati, it will be scarce!} heard. Connois¬ 
seurs frequently go into the gallery of the Opera 
House, to hear the eflect of the Cremona Violin, 
which at this distance predominates greatly above 
all'the other instruments, though in the orchestra it 
is not perceptibly louder than any of the rest. 

A FOUNDERED VESSEL. 

We now got out our boats; after pulling about 
all day, under a sun so hot that our brains seemed 
undergoing the process of frying, we happily, before 
night set in, hit on the very spot which had been 
marked out; but, the day closing, we were com- 
pellecT to desist till morning. We ran the boats on 
shore on a pretty island, supped and slept; then, 
with the earliest dawn, we pushed on our discovery, 
till we came on the identical foundered wreck. 
The water was transparent as glass. By sounding 
on the hull of the wreck, we found that there was 
not more than twenty feet of water from her deck ; 
and that, lying on rocks, but little sand had collect¬ 
ed near her. We laid down a buoy to indicate the 
spot, and returned to the vessels, which were draw¬ 
ing near to take us on board, impelled by sweeps; 
for, so still was the wind, that the feathered vanes 
above the lofty truck dropped motionless. 

With lines, halsers, grapnels, and the other neces¬ 
sary materials, not forgetting the divers, we again 
went towards the submerged vessel. As I gazed 
below, long and steadily, so perfectly was every 
portion of her visible, that she forcibly reminded 
me of those models of ships enclosed in glass cases— 
the rough and jagged bed on which she lay resem¬ 
bling the mimic waves which sometimes surround 
them. Even the heaps of shell-fish that now in- 
crusted and peopled her deck with marine life, and 
the living sea-verdure of weeds and mosses, might 
have been as distinctly noted and classed as if ex¬ 
hibited on a table. When the dark divers descended 
on her decks, the glass-like element, as in a broken 
mirror, multiplied their forms, till they seemed to 
be the demons, hidden in her hold, rushing up in 
multitudes to defend their vessel, assaulted even 
under the sanctuary of the mighty ocean. 

After many fruitless efforts and long continued 
toil, we succeeded in getting a purchase on her. 
Then, by sinking butts of water, carefully securing 
them to the tackle affixed to the wreck, and restor¬ 
ing their buoyancy by pumping out the water from 
them, at length we moved her, and passed strong 
halsers under her. On the second day the grab 
and schooner were placed on each side of her, the 
number of casks was increased, and we hove on 
many and complicated purchases, till she was fairly 
suspended, and, at length, her almost shapeless hull, 
reluctantly arose to the surface. It looked like a 








460 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


huge coffin, in which some antediluvian sea-colossus 
had been entombed. The light of day shone 
strangely on her incrusted, hoary, and slimy liull. 
Sea-stars, crabs, cray-fish, and all sorts of shell-fish 
crawled and clung in and about her, amazed at the 
transition from the bottom of the cool element, in 
which they had dwelt, to a fiery death from the 
sun, whose rays, darting on their scaled armour, 
transfixed them as with a spear. We turned to, 
and, by bailing, partially cleared her of water; so 
that it was evident, although she leaked considera¬ 
bly, she was not bilged. The deck and main-hold 
had been cleared, either by the water or by the 
people of Sumatra, whose fishing-boats might possi¬ 
bly have come athwart her ; but the after-hold, 
which was battened securely down, protected by a 
double deck, and bulkheaded ofi', was untouched. 
I forgot to mention, that, as we were baling, we 
disturbed a huge water-snake at the boitom of the 
hold, which the men had mistaken for the bite of 
a cable, and that he .speedily cleared the decks. 
Either he had a taste for shell-fish, or preferred a 
wooden kennel to a coial cave. We made a 
simultaneous and vigorous attack on him with 
pikes and fire-arms; yet it was not till he was 
gashed like a crimped cod, that he struck his flag, 
and permitted us to continue our w'ork. The di¬ 
vers said he might have eaten them when they were 
under water;—I know not that, but can aver that 
the men, more ferocious and greedy than the snake, 
did incontinently, now that he was out of water, 
eat him. Trelawney. 


THE KREUTZBERG. 

The Kreutzberg, or Mount Calvary, is a lofty hill 
near Bona, in Germany. Upon its summit is a 
Convent, with a Chapel in which, among other cu¬ 
riosities of the like nature, is a flight of stairs never 
profaned by the pressure of the human foot. They 
are ascended only on the knees, and to the perfor¬ 
mance of this act of faith, plenary indulgence for a 
year is promised by a papal bull suspended at the 
foot of the staircase. But the chief object of inter¬ 
est in the Convent is the comparatively undecayed 
state of the bodies interred, ages ago, in its vault. 
A late traveller thus narrates a visit to this ceme¬ 
tery :— 

‘ I hardly know what we had expected from this 
sepulchral examination,, but it certainly must have 
been something very ditferent from the reality, for 
we were jesting and laughing when the sacristan 
arrived, and even when we saw the two lads, who 
accompanied him, raise the massy door, I believe 
not one of us felt any portion of the awe w'hich the 
scene it opened to us was calculated to inspire. 
The sacristan, with a lighted candle in his hand, 
descended a dark and narrow flight of steps, desir¬ 
ing us to follow him. I was the first that did so, 
and I shall not soon forget the spectacle that met 
my eyes. On each side of us, as we entered the 
vault, was arranged a row of open coffins, each con¬ 
taining the dry and shrivelled body of a monk, in 
his r(^e and cowl. They are so placed as to be 
exposed to the closest examination, both of touch 


and sight; and the remembrance of my walk 
through them still makes me shudder. The w'on- 
derful state of preservation in which these bodies 
remain, though constantly exposed to the atmos¬ 
phere by being thus exhibited, is attributed, by good 
Catholics, to the peculiar sanctity of the place ; but 
to those who do not receive this solution of the 
mystery, it is one of great difficulty, d'he dates of 
their interment vary from 1400 to 1713; and the old¬ 
est is quite as fresh as the most recent. There are 
twenty-six fully exposed to view, and apparently many 
more beneath them. From the older ones, the coffins 
have either crumbled away, or the bodies were bu¬ 
ried without them. 

‘ In some of these ghastly objects the flesh is still 
full, and almost shapely upon tlie legs; in others it 
appears to be drying gradually away, and the bones 
are here and there becoming visible. The condi¬ 
tion of the face also varies very greatly, though by 
no means in proportion to the anti(|uiiy of each. 
In many, the nose, lips, and beard remain ; and in 
one, the features were so little disturbed, that, 

' ‘ All unruffled was his face ; 

e trusted his soul had gotten grace.’ 

Round others, the dust lies where it had fallen, as 
dropfted, grain by grain, from the mouldering 
cheeks; and the head grins Ironi beneath the cowl 
nearly in the state of a skeleton. The garments 
are almost in the same unequal degree of preserva¬ 
tion ; for in many the w lute material is still firm, 
though discoloured ; w hile in others it is dropping 
away in fragments. The shoes of all are wonder¬ 
fully perfect. 

‘The last person buried in this vault, (in 1713) 
was one who acted as gardener to the community. 
His head is crowned with a wreath of flowers, which 
still preserves its general form ; nay, the larger blos¬ 
soms may yet be distinguished from the smaller 
' ones, but with withered leaves he mixed with his 
: fallen hair on either side. 

i ‘ iMtogether the scene is well calculated to pro- 
' duce a cold shiver in the beholder, and yet we all 
lingered over it. There is certainly some nerve 
within us, that thrills with strange pleasure at the 
touch of horrour.’ 


Irish Potatoes. —Ireland has been famed for 
the excellence of its potatoes; but, a v-ariety called 
I the ‘ lumper,’ has recently been introduced, w Inch 
I is of a soft, watery quality, and is both unwhole¬ 
some and unpalatable. Pigs will not thrive upon 
it. Yet this potato will probably supplant all the 
other and better varieties, because it requires less 
manure, and yields a more abundant produce ; and 
after all, it is computed that not a fifth part of the 
Irish population can obtain a sufficiency even of 
this unwholesome food. 


Sulphur. —When sulphur is thrown upon the 
hearth of a blazing chimney, the sulphurous vapour 
penetrates all the crevices and ramifications of the 
flue, and completely extinguishes the fire. A small 
quantity of sulphur will have this effect almost in¬ 
stantaneously, though the flames may be shooting 
two or three yards above the top of the chimney. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


461 


APPARENT DISTANCE OF OBJECTS. 

[Ainolt’tf •Elements of Physics.’] 

It has already been e.xplained that light, like 
every other inlluence radiating troin a centre, be- 
conjes rapidly weaker as the distance from the cen¬ 
tre increases, being, for instance, only one fourth 
part as intense at double distance, and in a corres¬ 
ponding proportion for other distant es ; while it is 
still further weakened by the obstacle of any trans¬ 
parent medium througli which it }'as.ses. Now the 
eye soon becomes sulhcienily fatiiihai with these 
truths to judge from them with consideiable accu¬ 
racy, of the comparative tlistances of objects. 

The fine gothic pile of W estminster Abbey may 
break upon the view in some situation where nearer 
edifices, and i)erha[)s some minor imitations of its 
beauties, already fill and dazzle the eye with their 
brightness; but the misty or less di.^tinct outline of 
the former warn the approaching stranger of its true 
magnitude, and [)repaie him for the enjoyment 
which a nearer inspection of its grandeur ami per¬ 
fection is to a (lord. 

A small yacht or pleasure-boat may be built 
from the same model or of the same comparative 
dimensiotis as a first rate vessel ol war, ;ind may be 
in view from the shore at the same time ; only so 
much nearer than the ship, that both shall form im¬ 
ages of the same magnitude on the retina of a spec¬ 
tator. In such a case, to an unpractised eye, it 
might be difficult to delect the difleience ; but to 
another, the bright lights ol the little vessel, con- 
trusted with the softer or more misty appearance of 
the larger, would leave no room for doubt. A ha- 
ziness occurring in the atmosphere between the 
little vessel and the eye, might considerably disturb 
the judgment. 

In a fleet of ships, if the sun’s direct rays fall 
upon one here and there through openings among 
the clouds, while the others remain in shade, the 
former immediately start, in appearance, towards 
the spectator. Similarly the mountains of an un¬ 
known coast, if the sunshine fall upon them, ap¬ 
pear comparatively near; but if clouds again inter¬ 
vene, they recede and mock the awakened hope of 
the approaching mariner. 

A conflagration at night, how'ever distant, ap¬ 
pears to spectators generally as if very near, and 
inexperienced persons often run towards it with the 
hope of arriving immediately ; but find, after miles 
travelled, that they have made but little part of 
their way. 

A person ignorant of astronomy deems the heav¬ 
enly bodies vastly nearer to the earth than they are, 
merely because they are so bright and luminous. 
The evening star, for instance, seen in a clear sky 
over some distant hill-top, appears as if a dweller 
on the hill might almost reach it—for the most in¬ 
tense artificial light that could be placed on the 
height would be dim in comparison with this beau¬ 
teous star; yet to a dweller on the hill it appears 
just as distant as to one on the plain ; and wherever 
the spectator is placed, the appearance will be 
nearly the same. 

The concave of the starry heavens appears flat¬ 
tened above, or nearer to the earth in its zenith 
than towards its horizon, because the light from 


above having to pass through only the depth or 
thickness of the atmosphere, is little obstructed ; 
while of that which darts towards any place hori¬ 
zontally, through hundreds of miles of dense vapour- 
loarled air, only a small part arrives. 

The sun and moon appear larger at rising and 
setting than when midway in the heavens, partly, 
us already explained, because while below they can 
easily be cornjrared with other objects, of which the 
size is known, but partly, also, because of their less 
light in the former situation, while their diameters 
are always the same. 

A fog or mist is said to magnify objects seen 
through it. The truth is, that by reason of the di¬ 
minished intensity of light, it makes them appear 
further distant without lessening the visual angles 
subtended by them ; and because an object at two 
miles, subtending the same angle as an object at 
one mile, must be twice as large, the conclusion is 
drawn that the dim object is large. Thus a person 
in^ a log may believe lliat he is approaching a great 
tree, fifty yards distant, when the next step throw’s 
him into the bush which had deceived him. Two 
friends meeting in a fog have often mutually mis¬ 
taken each other for persons of much greater stature. 
A row of fox-glove llovvers on a neighbouring bank, 
has been mistaken for a company of scarlet-clad 
soldiers on the more distant face of the hill. 'I’here 
are, for similar reasons, frerpient misjudgings in late 
twilight and early dawn. The purpose and effect 
of a thin gauze screen interposed between the spec¬ 
tators in a theatre and some person or object meant 
to appear distant, are intelligible on the same prin¬ 
ciple ; a boy near, so screened, will appear to be a 
man at a distance. The art of the painter uses 
sombre colours when his object is to produce in his 
picture the effect of distance. On the alarming oc¬ 
casion of a very dense fog condng on at sea, where 
the ships of a fleet are near each other, without 
wind, and w'here there is considerable swell or roll¬ 
ing of the sea, much damage is often done ; but it 
is to be remarked in such a case that the size of 
ships approaching to the shock is always in idea 
exaggerated. 


EUROPEAN NOTIONS OF THE AMERICANS. 

[Allen’s ‘ Practical Tourist.’] 

In public stage coaches and inns, (in England,) 
inquiries have frequently been addressed to me re¬ 
lative to the present state of society and improve¬ 
ments in the useful arts in the United States, con¬ 
cerning which much ignorance seemed to prevail. 
I was several times asked if there are roads in the 
United States sufficiently good for stage-coaches; 
and if the houses of America are built or furnished, 
in any respect, like those of England. Persons 
having friends or relations who have emigrated to 
America, have also inquired about their w’elfare, 
with the apparent expectation that I must have seen 
or know’ll them, when in the same country, on the 
other side of the Atlantic. 

In Holland, one of the passengers in the Diligence 
to the Hague, w’as a Flemish artist, w’ho informed 
me that he w’as on his way to Haerlem to exhibit 
some new machines at the great national exhibition 






462 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


of the manufactures of the Netherlands. He was 
eloquent in his eulogium upon the advantages of 
steam navigation, having for the first time in his 
life made the passage from Antwerp to Rotterdam 
in the steam packet. In a few years, he observed, 
steam boats would be very generally used, and even 
in the United States of America, we might not 
long be without them. His surprise was great, 
when he was informed that steam-boats were alrea¬ 
dy in general use on most of the large rivers of the 
United States, where they were first successfully 
put into operation, nearly twenty years ago. The 
subject of mechanical inventions having been thus 
introduced, I described to him several of the cu¬ 
riously constructed machines invented by Americans. 
He continued to listen to an account of the nail 
machine, which cuts and heads nails from a flat bar 
of iron, as fast as one can count them ; and of the 
machine for making weaver’s reeds or slaies, in¬ 
vented by Wilkinson. He had never before heard 
of these machines. Although he was an intelligent 
man, yet the complicated operation of the mechan¬ 
ism for accomplishing processes which he supposed 
could only be performed by manual dexterity, ap¬ 
peared to him almost incredible. But when I de¬ 
scribed Blanchard’s lathe, in which gun-stocks and 
shoe lasts, with all their irregularity of outlines, are 
turned exactly to a pattern, his confidence in my 
veracity evidently wavered; and at my description 
of Whittemore’s celebrated card machine, which 
draws off the card wire from the reel; cuts it into 
pieces of the proper length for the teeth; bends it 
into the form of a staple; punctures the holes in 
the leather with a needle; inserts the staples of 
wire into these punctured holes in the leather; and 
finally crooks the teeth to the desired form ;—com¬ 
pleting of itself all these operations with regularity, 
without the assistance of the human hand, the cre¬ 
dulity of my travelling companion could go no far¬ 
ther. He manifested doubts of all I had been de¬ 
scribing to him, and even irritation at what he ap¬ 
peared to consider an attempt to impose upon him 
marvellous traveller’s stories. Giving vent to an 
emphatic humph, he petulantly threw himself back 
into a corner of the Diligence, and would hold no 
further conversation, during the remainder of our 
ride, on the mechanical improvements made in 
Flemish manufactures. 


A SOUTHERN FOREST. 

[‘ The South West.’] 

There is a grandeur in the vast forests of the 
South, of w’hich a northener can form no adequate 
conception. The trees spring from the ground into 
the air, noble columns, from fifty to a hundred feet 
in height, and, expanding like the cocoa, fling 
abroad their limbs, which, interlocking, present a 
canopy almost impervious to the sun, and beneath 
which wind arcades of the most magnificent dimen¬ 
sions. The nakedness ofahe tall shafts is relieved 
by the luxuriant tendrils of the muscadine and wood¬ 
bine twining about them, in spiral wreaths, quite to 
their summit, or hanging in immense festoons from 
tree to tree. In these woods horsemen can ad¬ 
vance without obstruction, so spacious are the in¬ 
tervals between the trees, so high the branches 


above them, and so free from underw’ood is the 
sward. Of such forest-riding the northerner knows 
nothing, unless his lore in tales of Italian banditti 
may have enabled him to form some idea of scenes 
with which his own country refuses to gratify him. 
So much do the northern and southern forests differ, 
that a fleet rider will traverse the latter with more 
ease than the woodman can the former. 

Cut from the shaft of a southern forest-tree, a 
section forty or fifty feet in length, and plant the 
mutilated summit in the earth, and its stunted ap¬ 
pearance would convey to a Mississippian a toler¬ 
ably correct idea of a forest tree in New'-England; 
or add to the low trunk of a wide-spreading north¬ 
ern oak, the column abstracted from its southern 
rival, and northerners would form from its towering 
altitude, a tolerable idea of a forest tree in Missis¬ 
sippi. Hang from its heavy branches huge tassels 
of black Carolina moss, from two to six feet in 
length—suspend from limb to limb gigantic festoons 
of vines, themselves but lesser trees in size, and 
clothe its trunk with a spiral vestment of leaves, as 
though a green serpent were coiled about it, and 
you will have created a southern tree in its native 
majesty. Imagine a forest of them lifting their tops 
to heaven and yourself bounding away upon a fleet 
horse beneath its sublime domes, with a noble stag, 
flying down its glades like a winged creature, while 
the shouts of hunters, the tramp of horses, and the 
baying of hounds echo through its solemn corridors, 
and then you will have some faint idea of the glory 
of a southern forest and the noble character of its 
enjoyments. 


THE MAGELLAN CLOUDS. 

[Temple’s ‘ Travels in Peru.’] 

These clouds are called after Magellan, the cele¬ 
brated circumnavigator, who, upwards of three hun¬ 
dred years ago, gave his name to the intricate 
channel at the southern extremity of America, and 
who, it is pretended, first noticed the clouds in 
question. Since we have been in the southern 
hemisphere, we have found great pleasure, every 
night, in admiring the splendid beauties above, so 
different from those in the northern heavens; but I 
do not think I should have observed the Magellan 
clouds, if they had not been pointed out to me. 
They exist, how’ever, and are always to be seen at 
night, each about the size of a table-cloth, one the 
colour of a clean one, and the other something of 
the colour of our own cloth at the end of a week’s 
wear on ship-board. When once pointed out, it is 
very easy to distinguish them from other clouds. 
There they have been for three hundred years cer¬ 
tainly, perhaps they are coeval with the world ; and 
they may remain when, peradventure, no human 
eye shall exist to look upon them. 


Yankee Tea. —This epithet is conferred on a 
decoction of hemlock sprigs, prepared in the same 
manner as tea. An English lady, who drank of it, 
found it little to her taste; although she recognised 
it as an herb that is often sold at five shillings per 
pound in London, as genuine tea. Its properties 
1 are said to be medicinal. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


463 


INFLUENCE OF MUSIC ON ANIMALS 

Dogs, says a French writer, are affected in a very 
lively manner by music; but it is difficult to deter¬ 
mine the nature of the impressions which they re¬ 
ceive from it. Many naturalists believe that its 
effect is disagreeable ; an opinion w hich is strongly 
supported by the fact, that dogs, if left at liberty, 
take to flight, with howls, as soon as the music 
reaches their ears. It has even been noticed, that 
those dogs who are insensible to ordinary noises, and 
whom the explosion of a cannon would not startle, 
will nevertheless shudder, and give utterance to in¬ 
voluntary groans, on hearing an instrument of mu¬ 
sic. Doctor Mead affirms that a dog died of the 
painful sensations excited by music, which he had 
been compelled to hear for a considerable time, and 
which caused him to utter piercing cries. Exam¬ 
ples are given of many other animals, and likewise 
of owls, killed in a similar manner. Cats, also, 
mew loudly on hearing the sound of musical instru¬ 
ments ; but they appear to be more seldom and 
less painfully affected than dogs. 

It is well known, on the other hand, that birds, 
and especially the canary-bird, testify the liveliest 
pleasure w hen airs are played to them. They some¬ 
times approach the instrument, and remain im¬ 
movable so long as the sounds continue, and then 
clap their wings, as we should our hands, in testi¬ 
mony of their approbation of the performance. 

The horse, also, is extremely sensible to music. 
The trumpet, and all kinds of copper or brazen in¬ 
struments, appear most to his liking. Martial airs 
animate and excite his ardour; his mane bristles ; 
his eyes sparkle; he snuffs and snorts with his nos¬ 
trils, oricks up his ears, and beats time, as it were, 
with his feet. In equestrian performances, horses 
dance, w'ith perfect accuracy, in cadence to the 
sound of instruments. Some wild animals are 
likewise susceptible to the influence of musical 
tones. The hunters in the Tyrol, and in certain 
parts of Germany, affirm that they are acquainted 
with a method of enticing stags by singing, and fe¬ 
male deer by* playing on the flute. Beavers and 
rats are also said to possess a musical taste; and 
eight of the latter animals have been seen to dance 
the rope, at a fair in France. 

Neither are reptiles, nor insects, destitute of a 
musical ear. The lizard displays tokens of being 
singularly fond of harmony. The instant that he 
hears vocal or instruntental music, his movements 
betray the most agreeable emotions. He turns 
over, lying now on his back, now on his belly, now 
on his side, as if to expose all parts of his body to 
the action of the sonorous fluid, which he finds so 
delightful. He does not, however, bestow his ap¬ 
probation on all sorts of music, but is very refined 
in his taste. Soft voices, and tender and plaintive 
airs, are his favourites; but hoarse singing and noisy 
instruments disgust him. 

An account is given, in a book of travels, of the 
taming of rattle-snakes in Guiana, by playing tunes 
on a flageolet, or whistling so as to resemble that 
instrument. M. de Chateaubriand, in his travels in 
Upper Canada, positively affirms, that he saw a fu¬ 
rious rattle-snake, which had penetrated into his 
encampment, lay aside his rage on hearing the mu¬ 


sic of a flute, and that the serpent followed the mu¬ 
sician to a considerable distance. 

Among insects, the spider shows the greatest 
sensibility to music. Immediately on hearing the 
sound ol instruments, she descends rapidly along 
her thread, and approaches the quarter whence it 
proceeds; there she remains immovable for whole 
hours, if the music continue so long. Prisoners, 
during long confinements, have tamed spiders in 
this manner, and converted them into companions. 

One of the most remarkable instances of the effect 
of music on animals occurred at the Royal Me¬ 
nagerie in Paris, where a concert was given, about 
thirty years ago, and tw'o elephants were among 
the number of the auditors. The orchestra being 
placed out of their sight, they could not discover 
the source of the harmony. The first sensation 
was surprise; at one moment they gazed e^irnestly 
at the spectators; the next, they ran to caress their 
keeper, and appeared to inquire of him what these 
strange noises meant. But perceiving that nothing 
was amiss, they finally gave themselves up to the 
lively impressions which the music communicated. 
Each new tune seemed to produce a change of 
feeling, and caused thei| gestures and their cries to 
assume an expression in accordance with it. But 
it was still more remarkable, that when a piece of 
music, the correct performance of which had vividly 
excited their emotions, was incorrectly played, they 
remained cold and unmoved. They must necessa¬ 
rily have possessed, therefore, if not a discernment, 
at least a perception of combined sounds, and a 
distinct sensation resulting from them. 


THE RIVER OF VINEGAR. 

The water of the river of Pusambio, which rises 
among the Andes of New Granada, South America, 
has a sour taste; and the inhabitants, who are ac¬ 
quainted with no other acid than vinegar, call the 
stream Rio Vinagre, or Vinegar river. The sour¬ 
ness, however, arises from the water’s being im 
pregnated with sulphuric acid, which if receives 
from the interiour of a volcano, where sulphur is 
abundant, and where the river has its source. 
Within the crater of the volcano, it is said, there is 
an immense basin of boiling water, the vapours 
from which escape with much violence, and have a 
suffocating smell, being composed of sulphurous 
acid. The water of this basin is covered with a 
coat of sulphur; and a crust of the same substance 
is formed on the rocks above it, rising like a dome 
over the crevice, which forms the communication 
with the open air. The natives of the vicinity affirm, 
that the crust has sometimes acquired a thickness of 
as much as four feet, in less than two years. Acidu¬ 
lated by its impregnation with this powerful mineral, 
the Rio Vinegre, of course, becomes unfit for the 
support of animal life ; and even the Rio Cauca, 
into which the Vinegar river empties, is destitute of 
fish during a course of twelve miles, on account of 
the mixture of these sour waters with its own. 
The fish are again found in the Cauca, at the point 
where it receives the tribute of two other streams. 
The Vinagre throws itself into the Cauca over three 
beautiful cascades, the minute spray from which 
causes a pricking sensation in the eyes. 





464 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


AGRICULTURAL LABOURS IN FRANCE. 

[Allen’s ‘ Practical Tourist.’] 

The labour of haymaking now occupied the at¬ 
tention of the portion of the country through which 
we travelled. The mowers used scythes with 
straight wooden shafts or poles for handles, without 
being nicely balanced by projecting pins, and bent 
to the convenient form commonly used in the Uni¬ 
ted States. The labourers, in mowing, are conse¬ 
quently compelled to bend forward in a low, stoop¬ 
ing, uncomfortable attitude. The rakes and other 
farming implements are even more rudely made 
than the scythe handles, and exhibit none of that at¬ 
tention to lightness and finish, observable in similar 
instruments in New England. The hoe, instead of 
the light and thin cast steel blade with its trenchant 
edge, is a heavy implement with a clumsy handle ; 
and th^ rake is quite as rudely made, resembling 
the harrow which precedes it in the fields. The 
modes of husbandry, as well as many of the me¬ 
chanical arts of working in wood and iron, seem to 
be above half a century behind the same branches 
of business in England at the present time. But 
the French always contrive to arrive at the same 
result at last, although by more tedious and labo¬ 
rious processes, after manifesting nearly as much 
ingenuity in accomplishing their object with such 
insufficient implements, as the English themselves 
display in the invention of their niore perfect tools 
and machinery. Like the journeys performed in a 
French diligence and an English stage coach, the 
same end is attained, although with a great waste 
of time and labour. 

One of the most singular features of French agri¬ 
culture, is the subdivision of the land into small lots, 
cultivated under dissimilar crops, without interven¬ 
ing fences or hedges.* As far as the eye can reach 
over hill and dale, the parti-coloured hues of light 
and deep green herbage, the brown soil of the fur¬ 
rowed land, and the russet fallows, appear all inter¬ 
mingled like the squares of a checkered-board, 
without apparent landmarks to designate the boun¬ 
daries of each proprietary parcel. Near the road, 
the fields are laid out in long narrow parallel strips, 
bordering on the high way, often only one or two 
hundred feet in front, and extending back many 
hundred feet. Each of those narrow ranges is 
planted by its proprietor with the sort of grain, or 
subjected to the culture, lie may consider most pro¬ 
fitable. Consequently, every different strip of land 
has commonly a different crop waving over it. In 
a distance of one hundred rods of the road, I 
counted nineteen different kinds of crops growing 
side by side. First, was a parcel of ground cov¬ 
ered with rye ; then succeeded bristling asparagus, 
and adjoining it was a range of pasture, with no 


* I'he American farmer would realize what a labour-saving 
contrivance his fences are, were he to witness all the expedients 
resorted w in a country which affords no materials for them. 
Hedges do not thrive so well in the dry climate of France, nor in 
the United States, as in England, where the abundant moisture 
favours their growth. In many parts of France the soil is chalky, 
with but few stones. Trees, suitable for rails or wooden fences, 
are too scarce and valuable to be used for enclosing fields. Shep¬ 
herds and Shepherdesses are therefore the constant attendants upon 
sheep, and women and boys are employed to prevent the depre¬ 
dations of cattle. 


fence to restrain the grazing herd from depredating 
on the grain. Next a field of luxuriant clover, 
where the mowers were at work, and then a vine¬ 
yard, a field of wheat, lucerne and a strawberry bed 
A cluster of fruit trees, and culinary vegetables, 
&.C. continued to diversify the strangely jumbled 
system of culture. Even the fruit trees are exposed 
to the free access of pilferers from the public roads. 
The French peasants were busily engaged in tying 
to the stakes the rambling branches of the vines. 
Cherries and strawberries of delicious flavour and 
fine size are produced in great abundance. The 
vineyards appear bristled with stakes four or five 
feet high, driven into the ground near each plant, 
to support the branches. At a distance, the vines 
resemble raspberry, or currant bushes. Although 
vineyards have been extolled by the poets, they cer¬ 
tainly do not rival the beautiful luxuriant vegeta¬ 
tion of the deep green, broad leaves, and tall stalks 
of a field of Indian corn. The rambling branches. 
of the vine, spreading from one stake to another, 
form at the time of the vintage an unbroken mantle 
of foliage over the whole field. 

Upon each side of the road, apple trees, and the 
ash and the elm are commonly planted, in double 
rows. The middle of the road is paved with square 
blocks of stone, like the streets of a town, wherever 
the soil is so clayey as to render this expedient 
necessary, in order to make a solid pathway. 

For farming purposes, as well as for the transport¬ 
ation of heavy articles of merchandise over the 
principal roads, carts are every where used. I have 
not seen a four-wheeled waggon in France; but 
enormous loads are poised upon two wheels, and 
drawn by six, or even eight horses, arranged in 
long procession, one before another. 

The very cartman displays his passion for orna¬ 
ments, by decorating his horses with fiery scarlet 
and blue tufts of woollen yarns, affixed to various 
parts of the harness; and a sheepskin, with the 
wool dyed of some bright colour, surmounts the 
collar. Instead of the narrow, strongly ironed and 
riveted wooden harness, made so small as to be 
scarcely discernible when imbedded in the padding 
of the collar on an English or American cart-horse, 
the harness of the French cart-horses are made of 
broad boards extended out over the shoulders of 
the quadruped like the expanded wings of a butter¬ 
fly, and decorated with gaudy colours and painted 
pictures of blue roses and red lillies. The form of 
these collars seems to have been borrowed frotn 
that of the wings of Cupid, as usually depicted by 
painters ; or perhaps from a more humble model— 
the flat sides of a pair of smith’s bellows. Thus 
trussed up about the neck with superfluous appen¬ 
dages, a horse’s garniture resembles the triple rows 
of puffs on a belle of the sixteenth century. In 
truth, so widely are these boards spread abroad, 
that they are sometimes really annoying to the foot 
passengers in the streets of Paris, when the animal 
brushes by and gives the shoulder not a gentle 
shock, by way of rousing the inattentive pedestrian 
from his revery. 

A GOOD Rule. —A man and his wife should never 
both l>e angry at once. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


465 


DIFFUSION OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. 

[‘ Dick, on the Improvement of Society.’] 

It may be safely affirmed, that scientific knowl¬ 
edge would render mechanics and manufacturers 
of all descriptions more skilful in the prosecution of 
their respective employments. 

Some, however, may be disposed to insinuate, 
that it is quite enough for philosophers to ascertain 
principles, and to lay down rules founded upon 
them, for the direction of the mechanic or artisan ; 
or, that it is only requisite that the directors and 
superintendents of chymical processes and mechan¬ 
ical operations should be acquainted with that por¬ 
tion of science which is necessary for their peculiar 
departments. But it is easy to perceive that a me¬ 
chanic who works merely by rules, without know¬ 
ing the foundation or reasons of them, is only like 
a child who repeats his catechism by rote,, without 
attaching a single idea to the words he utters; or 
like a horse driving a thrashing machine, without 
deviating from the narrow circle to which he is ne¬ 
cessarily confined. When any accident occurs, 
when the circumstances of the case are somewhat 
changed, or the principle on which he generally 
proceeds requires to be applied to a new object or 
mode of operation, he either blunders in his work 
or is utterly at a loss how to proceed. The least 
deviation from his accustomed trammels puts him 
out, because he has no clear view of the principles 
on which his practice depends. Hence we uni¬ 
formly find that a man of scientific acquirements 
will easily comprehend the plan of any new ma¬ 
chine or architectural operation, and be able to exe¬ 
cute it, while he who only works by square and rule 
will hesitate at every step, and perceive innumera¬ 
ble difficulties in his way. To confine artists to 
mere rules, without a knowledge of the principles 
on which they are founded, is to degrade their intel¬ 
lectual nature, to reduce them to something like mere 
machines, to render them less useful, and to prevent 
the improvement of the liberal and mechanical arts. 

It has frequently been asserted, that many useful 
inventions have been owing to chance, and that 
persons ignorant of science have stumbled upon 
them without any previous investigation. It is true 
that several inventions have originated in this way, 
but they are much fewer than is generally imag¬ 
ined ; and in almost every instance where chance 
suggested the first hint, future improvements were 
directed by the hand of genius and the aids of sci¬ 
ence. But for this, they would in all probability 
have lain for ages in obscurity, w'ithout any real 
utility to mankind. Had the telescope, the steam 
engine, and the mariner’s compass, in their embryo 
state, remained solely in the hands of ignorant em¬ 
pirics, they might have served merely as playthings, 
for vulgar amusement, or have been exhibited by 
cunning impostors to aid their deceptions, or to 
produce a belief of their supernatural powers. But 
science snatched them from the hands of the igno¬ 
rant and the designing, and having added the requi¬ 
site improvements, bequeathed them to mankind as 
the means of future advancement in the paths of 
knowledge, and in the practice of the arts. 

It may, indeed, be laid down as a kind of axiom, 
to which few e.\ceptions will occur, that great dis¬ 


coveries in science and improvements in art are 
never to be expected but as the result of knowledge 
combined with unwearied investigation. This ax¬ 
iom might be illustrated, were it necessary, from 
what we know of the past history of our most use¬ 
ful inventions. We may further remark, that the 
mechanic whose mind is enlightened with scientific 
knowledge has a much greater chance of being 
instrumental in improving the arts than the mere 
chymist or philosopher. While the mere philoso¬ 
pher is demonstrating principles and forming theo¬ 
ries in his closet, and sometimes performing experi¬ 
ments, only on a small scale,—the workman, in 
certain jnanufactories, has a daily opportunity of 
contemplating chymical processes and mechanical 
operations on an extensive scale, and of perceiving 
numberless modifications and contrivances, which 
require to be attended to, of which the mere scien¬ 
tific speculator can form but a very faint and inade¬ 
quate conception. Being familiar with the most 
minute details of every process and operation, he 
can perceive redundancies and defects impercepti¬ 
ble to other observers ; and, if he has an accurate 
knowledge of the general principles on which his 
operations depend, he must be best qualified for 
suggesting and contriving the requisite improve¬ 
ments. As the mechanic is constantly handling 
the tools and materials with which new experi¬ 
ments may be made,—observing the effects of cer¬ 
tain contrivances, and of deviations from established 
practice,—and witnessing the chymical and me¬ 
chanical action of bodies on each other,—he has 
more opportunities of observation in these respects, 
and consequently is more likely than a person in 
any other class of society to strike out a new path 
which may lead to some useful invention in the 
arts, or discovery in the sciences. But if his mind 
is not imbued with science, he trudges on, like a 
mill-horse, in the same beaten track, and may over¬ 
look a thousand opportunities of performing experi¬ 
ments, and a thousand circumstances which might 
suggest improvements. 

In short, so far as chance is concerned in new 
discoveries and inventions, the scientific mechanic 
has a hundred chances to one, compared with the 
ignorant artificers, that, in the course of his opera¬ 
tions, he shall hit upon a new principle: his 
chances are even superiour to those of the most pro¬ 
found philosophers who never engage in practical 
operations, as he is constantly in the way of per¬ 
ceiving whatever is useless, defective, or in any 
way amiss in the common modes of procedure. 
To use a common expression, ‘ he is in the way of 
good luck,’ and if he possesses the requisite infor¬ 
mation, he can take advantage of it when it comes 
to him. And should he be so fortunate as to hit 
on a new invention, he will enjoy not only the 
honour, but also the pecuniary profits which gen¬ 
erally result from it. 

We have therefore, every reason to hope, that 
were scientific knowledge universally diffused among 
the working classes, every department of the useful 
arts would proceed with a rapid progress to perfec¬ 
tion, and arts and inventions, hitherto unknown, 
be introduced, to increase the enjoyments of society, 
and to embellish the face of nature. No possibly 

59 





466 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


limits can be assigned to the powers of genius, to 
the resources of science, to the improvements of 
machinery, to the aids to be derived from chymis- 
Iry, and to the skill and industry of mechanics and 
labourers when guided by the light diffused by sci¬ 
entific discoveries. Almost every discovery in na¬ 
ture lays the foundation of a new art; and since 
the recent chymical investigations lead to the con¬ 
viction that the properties and powers of material 
substances are only beginning to be ascertained, 
the resources of art must in some measure, keep 
pace with our knowledge of the powers of nature, 
it is by seizing on these powers, and employing 
them in subserviency to his designs, that man has 
been enabled to perform operations which the 
whole united force of mere animal strength could 
never have accomplished. Steam, galvanism, the 
atmospheric pressure, oxygen, hydrogen, and other 
natural agents, formerly unnoticed or unknown, 
have been called into action ; and, in the form of 
steamboats and carriages, voltaic batteries, gas¬ 
ometers, and air-balloons, have generated forces, ef¬ 
fected decompositions, difi'used the most brilliant 
illuminations, and produced a celerity of motion 
both on sea and land which have astonished even 
the philosophical world, and which former genera¬ 
tions would have been disposed to ascribe to the 
agencies of infernal demons. And who shall dare 
to set boundaries to the range of discovery,—or to 
say that still more wonderful and energetic powers 
shall not be called into light, calculated to perform 
achievements still more striking and magnificent? 

O O 

Much has, of late years, been performed by the ap¬ 
plication and combination of chymical and mechani¬ 
cal powers, but much more may be confidently 
looked for in generations yet to come, when the 
physical universe shall be more extensively explored, 
and the gates of the temple of knowledge thrown 
open to all. Future Watts, Davys, and Arkwrights 
will doubtless arise, with minds still more brilliantly 
illuminated with the lights of science; and the 
splendid inventions of the present age be far sur¬ 
passed in the ‘ future miracles of mechanic power,’ 
which will distinguish coming ages. But, in order 
to this ‘wished for consummation,’ it is indispensa¬ 
ble that the mass of mankind be aroused from their 
slumbers, that knowledge be universally diffused, 
and that the light of science shine on men of every 
nation, profession, and rank. And if, through apa¬ 
thy or avarice, or indulgence in sensual propensi¬ 
ties, we refuse to lend our helping hand to this ob¬ 
ject, now that a spirit of inquiry is abroad in the 
world,—society may again relapse into the darkness 
of the middle ages, and the noble inventions of past 
and present time, like the stately monuments of 
Grecian and Roman art, be lost amid the mists of 
ignorance, or blended with the ruins of empires. 

DISEASES IN FORMER TIMES. 

In the British Almanac, published by the Society 
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, we find 
some statements respecting the health of the city of 
London, two or three centuries back, as compared 
with us present condition in that particular. The 
facts are drawn from the Bills of Mortality, which 
bad their origin during the great plague of 1593, 


but were not regularly kept, until ten years later 
The plague, it appears, was as frequent and terrible 
a disease in London, at that period, as it now is in 
any of the cities of the Mediterranean. In the 
year 1603, thirty-six thousand persons died of it, 
and during the eight subsequent years, the annual 
number of victims varied from six hundred to four 
thousand. In 1625, there was another great plague, 
which destroyed thirty-five thousand ; and still 
another in 1636. But that which is now exclu¬ 
sively styled the Great Blague, and which will al¬ 
ways be pre-eminently famous in the annals of dis¬ 
ease, occurred in the year 1665, when the whole 
number of burials was more than ninety-seven 
thousand, of which above sixty-eight thousand were 
victims of the plague. The christenings, in the 
same year, were less than ten thousand. After 
that period, the plague never again committed any 
considerable ravages in London, although a few 
deaths by it occurred in the succeeding years, until 
1679, and the name of the disease, with a cypher 
annexed, headed the Bills of Mortality, down as 
late as the year 1703. It then ceased to be consid¬ 
ered a national disease. 

In those times, the number of deaths in London 
exceeded the births, even in the healthiest years; but 
the influx from other sources kept the population 
of the city continually on the increase. The mor¬ 
tality of infants by convulsions was vastly greater 
than at present. Many deaths were inserted in the 
Bills, of persons ‘ blasted,’ or ‘ planet-struck ;’— 
such are supposed to have wasted away and died, 
without any apparent disease. 'J'he Dysentery was 
very destructive; it was not, however, known by 
its present name, but was called the Bloody Flux, 
and sometimes, very appropriately, the Plague in 
the Guts. The rising of the Lights was another 
fatal disorder, the nature of which cannot now be 
satisfactorily ascertained. Leprosy, which was for¬ 
merly common aiming the lower classes in London, 
and nearly or (juite as dreadful a disease as that 
described in the Old Testament, has now totally 
disappeared. What is now called leprosy, or Lepra, 
is generally a slight chronic eruption, which seldom 
gives much trouble to the jtatient. The scurvy, 
which likewise may now be considered extinct, was 
anciently very prevalent and malignant, owing to 
the general use of salted meats, and the small pro¬ 
portion of vegetable food. The superiour cleanli¬ 
ness of modern habits of life, rather than any ad¬ 
vance in the medical art, (though this undoubtedly, 
has been great,) must be considered the principal 
cause of the improved health of London. 

Hawks and Swai.lows. —The author of a recent 
interesting work, called the ‘ Backwoods of Canada,’ 
observes that there is a rooted antipathy between 
the hawk-tribe and swallows. The latter is so ter¬ 
rible to the former, that hawks will not remain in the 
neighbourhood of swallows, by whom they are pur¬ 
sued for miles, and pestered in all possible manners. 
A French Canadian assured the author, that, for this 
reason, a great value was placed upon the swallow, 
and that high prices were often paid for them, in 
order to be carried to distant parts of the country, 
where hawks were abundant. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


467 


DRESS OF THE TURKISH LADIES. 

[Commodore Porter’s ‘ Constantinople.’] 

It is difficult to reconcile oneself to the Turkish 
fen^ale dress. That of the men is loose, flowing, and 
rich ; and from the quantity of materials of which it 
is composed, gives to the man an air of magnifi¬ 
cence, from the apparent increase of all his dimen¬ 
sions. The idea is meant, apparently, to be kept 
up as regards the female figure, but they lose that 
airy neatness, and sprighthness of action, which dis¬ 
tinguishes a Christian woman, or one <lressed in the 
Christian style. An Armenian woman in the Turk¬ 
ish dress, is altogether a difl’erent being from an 
Armenian divested of her load of cloth, boots and 
slippers, coming oft'at every moment as she walks. 

The Turkish female dress consists of first, a piece 
of fine muslin which covers the head down to the 
eye-brows; another in some cases as transparent as 
air, which covers the face from the nose down, and 
conceals the neck and bosom ; one or two fine and 
rich vests open at the breast, which is hid by the 
aforesaid transparent veil; loose trousers gathered 
above the hips, and below the knee ; a rich sash 
passing several times around the waist; thin yellow 
morocco boots, which reach to the calf of the leg, 
and yellow slippers; a long silk garment with 
sleeves, falling to the ancles, and over all a full 
cloak of the finest broadcloth, trailing on the ground, 
with a square cape of equal length and long sleeves. 
This, with a multitude of massive gold bracelets, 
rings, chains, and a profusion of jewels, and you 
have a tolerably fair picture of a Turkish lady of 
rank, such as I saw, and of the family of the Reis 
Efl’endi, corresponding with our Secretary of State, 
whose wife and family I had the honour to salute, 
and to receive from them a salute in return: that is 
to say, the right hand laid on the breast, the head 
gently reclined ;'then the right hand shifted to the 
top of the head ; the salutation is grace itself, the 
way they do it. 

Speaking of the dress, it is a great encumbrance 
to them in walking. The cloak is eternally drop¬ 
ping oflT one shoulder or the other; then it has to 
be hitched up; by the time it is fixed, oft’ comes a 
slipper; in stooping to see where it is, (for they 
cannot look down without stooping, from the quan¬ 
tity of clothing which interposes between their eyes 
and the ground:) oft' drops the cloak from their 
shoulders; now both arms and hands are required 
to draw it on, which they do by catching hold of 
the sides of the cloak, and throwing their arms open 
in an elevated direction, thus exposing all their un¬ 
der garments and finery. When you see a Turkish 
woman walking, it appears as if she had as much as 
she could do to keep herself together. 

COOKERY. 

[Lo ndon Quarterly.] 

In France, most substances are exposed, through 
the medium of oil or butter, to a temperature of at 
least 600 deg. Fahrenheit, by the operation of fry¬ 
ing, or some analogous process. They are then in¬ 
troduced into a moderating vessel with a little wa¬ 
ter, and kept for several hours at a temperature far 
below the boiling point (212 deg.) not perhaps 
higher than 180 deg.; and by these united proces¬ 


ses properly conducted, the most refractory articles, 
whether of animal or vegetable origin, are reduced 
more or less to the state of pulp, and admirably 
adapted for the further action of the stomach. In 
the common cookery of this country, on the con¬ 
trary, articles are usually put at once into a large 
quantity of water, and submitted, without care or 
attention, to the boiling temperature: the conse¬ 
quence is, that most animal substances, when taken 
out, are harder and more indigestible than in the 
natural state; for it is well known that albuminous 
substances (as, for example, the white of an egg,) 
become the harder the longer they are boiled. 
These observations are often of the utmost impor¬ 
tance in a medical point of view. When the pow¬ 
ers of the stomach are weak, a hard and crude Eng¬ 
lish diet (such, for example, as half-raw beef-steaks, 
&c. so frequently recommended) is sure to produce 
much disconjfort by promoting acidity ; while the 
very same articles, well cooked upon French prin¬ 
ciples, or rather the principles of common sense, 
can be taken with impunity, and easily assimilated, 
by the same individual. 


EFFECT OF COLOUR ON ODOURS. 

In the May number of the American Magazine, 
we gave an account of the experiments of Dr. Stark, 
an English physician, in regard to the eflTect of col¬ 
our on heat. The same gentleman has instituted a 
series of experiments, the result of which proves, 
that varieties of colour greatly modify the capability 
of substances for imbibing and giving out odours. 
Dr. Stark’s attention was drawn to this subject, by 
observing that a black dress, which he happened to 
wear while performing dissections at the anatomical 
rooms, contracted a most intolerable smell from the 
dead bodies; whereas, the light olive coloured gar¬ 
ments, which he had usually worn, were almost en¬ 
tirely free from the like inconvenience. His first 
experiment was made by inclosing equal quantities 
of black and white wool, with a small piece of cam¬ 
phor; the black wool was found to have become 
much the most odorous of the two. The result was 
the same, when wool of each colour was shut up in 
a drawer with assafoetida. He afterwards inclosed 
black, blue, red, green, yellow, and white wool, 
with assafoetida, and with camphor; the black im¬ 
bibed the strongest odour ; then the blue, then the 
red, and next the green ; the yellow wool was but 
very faintly scented, and the white scarcely at all. 
The wool of sheep attracted a stronger odour than 
cotton-wool ; and all animal substances become 
scented in a greater degree than those of a vegeta¬ 
ble nature, and appear to have a particular attrac¬ 
tion for fetid odours. 

These facts suggest many important hints, as to 
the regulations which it may be proper to adopt, in 
cases of contagious disease, and during the preva¬ 
lence of epidemics. It is usual to purify infected 
places by raising a high temperature within them, 
and by the use of chlorine, fumigation with sulphur, 
washing with quick-lime, and freely ventilating 
them. Dr. Stark is of opinion, that, in many cases, 
mere white-washing may be more efficacious than 
these, or any other measures. When the cholera 
visited Scotland, most of the narrow lanes, alleys. 





468 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


and staircases of Edinburgh were white-washed ; 
and to this is attributed the mildness of the disease, 
in that metropolis. The deleterious emanations, 
meeting with no dark surfaces to absorb them, were 
swept away by the currents of air. The walls of 
hospitals, prisons, and of all apartments where a 
number of occupants are congregated together, 
siiould be white-washed ; the bedsteads, chairs, ta¬ 
bles, and other furniture, should be white, and like¬ 
wise the garments of the attendants. I'he black 
suits, almost invariably worn by physicians, un¬ 
questionably render them more liable to communi¬ 
cate disease, in going their daily rounds among the 
sick and well. Instead of black broadcloth, (which, 
besides its colour, attracts bad smells the more pow¬ 
erfully, as being an animal substance,) the dress of 
the medical profession ought to be white cotton—a 
garb little suited, it must be owned, to the gravity 
of an M. D. 

Most persons have heard of the Black Assize, as 
it was called, where the Judges, while holding at a 
court of Oxford, together with a great number of 
people, were suddenly taken sick and died. This 
occurred in July, 1577 ; and Lord Bacon observes, 
that similar instances of sickness and mortality hap¬ 
pened two or three times, uithin his memory. 
There was another instance in 1750, at the Old 
Bailey in London, where four Judges, several 
Counsellors, an under Sheriff, with Jurymen and 
others, to the number of above forty, lost their lives 
by a sudden attack of some mysterious disorder. In 
all these cases, the mortality was attributed to a 
putrid effluvium, which either cam^ from the neigh¬ 
bouring gaol, or was exhaled from the persons of 
the prisoners, when brought into court. This 
doubtless was its true origin ; and Dr. Stark con¬ 
ceives that the infectious odour was attracted to the 
judges, counsellors, sherift's, and other official per¬ 
sons, by the black garments which they wore in the 
discharge of their duties. 

It seems not to have occurred to Dr. Stark to 
make inquiries as to the respective degrees, in which 
the black and white varieties of the human race are 
liable to contagion. It appears, we think, a neces¬ 
sary consequence of his theory, that negroes should 
suffer more, in proportion to their numbers, than 
whites, by all sorts of pestilence, and unwholesome 
smells. Whether such be the fact, we have no 
means of ascertaining. 


THE PURITANS. 

[Hinton’s ‘ United States.’] 

The world presents no parallel to the history on 
which we now enter. The love of glory or of gold 
has been the impelling cause of the commencement 
of other colonies, and the foundation of other em¬ 
pires ; but, in this instance. Religion, and that of no 
ordinary kind,either as to its purity or its intensity, 
was the grand principle of colonization. It was a 
Church rather than a kingdom that these master¬ 
spirits of the age sought to establish on the trans¬ 
atlantic shores; and the selection of their location 
seems to have well accorded with their object. 
‘ Arrived at this outside of the world, as they term¬ 
ed it, they seemed to themselves to have found a 
place where the Governour of all things yet reigned 


alone. The solitude of their adopted land, so remote 
from the communities of kindred men that it ap¬ 
peared like another world,—a wide ocean before 
them, and an unexplored wilderness behind,—■ 
nourished the solemn deeptoned feeling. Man was 
of little account in a place wlu:re the rude gran¬ 
deur of nature bore as yet no trophies of his power. 
God, in the midst of its stern magnificence, seemed 
all in all; and with a warmer and devouter fancy 
than that which of old peopled the groves, the 
mountains, and the streams, each with its tutelary 
tribes, they mused in the awful loneliness of the 
forests on the present Deity, saw him directing the 
bolt of the lightning, and pouring out refreshment 
in the flood ; throned on the cloud-girt hill, and 
smiling in the pomp of harvest. If ever the char¬ 
acter of men has been seen more than any where 
else in powerful action or developeinent, and ope¬ 
rated on by the force of f)eculiar and strongly mov¬ 
ing causes, it was here. Nor, \Mought on as all 
were by similar influences of [dace, fortune, and 
opinion, was ever any thing produced like a lifeless 
unpoelical monotony of character. Nothing could 
be more opposed to this than was the s[)irit of puri- 
tanism. Wrong or right, every thing about these 
men was at least prominent and higli-toned. Ex¬ 
citement was their daily liread, as it is other men’s 
occasional luxury ; and the diversities of character 
in this community, where, for the most part, jieople 
ihouglit so much alike, were more strongly marked 
than they have often been in other places in the 
most violent conflicts of opinion. To a religious 
model, by force or accord, every thing, even relating 
to the most firivate and secular concerns, was made 
as far as might be to conform : for ‘ noe man,’ saith 
Mr. Cotton, ‘ fashioneth his house to his hangings, 
but his hangings to his house.’ Religion, politics, 
fashion, and war, never came elsewhere into so 
close companionship. The meeting-house and the 
armory were built side by side as yet, by the force 
of old habit, they stand the country through. A 
desperate courage and dexterity in arms were en¬ 
joined as religious duties. The old considered 
questions of |)olity at the meeting. The demure 
youth went from testifying with his mouth in the 
assembly, to testify with his firelock in the field ; 
and the muffled maiden lisped in biblical phrase 
her soft words of encouragement or welcome.’ 
This is a powerful description, but the reality will 
be found much to exceed it. 


Irish Poverty.—‘ I do not go to the country 
gentlemen’s houses,’ said a poor woman ; ‘ they do 
not like to see people like me coming about their 
houses at all. I would not be let inside the gate.’ 
The burden of supporting the poor falls upon the 
lower and middling classes, the farmers and shop¬ 
keepers, but chiefly on the very poor themselves. 
The farmer does not ‘ feel the hunger sticking to 
him, as the poor man does.’ The poor have a 
strong sympathy for each other, and feel the need 
of practising charity, mindful of the time when 
they themselves may be driven to ‘ take the bag.’ 

‘ In your language, be plain, honest, natural, 
comely, clean, short, and sententious.’ 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


469 


FEMALES IN EUROPE. 

[Allen’s ‘ Practical Tourist.’] 

To many of the cottages near Sheffield a small 
forge lorms an appendage. During the inter¬ 
vals of household labour, the females may some¬ 
times be seen participating in the labours of the an¬ 
vil, shaping dexterously the red-hot metal, and com¬ 
pleting many of the manufactured articles of iron, 
which are sold at such moderate prices in the Uni¬ 
ted States. A gentleman, long resident in Sheffield, 
assured me that he had seen a grandmother and her 
two grand-daughters busily engaged around the 
same forge; and in these districts 1 have had oppor¬ 
tunities of observing young girls wielding the file 
and hammer amid wreaths of smoke, with their 
ruddy cheeks rivalling the glow of the red-hot iron, 
and the snows of their necks tinged by the soot 
of the smithy. '^I'hey flourish files and rasps with 
such eflective strokes, that they might even excite 
the emulation of the journeymen blacksmiths in the 
United States. Nearly all the screws, and it may 
be added, the small wrought nails, exported to 
America, are made by the hands of tlie fair ones of 
Sheffield. Some of the amazons, I was imformed, 
even make spikes in considerable cpiantities. You 
may imagine, on beholding one of these female ar¬ 
tists, that you have before you a descendant of the 
fabled race, Venus and Vulcan, when a mild blue 
eye occasionally beams upon you, and ruby lips, 
and teeth like rows of pearls, form a brilliant con¬ 
trast with the veil of soot, that imperfectly conceals 
these charms. Whilst you are admiring the artist, 
rather than her skill, you may feel some surprise on 
remarking her muscular arms enured to powerful 
action ;—as if the attributes of the Divinities of 
Love, and of blacksmiths—of internal and external 
fires, were combined in the person of the fair one 
before you. 

TT Tr TT XU pciSSlU^ 

through the various market-places in England, you 
frequently view women in the butchers’ stalls, with 
their sleeves rolled uj), performing all the operations 
of cutting up meat. To one unaccustomed to be¬ 
hold females managing this work of blood it is not 
an agreeable spectacle. In those who perform the 
duties of the butcher, we cannot expect to find 
much of that delicacy, which forms one of the most 
lovely attriliutes of the female sex. * * * * 

Around the mouth of several of the iron mines (in 
StaflTordshire) there were two or three stout women, 
who emptied the buckets of fossils as fast as they 
were hoisted up by the steam-engines from the bot¬ 
tom of each of the shafts to the surface of the 
ground. Each bucket or tub frequently contains 
several hundred pounds weight of minerals or rub¬ 
bish, and the labour is consequently almost too se¬ 
vere for female strength to perform. They seemed, 
however, diligent and cheerful in accomplishing 
their hard work, for which they told me they re¬ 
ceived two shillings per day,—about forty-eight 
cents. 

* * # * ****#jj^ France, the 

women in the manufactories spin upon the mules, 
and perform other hard labour, which females are 
rarely seen to do in the United States. They 
sometimes appear as brown as the sun-burnt 


peasant, and nearly as muscular. * * Women 

in the country may be seen loading the carts fioni 
the manure heaps, and holding the ploughs, which 
are drawn by cows as well as by horses and oxen. 
They appear to be the principal cultivators, to per¬ 
form the hard labours of agriculture. At the rising 
of the sun, we saw them beating the dusty clods 
with their hoes, which they wield with dexterity, 
and without diminution of vigour during the sultry 
heats of noonday. Their sun-burnt long arms, are 
tawney and weather beaten, from constant expo¬ 
sure. In one single field, I counted sixty-five per¬ 
sons at work in a long range or line extending 
nearly from side to side of the tract, all engaged 
W'ith their hoes. Sixty-two of these were women, 
and only three men. The view of so many females, 
toiling on the ploughed ground with the dust rising 
about them, reminded me of the appearance ofi the 
extensive fields of Virginia, and of the female slaves 
employed in tilling them. Where are all the peas¬ 
ants, that the women are here left to perform their 
duties? Does not this spectacle silently exhibit the 
efl’ects of war, that are felt with a withering blight 
to human hopes and human happiness, after the 
storm has passed ? And may it not be the result of 
Napoleon’s wars, that many of these women were 
in youth bereft of their lovers and friends, some bu¬ 
ried beneath the vine-clad hills of France and Italy, 
and some beneath the distant snow-wreaths of 
Russia?—These women are now left to till the 
land, and in several instances they were actually 
holding the ploughs and turning the furrows, and 
loading the carts. Several of the farms are so 
large as to require, according to the statement of a 
fellow-passenger, from twelve to sixteen ploughs 
each. Particular care is here taken to destroy the 
weeds that spring up in the wheat fields and are 
now ready to form seeds for another year. A little 
labour thus seasonably bestowed in pulling up and 
burning these weeds, probably proves in the result, 
a saving of much time. Even the crops of oats and 
of other grain are diligently examined by the wo¬ 
men, who hunt among the stalks that are as high 
as their heads, and gather the tares for burning. 

* * * * * At Rotterdam, in Holland, a 

woman acted as porter to carry our luggage. Many 
females here appeared in the streets with their 
wheelbarrows, and performed the severe labour 
which elsewhere falls to the lot of porters. Some 
of these women stoop to carry on their backs bur¬ 
dens so heavy as to excite the compassion of a spec¬ 
tator unaccustomed to such sights. 

* * * * 'Pl^e streets of Paris are always 

thronged with female traders, who walk out and 
encounter the fervid rays of the sun with no other 
covering for their heads than lace or white cotton 
caps. The men, in the mean while, are fulfilling 
the domestic duties, and are at work within doors, 
perhaps engaged in making beds or soups, and per¬ 
forming other culinary operations in the kitchen. 
Our bed is made and our room is dusted by a man, 
and the public bath is attended by a female. As 
it has often been remarked, indeed, the women and 
the men appear to have changed stations and la¬ 
bours. In the affrays which commenced the Revo¬ 
lution, the market women of Paris were among the 




470 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


leaders and prime instigators of the mobs. In pub¬ 
lic amusements, also, the women participate appar¬ 
ently with more zeal than the men, strolling in mul¬ 
titudes through the walks of the Boulevards and 
gardens, or seated beneath the trees in the Elysian 
Fields, or sipping sugared water, red wine, or coffee, 
at the restaurateurs. When the female sex are so 
much occupied and amused abroad, domestic en¬ 
joyments are not generally much prized. In one 
instance, I observed a whole family enter a restau¬ 
rateur to dine. Even the striplings followed in the 
rear, and formed a part of the family group, lag¬ 
ging behind with their hoops and playthings in their 
hands. The ostensible object of this custom is stated 
to be economy. The heavy expenses of a kitchen 
are saved to a small family when the necessary pro¬ 
visions are received from the restaurateur ready 
prepared for the table, or when the whole family 
resorts to the public table of a Cafe. 

WASHINGTON’S SPRING. 

[Paulding’s ‘ Life of Washington.’] 

The remains of the huts in which the American 
army passed the winter of 1788—9, are still to be 
seen in the Highlands; and a spring, from which 
Washington used to drink, is consecrated to his 
name. It bubbles forth from the roots of a tree in 
a little grove of oaks, growing just at the brink of a 
beautiful cascade, which falls into a crystal basin 
below, a descent of sixty or seventy feet. Its wa¬ 
ters are much cooler than the surrounding springs ; 
and so beautifully clear as to afford no unapt em¬ 
blem of the character of him who preferred them 

to all other. - 

AN OLD ALMANAC. 

[Paulding’s ‘Life of Washington.’] 

In an old Virginia Almanac of the year 1762, be¬ 
longing to Washington, and now before me, inter¬ 
leaved with blank sheets, are various memoranda 
relating to rural affairs, all in his own hand-writing, 
a few of which I shall extract, for the purpose of 
showing my youthful readers, that an attention to 
his private affairs was not considered beneath the 
dignity of the man destined to wield the fortunes 
of his country. 

April 5th,—Sowed timothy-seed in the old apple- 
orchard below the hill. 

“ 7th,—Sowed, or rather sprinkled, a little of 
ditto on the oats. 

“ 26th,—Began to plant corn at all my plan¬ 
tations. 

May 4th,—Finished planting corn at all my plan¬ 
tations. — 

HUMMING BIRDS, &c 

On the volcanic mountain of Orizaba, in Mexi¬ 
co, at a height of ten thousand feet above the sea, 
the Humming Bird was observed flying round the 
orange coloured flowers of the Castilligen. At a 
heiglit of fourteen or fifteen thousand feet, above 
the region of grasses, &.c. on the same mountain, 
there were found, under a block of porphyry, many 
moths, some dead, others alive, which appear to 
have been carried upwards by an ascending current 
of air. In the same dreary region, a live beetle 
was found, which, from its nature, must be consid¬ 
ered a native of this lofty situation. The potato 


was also found, in a wild state, on the same moun¬ 
tain, ten thousand feet above the sea. It was about 
three inches and a half high, with large blue flow¬ 
ers, and tubers or potatoes, the size of a hazle 
nut.— Ihur in 3Iexico. 


A SUPERSTITION. 

[' Dick, on the Improvement of Society.'] 

The practice of informing bees of any death that 
takes place in a family is well known, and still pre¬ 
vails among the lower orders in England. The 
disastrous consequences to be apprehended from 
non-compliance with this strange custom is, that 
the bees will dwindle and die. The manner of 
communicating the intelligence to the little commu¬ 
nity, with clue form and ceremony, is this—to take 
the key of the house, and knock with it three times 
against the hive, telling the inmates, at the same 
time, that their master or mistress, &c. (as the case 
may be) is dead. Mr. Loudon says, ‘ when in Bed¬ 
fordshire lately, we were informed of an old man 
who sung a psalm last year in front of some hives 
which were not doing well, but which, he said, 
W’ould thrive in consequence of that ceremony. 

WITCH OINTMENT. 

Lord Bacon, in his philosophical works, gives 
the following recipe for the manufacture of an oint¬ 
ment, by the use of which the ‘midnight hags’ 
were supposed to acquire the faculty of flying 
through the air. We trust that none of our read¬ 
ers w'ill make the experiment. 

‘ The ointment which witches use is made of the 
fat of children, digged out of their graves, and of 
the juices of smallage, cinque-foil and wolf’s-bane, 
mingled with the meal of fine wheat.’ 

After greasing themselves with this preparation, 
the witches flew up chimney, and repaired to the 
spot, in some church-yard or dismal forest, where 
they were to hold their meetings with the Evil One. 
Cervantes, in one of his tales, seems to be of opin¬ 
ion that the ointment cast them into a trance, dur¬ 
ing which they merely dreamt of holding inter¬ 
course with Satan. If so, witchcraft differs but 
little from a nightmare. 


New York a Walled City. —In 1653, New 
York was fortified against the assaults of the In¬ 
dians by ‘a great wall of earth and stones, run¬ 
ning between Wall and Pine Streets, from the 
North to the East river.’ There were two gates; 
one near the present corner of Wall and Pearl 
Streets, called the Water Gate; and a Land Gate, 
in Broadway. In 1675, these gates were ordered 
to be locked regularly at nine o’clock in the even¬ 
ing, and opened again at daylight. 

Staten Island. —The price paid by the Dutch 
to the Indians, for the whole of Staten Island, was 
ten shirts, thirty pair of stockings, ten guns, thirty 
bars of lead, thirty pounds of powder, some hoes, 
kettles, knives, and awls. 

Convulsions. —It is an acknowledged truth, 
that, in convulsive fits, the more violent the parox¬ 
ysm the less is the pain. 












OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


471 





[The Pumar 


PUMA; OR AMERICAN LION. 

Animals of the Feline genus, or Cat fan)ily, are 
thus classified, because their characteristics are fa¬ 
miliarly exemplified in the person of the domestic cat. 
They are all, by nature, entirely carnivorous, al¬ 
though some of them may become habituated to 
partake of vegetable food. They possess great 
muscular strength and agility, sharp teeth, and 
powerful claws, which latter, throughout the 
whole tribe, may be drawn u|)ward into the paw, 
or thrust forth, at the animal’s pleasure. The up¬ 
per surface of their tongues is covered with sharp 
points, or prickles; their eyes, when viewed in an 
imperfect light, shine and sparkle in such a manner, 
that they were formerly supposed to emit a radiance 
from within the pupils; their mouths are surround¬ 
ed with long and stiff hairs, or whiskers, which 
serve as most exquisite organs of touch, and enable 
them to distinguisli objects with perfect accuracy, 
during their nightly wanderings. Feline animals 
are beautifully shaped and finely proportioned, and 
their bones, owing to the compactness and close¬ 
ness of the grain, are so much harder and firmer than 
those of other animals, that some naturalists have 
believed the materials to be different. Their mus¬ 
cular fibres, in consequence of a purely carnivorous 
diet, have likewise a condensed firmness, with¬ 
out any superfluous fat or juices. Their structure 
fits them to make sudden springs and leaps; and 
w'hen pursued, it is their nature to conceal them¬ 
selves, rather than to seek safety in long continued 
speed, as is the fashion of the Dog tribe and of her¬ 
bivorous animals. As respects their moral charac¬ 
ter, they are stealthy, cautious, and cruel, appearing 
to delight in bloodshed, not merely as their mode 
of getting a livelihood, but with a disinterested par¬ 
tiality for the infliction of torture and death. Such 
are the principal attributes of the Feline race, pos¬ 
sessed as well by the Cat in the chimney-corner, as 
by the Lion in the deserts of Africa, and the Tiger 
in the jungles of Bengal. 

The Puma, which chiefly inhabits South Ameri¬ 
ca, but has likewise been found w'ithin the limits of 


the United States, is an animal of this class. He 
is sometimes styled the American Lion, and has the 
yellowish or fawn colour, without spots, of that 
mighty beast, but lacks his mane and tufted tail, 
and is also less large and powerful. In the wild 
state, the Puma is extremely ferocious, destroying 
calves, sheep, and other quadrupeds of a similar 
size, by whole flocks and herds, when opportunity 
offers, although perhaps only a single carcass will 
be partly devoured. It is his custom, however, to 
bury that portion of the prey which may not be 
wanted for immediate use. The Puma prefers the 
plains to the forests, but is also at honie in the lat¬ 
ter, and can climb up trees with facility. In spite 
of his fierceness, he is a cowardly anirnal, and will 
generally, though not invariably, retreat before the 
face of man. Yet he is very easily tamed, and, in 
a domestic state, loses most of his ferocious qualities, 
and becomes as gentle, playful, and fond of caresses, 
as a favourite kitten. Lord Napier, who had a Pu¬ 
ma in his possession, described him as resembling a 
Cat in every thing but treachery. ‘ It played with 
Dogs and Monkeys,’ observes his lordship, ‘ without 
attempting to hurt them, or even returning an in¬ 
sult ; but if an unfortunate Goat or Fowl came 
within its reach, it was snapped up immediately. 
It got adrift one night in London, and afterwards 
allowed a watchman to catch it in the streets with¬ 
out the slightest resistance.’ With the nature of all 
savage beasts, it may be remarked, there are min¬ 
gled some soft and amiable traits, which appear to 
render them capable of being adapted to that bles¬ 
sed condition of futurity, when the ‘ Lion shall lie 
down with the Lamb.’ 


FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 

[Translated from the Magasin IJniversel ] 

Among the different methods of disposing of tl*t 
mortal remains of men, burial beneath the earth ap¬ 
pears the most ancient. It was the most prompt 
and obvious mode of withdrawing a painful object 
from the sight of the living. The custom of inter¬ 
ring members of the same family in one burial-place 

































472 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


together was, doubtless, inspired by a wish to pre¬ 
serve that union in death, which had been unbroken 
throughout life, and by certain vague and indefinite 
notions as to the nature of the soul and of the fu¬ 
ture state. We learn from Scripture, that family 
tombs existed in the time of Abraham. 

The custom of burning the bodies of the dead, 
although not so ancient as that of burial, was never¬ 
theless common at a very remote period. The ear¬ 
liest ceremony of this kind, which is mentioned in 
Jewish history, occurred at the funeral of Saul, 
whose body was first burned, and afterwards bu¬ 
ried. The ancients placed so much weight on the 
due performance of funeral rites, whether by burial 
or burning, that the Athenians, at their highest pitch 
of prosperity, condemned six victorious generals to 
death, merely-for having neglected to pay the last 
honours to the soldiers slain in the battle of Argi- 
nuse. It was the belief of the Greeks and Romans, 
that the soul could not be happy or in peace, so 
long as the corpse was defrauded of the proper 
ceremonies. The usage of burning the dead still 
subsists in Hindostan, Japan, Tartary, and other 
parts of the East; it was formerly common in the 
countries of the north of Europe. Some savage 
nations expose dead bodies in the open air; the 
ancient Scythians suspended them from the branches 
of trees; and in our own times, the South-Sea 
islanders place them in little huts, without a roof, 
and there leave them to the action of the atmos¬ 
phere. 

The ancients placed their tombs, indifferently, 
either in the cities, the fields, or even on the high¬ 
ways. The garden of the royal palace, at Jerusa¬ 
lem, enclosed the sepulchres of the kings of Judea. 
The new sepulchre, where Joseph of Arimathea 
laid the corpse of our Saviour, was in his garden. 
The tomb of Rachel was on the high road from Je¬ 
rusalem to Bethlehem. The kings of Israel were 
buried at Samaria. The graves of Samuel and 
Joab were in the houses where they had lived. 
Moses, Aaron, Eleazar, and Joshua, reposed on the 
mountains, and Deborah under a tree. There was 
the same diversity among the Greeks and Romans; 
and they had no preference for the vicinity of a 
temple, as a burial-place. The custom of having 
cemeteries round churches was not established, in 
England, until about the year 800 ; after which 
period, persons of distinguished rank obtained the 
privilege of being deposited within the walls of the 
sacred edifice. Pope St. Gregory assigned as a 
reason for tolerating this fashion, that the sight of 
the tombs would remind the living to pray for the 
souls of the dead. The usage of burial in vaults, 
and under the altars, was not introduced till two 
centuries later. The Egyptians deposited their 
dead in caverns, or catacombs, after embalming 
them. The Hindoos have no places set apart for 
burial; and, in general, they throw the ashes into 
the Ganges. The Guebres, who are descendants 
of the ancient Persians, expose the bodies in situa¬ 
tions where they will be devoured by birds of prey 
—a custom which they inherited from their fore¬ 
fathers. 

The testimonials of respect and affection, dis¬ 
played at funerals, likewise vary among different 


nations. Among the Jews, it is still the custom for 
all, who surround the death-bed, to rend their gar¬ 
ments. The corpse is then laid on a cloth, spread 
out on the floor, with the thumb turned towards the 
inner part of the hand, and a lighted taper either 
at the head or the foot. Formerly, performers of in¬ 
strumental music, and female mourners, were hired 
to accompany the dead to his last home ; but the 
family of the deceased are now the only attendants. 

At Rome, a small piece of money used to be 
placed in the dead person’s mouth, that he might 
have the wherewithal to pay Charon for ferrying 
him across the Styx. Private funerals generally 
took place at night; but, in later times, public cere¬ 
monies were solemnized with the utmost pomp. 
Lictors, clad in black, conducted a numerous pro¬ 
cession, which marched to the sound of music, and 
was composed of women, simultaneously weeping 
and singing, and of buffoons, one of whom was 
called the Archimimus, or chief of the mimics. 
The office of this personage was to imitate the ap¬ 
pearance and gestures of the deceased, and present 
a living image of the lifeless corpse. The images 
of the dead person’s ancestors were carried in the 
procession, and likewise the badges of the public 
offices which he had sustained. After an oration, 
which was sometimes pronounced in the forum, the 
kinsmen set fire to the funeral pile. The bones 
were carefully collected, and deposited in an urn, 
together with a small vial, called a lachrymatory, 
which was supposed to contain the tears of the 
mourners. 

In China, the funeral rites are celebrated with 
such prodigality, that the property of the deceased 
is often sold to defray the expense. Considerable 
sums are devoted by people, while alive, to the 
purchase of a coffin; it is adorned with paintings 
and sculptures, and covered with inscriptions; and 
the owner shows it to his family, as one of his most 
valuable possessions. When he expires, his body 
is laid in it, with apparel suited to every change of 
season, and provisions for the other world. The 
kinsmen and friends come to visit the dead person, 
and meats are offered to him at every repast; and a 
long period is sometimes permitted to elapse before 
the corpse is consigned to the tomb. So much 
importance is attached to the selection of a proper 
spot for the grave, that a consultation is held with 
the priests respecting it. 

Hottentot Doctors. —The Hottentots have 
an extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties 
of their native plants. They are continually try¬ 
ing experiments with one thing or another, and 
sometimes stumble upon discoveries of great scien¬ 
tific importance. An old Hottentot she-doctor 
will often, by her vegetable remedies, cure virulent 
diseases, which have baffled the skill of physicians 
educated in Europe. 

Diseases of Parrots. —These birds have tw’o 
disorders which are generally considered peculiar 
to man ;—Gout, or something very similar—and a 
species of Apoplexy. The latter appears to be an 
affection of the brain, which is uncommonly large 
in Parrf)ts. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


473 


TRAVELLING IN SOUTH AMERICA 

[Temple’s ‘ Travels in Peru.’] 

The requisites for travelling mean, in this coun¬ 
try, every thing that convenience and necessity de¬ 
mand ; for, except in the towns, which are hun¬ 
dreds of miles apart, nothing of the kind can be 
had. Not only a canteen with plates, knives, forks, 
&.C. but also tables, chairs, cooking-utensils, beds 
and bedsteads, must be carried by those who know 
not how to rough it, and who cannot dispense with 
the comforts of civilized life. Beef or mutton may 
be always obtained in the journey across the pam¬ 
pas, but nothing else must be expected ; the want 
of even pure water is occasionally a severe priva¬ 
tion, for in some places, where there is no river in 
the neighbourhood, and where the people have not 
taken the pains to sink a well, they have only a 
large reservoir, close to the habitation, in which the 
rain is caught —I cannot say preserved, for no care 
is taken of it. I have frequently drunk from those 
holes, which have become receptacles of frogs, toads, 
and reptiles of various kinds, know'n and unknown; 
this, however, is not the case at houses of tolerable 
respectability. In Buenos Ayres, rain-w'ater is con¬ 
sidered a great luxury, and in some houses tanks 
are formed for preserving it in the under-ground 
stories. A gentleman of my acquaintance inform¬ 
ed me that the tank under his house held upwards 
of six hundred pipes of water, and I never heard 
that this under-ground ocean occasioned dampness 
in the apartments above. 

The excessive heat made one of the preparations 
for our journey across the pampas very laborious,— 
that of stowing our baggage carts, two of which we 
have purchased. These are capacious, rude, un¬ 
couth-looking vehicles, with cane sides, and roofs 
covered with hides, the body balanced upon two 
prodigiously high wheels, for the convenience of 
passing through rivers. We have also purchased 
for our own convenience a long coach called here 
a galera, the seats running sidew'ays and the door 
at the end ; being perfectly new, it cost one thou¬ 
sand and forty-five dollars, w'hich at the present 
rate of exchange is not quite two hundred pounds 
sterling. Our English carriage was found totally 
unfit for the roads of this country, the axletree be¬ 
ing much too narrow and the wheels much too low ; 
besides, on the score of capacity, it was altogether 
inadequate to the accumulation of goods which all 
and each of us had provided, as well for general 
convenience as for individual comfort. Guns, pis¬ 
tols, hams and sabres; rum, brandy, powder and 
shot; chronometers, sausages, thermometers, bar¬ 
ometers, and biscuits ; telescopes, books, pens, ink, 
and sugar; a change of linen, razors, soap, lemons 
and oranges ; after the most ingenious packing, and 
to say nothing of the contents of our own pockets, 
left but very scanty room for ourselves, and when 
each had settled into his place, there was just room, 
and no more, to afford my dog a berth on a Ches¬ 
hire cheese. 

According to the custom here of posting, each 
horse is ridden by a postilion ; and as each of our 
vehicles required four horses, we were under the 
necessity of hiring nine peones* for the journey; 


one horse in each carriage is always ridden by a 
postilion from the post houses, for the purpose of 
conducting the animals home. We also hired a 
capataz who superintends the peones, manages the 
concerns of the journey, and is supposed to possess 
ingenuity sufficient to repair the frequent damages 
that occur ; for which purpose the requisite tools 
are provided, and amongst them, spades, shovels, 
and pickaxes must not be forgotten, as there are 
many opportunities of converting the peones into 
pioneers. It must here be observed, that not a 
particle of iron, not even a nail, is used in the con¬ 
struction of the baggage-carts ; they are every where 
secured with wooden pins, and bound with strips of 
hide, which very reasonably prevents it being a 
matter of surprise that in a galloping journey they 
should occasionally require repair; and in the 
course of our journey we were detained several 
whole days for this purpose. 

In the cool of the evening, after the moon had 
risen, we left Buenos Ayres, a formidable cavalcade; 
the galera taking the lead, the two baggage carts 
following, and the capataz bringing up the rear; 
our twelve horses, nearly as wild as the twelve pos¬ 
tilions who mounted them, making fruitless efforts 
to free themselves from their dexterous riders. 

We stopped at La Figura, the first post from 
Buenos Ayres, and where we were to pass the night, 
and have a specimen of the accommodation we 
were to expect upon a journey of seventeen hun¬ 
dred English miles. When we arrived, the inhabi¬ 
tants, I suppose, were all in bed, for not a soul ap¬ 
peared, and all doors were shut, except one of a de¬ 
tached out-house, consisting of four bare walls, a 
thatched roof, and mud floor, which was the post- 
house, that is to say, the travellers’ hotel. Those 
who chose to enter it did so, and spread their mat¬ 
tresses upon the floor; 1 preferred the open air, and 
selected a berth under the galera, the inside being 
occupied by our chief commissioner, who, of course, 
had first choice in these matters. 

After travelling about seventy miles from Buenos 
Ayres, w'e found the country for leagues around to 
be covered with thistles, growing to the prodigious 
height of eight, and, in some places, ten feet; cat¬ 
tle which go in amongst them to seek a shade from 
the sun, and to feed upon the grass beneath, are 
completely concealed. These thistles form almost 
the only fuel for the few inhabitants who are scat¬ 
tered over this vast wilderness : not a tree is to be 
seen, with the exception of a few peach trees, 
planted in the immediate neighbourhood of the 
huts. 

At the post house at Chacarilla, the host and host¬ 
ess, perceiving that we were ‘ decent people,’ 
obligingly warned us against sleeping within their 
house, in consequence of the danger to be appre¬ 
hended from Vinchucas, a species of Brobdignag 
bug, which infests most houses in this country dur¬ 
ing hot weather; its bite is extremely severe, and 
if rubbed or scratched, from which it is difficult to 
forbear, occasions very serious inflammation. In 
size and appearance, these insects resemble the 
common beetle, but are much more active and evi¬ 
dently more sagacious, for they seem to watch and 
reconnoitre at the entrance of their retreats before 

60 


* Workmen of all kinds are called peones. 





474 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


they venture out. They are dreaded by all travel¬ 
lers, and, in the present case at least, by the natives; 
for, when I inquired how the owners of the house 
managed to protect themselves from these reptiles, 
it was replied, that they never slept in their house 
when the weather admitted of sleeping out of it; 
and when the rains kept them within, they never 
slept at night, which re the time the vinchucas leave 
their holes and corners in search of blood. The 
family at this post are respectable and extremely 
civil. 

After leaving the region of'thistles before men¬ 
tioned, w'e travelled for about one hundred and 
twenty miles through a country of more agreeable 
aspect, though not a tree as yet appeared to our 
view, the whole being one vast field of rich pasture. 
This is the true pampa of South America, of which 
we have of late years read and heard so much in 
Europe. Innumerable herds of cattle, the progeny, 
it is said, of six cows and a bull, imported rather 
more than two centuries ago from Spain, range at 
large over this ever verdant surface of inexhaustible 
luxuriance. I have been credibly informed, that 
their numbers at the present day bear no proportion 
to what they were before the devastating havoc of 
the late civil war; still they appear to an European 
eye in countless multitudes, and leave the traveller 
no longer cause to wonder that such fine animals 
sliould, at one time, have been slaughtered in thou¬ 
sands, merely for their hides. It is imagined by 
many persons in Europe, that the cattle here are, 
for the most part, perfectly wild, without any par¬ 
ticular owner, and that, like the deer or the ostriches 
which roam amongst them, they may be hunted 
and killed by whomsoever pleases to do so. This 
I have been given to understand was actually the 
case some fifty years ago; but of late, the value of 
hides and tallow as articles of exportation, has in¬ 
duced a very jealous care on the part of the cattle- 
breeders of the pampas, who have each a private 
mark branded upon every animal, and which is re¬ 
gistered to families, with all the form and legality 
attending arms and crests in the herald’s office. 

This noble plain, entirely covered with pasture, 
extends many hundred miles into the regions of 
Patagonia, where it is yet unexplored. Humboldt 
calculates its area at 70,000 square leagues. ‘This 
area,’ he observes, ‘of the pampas of Tucuman, 
Buenos Ayres, and Patagonia (they are all united) 
is consequently four times as large as the area of all 
France.’ No lawn was ever laid down with greater 
precision by the hand of man, than this vast inter¬ 
minable plain has been by that of nature. Not a 
stone is to be seen on its surface. I can scarcely 
give a better proof of the flatness and unvarying 
smoothness of this pampa, than by stating, that this 
day, (4th of January,) we travelled with ease and 
facility from the post of Desmochados to that of 
Fraylemuerto, a distance called thirty-seven leagues, 
but which cannot be less than one hundred and 
twenty English miles; and this, considering our 
laden baggage carts, and delays at post-houses in 
catching iiorses, is assuredly rajiid travelling ; nor 
must It be forgotten that the same postilions, (our 
'peones) performed the whole task without any 
symptom of fa' gue. 


ALLIGATORS. 

Mr. Audubon remarks, that all the lagoons, bay¬ 
ous, creeks, ponds, lakes, and rivers, in Louisiana, 
are well slocked with alligators. ‘They are found,’ 
says he, ‘ wherever there is a sufficient quantity o( 
water to hide them, or to furnish them with food ; 
and they continue thus in great numbers, as high 
as the mouth of the Arkansas river, extending east 
to North Carolina, and as far west as I have pene¬ 
trated. On the Red River, before it was navigated 
by steam-vessels, they were so extremely abundant, 
that to see hundreds at a sight along the shores, or 
on the immense rafts of floating or stranded timber, 
was quite a common occurrence ; the smaller on the 
backs of the larger, groaning and uttering their bel¬ 
lowing noise, like thousands of irritated bulls about 
to meet in fight.’ On land, the alligator is sluggish 
and unwieldy, and appears conscious that he is 
there at the mercy of an enemy. ‘ Should a man 
then approach them,’ observes Mr. Audubon, ‘they 
do not attempt either to make away or attack, but 
merely raise their body from the ground for an in¬ 
stant, swelling themselves, and issuing a dull blow¬ 
ing sound, not unlike that of a blacksmith’s bellows. 
Not the least danger need be apprehended ; then 
you either kill them with ease, or leave them.’ 
Nor, except in Spring, are they considered danger¬ 
ous, even in their own element; although nothing 
can be more terrible than the blow of an alligator’s 
tail. ‘ Wo be to him,’ cries Mr. Audubon, ‘ who 
goes within the reach of this tremendous thrashing 
instrument; for, no matter how strong or muscular, 
if human, he must suffer greatly, if he escapes with 
life. The monster, as he strikes with this, forces 
all objects within the circle towards his jaws, which 
as the tail makes a motion, are open to their full 
stretch, thrown a little sideways, to receive the ob¬ 
ject, and, like battering-rams, to bruise it shock¬ 
ingly in a moment.’ Alligators are produced from 
eggs, which, like the eggs of snakes and tortoises, 
are covered with a thin transparent, parchment-like 
substance, instead of a shell. They are sometimes 
killed for their oil, which serves to grease the ma¬ 
chinery of steam-engines and cotton-mills. Some 
years ago, it was the fashion to make shoes, boots, 
and saddle-seats of their hides, the leather of which 
exhibited all the regular lozenges of the animal’s 
scales, and was capable of being finished in the 
most perfect manner. The manufacture has now 
ceased; it being found that the texture of their 
skins is not sufficiently firm and close to resist 
water or dampness. 

Shadowless OBJEcxs.-The ancients had an idea, 
that, by the peculiar construction of the Pyramids, 
they would never cast any shadow—that neither 
the rising nor the setting sun would cause the sha¬ 
dow of their summits to fall beyond their bases. 

Remedy against Venom. —A French physician, 
long resident in America, discovered a mode of 
curing the bites of venomous reptiles. It consists 
merely in pouring a few drops of the tincture of 
cantharides on the wound. A blister is thus raised, 
and when the skin is removed, the sting of the rep¬ 
tile is drawn out, along with it. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


475 



[\’iew of the New State Hall,* Albany, N. Y.] 


NEW STATE HALL. 

The above ensraviiig gives to the eye of the 
reader a view of the new State Hall at Albany. 
The edifice, a representation of which we now ofler 
to oiir readers, is destined to contain the apartments 
for the public offices, connected with the state 
government of New York. In 18dd, the Legisla¬ 
ture authorized the sale of the building and lands 
which have hitherto been used for this pur[)ose; 
and the proceeds, with previous and subsequent ap¬ 
propriations, compose the fun<ls for the erection of 
the new State Hall. The structure, as we are in¬ 
formed, is not yet completed. Its site, covering an 
area of one hundred and thirty-eight by eighty-eight 
feet, fronts west towards the Academy park, from 
which it is separated by Eagle street. The build¬ 
ing is to be constructed of brick and stone, with an 
exteriour facing of cut stone from Mount Pleasant, 
and will be rendered fire-proof throughr)ut. The 
style of architecture is Grecian, with such variations 
from the temple form, usually adopted in public 
buildings, as have been thought advisable, from the 
nature of the ground. The principal entrance, on 
the west front, is beneath a stately portico of six 
Ionic columns, surmounted by an entablature and 
pediment. The edifice is to be about sixty-five feet 
in height, on the west side, and nine feet higlier, 
owing to the declivity of the ground, on the east; 
and will be crowned by a hemispherical dome, forty 
feet in diameter, admitting the light through a sash 
into the rotunda. The interiour arrangements are 


* For the original engraving of this building, as well as for the 
aubstance of the article which accon panies our copy of it, we are 
indebted to the Zodiac, a well-conducted paper, published monthly 
at Albany 


to be made in a style of simplicity, yet of liberality 
and elegance, such as should ever characterize the 
public buildings of a great republican communitv. 

CANADIAN INDIANS. 

The Indians in Upper Canada are described as 
very expert in fishing, particularly through the 
ice. They cut a hole ihrottgh the surface of a fro¬ 
zen lake, cover themselves with a blanket, in order 
to darken the water, and remain many hours on 
their hands and knees, waititig for their [)rey,v\ hich 
is lured within their reach by a decoy-fish, made ot 
wood. On perceiving a fish near the hole, they aim 
the spear at him with admirable precision. A fish 
called the masquinonge. taken by the Indians in 
this manner, and weighing eighteen or twenty 
pounds, may be bought by the English settlers for 
a small loaf of bread. They are equally successful 
in duck-shooting, which is practised by means of a 
canoe, filled with green boughs, so as to resemble a 
floating island. The young Indians are excellent 
marksmen, with a long bow, and short, heavy 
arrows. 

Their birch-bark baskets are sometimes very 
pretty, being stained with an art peculiar to them¬ 
selves ; and wrought in various patterns with dyed 
porcupine’s quills. They are used by the Canadian 
ladies as bread-baskets, knife-trays, and sugar- 
baskets, and likewise as work-baskets, note and let¬ 
ter-cases, and flower-stands. These baskets are 
sewed with the tough roots of the tamarack or larch, 
or with strips of cedar-bark, and are often so com¬ 
pactly made as to hold water, milk, broth, or any 
other liquid. A coarser kind is used to contain po¬ 
tatoes, Indian corn, and turnips ; they are some¬ 
times manufactured of the inner rind of bass-wood, 


























































































































476 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


or white ash. These articles, together with fish, 
ducks, and venison, are bartered with the English 
settlers for pork, flour, potatoes, and wearing ap¬ 
parel. The Indians are shrewd, close, and cautious 
in their bargains, particularly the women, who, as 
we believe is the case all over the world, are much 
harder to deal with, than the men. 

They are scrupulous in their observance of the 
Sabbath, and are unwilling to trade, or to fish or 
hunt, on that holy day. The Indian females are 
good-humoured, and extremely gentle in their dis¬ 
positions. In long journeys, the children are car¬ 
ried in upright baskets, fastened round the mother’s 
neck by a deer-skin thong. The papooses, or very 
young infants, are placed in a sort of flat cradle, 
and secured in such a manner with flexible hoops, 
that they cannot stir hand or foot; they are slung 
round the squaw’s neck, with the back of the child 
to thejDack of the mother, and the face turned out- 
W'ard. On entering the residence of a settler, the 
squaw immediately unslings her papoose, and places 
it upright against a wall, chair, chest, or other article 
of furniture, where it remains perfectly quiet, look¬ 
ing not unlike a little Egyptian mummy in its case. 
The Indian mothers are noted for their fondness to¬ 
wards their offspring. Many of the young girls 
sew very neatly, and are glad to receive bits of silk, 
velvet or braid, from their European neighbours. 

The author from whom we have abstracted these 
particulars, seems to consider the Canadian Indians 
as a mild and amiable race, with many good quali¬ 
ties, and few or none of the fierce and mischievous 
ones that distinguished the Chippewas, from whom 
they are descended. 

WIVES OF EMIGRANTS. 

Male emigrants to Canada enjoy excellent spirits, 
are perfectly content with their situation, and be¬ 
come attached to the country. But the women, it 
is said, are full of regrets and repinings, and disturb 
the peace of their husbands and brothers by vain 
yearnings for their native land, and hopeless desires 
to rejoin the friends and relatives whom they have 
quitted forever. Their discontent does not seem 
to be lessened by the thought, that they have ex¬ 
changed hunger and poverty in England, for com¬ 
fort and the prospect of comparative wealth in 
America; they appear willing to give up all the ad¬ 
vantages which they have gained on this side of the 
Atlantic, for the privilege of again enjoying the 
gossip and social intercourse of their former neigh¬ 
bourhood. This difference of feeling between the 
two sexes may be partly accounted for by the dis¬ 
similarity of their modes of life, in the backwoods: 
—the man goes forth to hunt and fish, to hew down 
the forest, and till the virgin soil, and keeps his soul 
active and energetic by adventurous sports and 
healthful labour; while the woman stays by the 
lonesome fireside, and feels the gloom of the wilder¬ 
ness gathering around her, unenlivened by any of 
its peculiar pleasures. But, no doubt, the unhappi¬ 
ness of female emigrants may be largely attributed 
to the innate character of the sex. Women were 
not meant to be wanderers, as men are ; their local 
attachments are too strong ; their hearts cling too 
fervently to their early homes, to be torn away 


without the most exquisite anguish. A wise Prov¬ 
idence has given woman a nature unfitted for 
change of place, that she may be like a warm, do¬ 
mestic light, beaming from a cottage window, to 
lure man homeward, who would otherwise roam far 
and wide, nor ever settle down, till his limbs were 
too Stitt' to bear him further. It is the duty of all 
who are meditating an emigration, whether to a for¬ 
eign country or to our own far western settlements, 
fully to consider this point in the female character; 
and if the lot of woman be linked with their’s, 
nothing but urgent necessity should induce them to 
tear her from the spot, which she has been taught 
to consider the home of her whole lifetime. 


INDIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 

The Indians of Virginia, at the period of the 
English settlement, believed that the place of pun¬ 
ishment for the wicked was a deep hole, or pit, to 
which they gave the name of Popogusso. They 
affirmed that the grave of a certain Indian, the next 
day after his burial, had been seen to move; in con¬ 
sequence of which phenomenon, they removed the 
earth, and found the dead man restored to life. 
He informed them that his soul had almost arrived 
at Popogusso, when it was rescued by a god, and 
sent back to warn his friends of the danger of their 
evil courses. Another grave being observed to 
move in a similar manner, it was likewise opened, 
and the resuscitated corpse came forth. He told 
those who stood around the grave, that he had trav¬ 
elled far in a broad and pleasant path, overshadow¬ 
ed by delightful trees, which were luxuriantly en¬ 
riched with the most delicious fruit. At length he 
reached a village, composed of beautiful habitations, 
and, at the door of one of them, was met by his 
father, whose body had long been in the grave. 
The old man bade him go back to earth, and exhort 
his kindred and friends to lead upright lives, that 
they also might find their way to the mansions 
of the blest—whither, when he should have deliver¬ 
ed this message, the Indian was to return. 

In those early days, the Indians supposed that 
the English were men of a former generation, who 
had died and been buried long ago, and had now 
found their way back to the world, with new bodies. 
They also supposed that other beings of the same 
nature, but without bodies, were hovering in the 
air, and would take vengeance for any injury that 
might be offered to the English These, and other 
similar stories, may be found in Purchas’sPilgrimage. 

Naval, Captains.— The following anecdote con¬ 
veys a strong idea of the rigid supremacy main¬ 
tained by the commanders of vessels in the Ameri¬ 
can navy. Captain Cook, a British officer, inquired 
of an American midshipman, what sort of a cap¬ 
tain he had ? ‘ Sir, are you not aware,’ replied the 

midshipman, ‘ that a captain of a man-of-war is a 
king ?—well, then, my captain is king of kings.’ 

Nondescripts. —There are quadrupeds in New- 
Holland, which unite the beak of a bird with the 
shoulders of a reptile. 


No MAN is an upright judge in his own cause. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


477 


PEKING, IN CHINA. 

[‘Travels of tlie Russian Mission in China.’] 

I am able to give some general information re¬ 
specting the Chinese houses, because the hotel of 
the Legation, as well as the Russian Convent in 
Peking, is built in the manner of the country. All 
the dwellings, from the hut of the artisan, to the 
palace of the rich man, are of one story, and built 
of brick, and stand in a court yard which is always 
surrounded with a high stone wall, so that from the 
street nothing is to be seen but the roof. Shops 
joining to the houses are an exception. Large 
windows, with paper instead of glass, occupy al¬ 
most the whole of the front, which is always turned 
towards the south, as far as the situation will allow. 
The windows of the convent have Muscovy glass, 
which is a kind of mica; the rooms are tolerably 
high, and hung with white or coloured paper. In 
most houses, in all the shops, and even in the pal¬ 
ace of the Emperour, remarkable sentences of cele¬ 
brated philosophers and poets, are written on these 
hangings, as well as on white, red, or other coloured 
papers; these inscriptions are called touitsu. In 
the houses of the rich, the doors and partitions are 
of costly woods, such as camphor and cypress, 
adorned with carved work. Besides being agreea¬ 
ble to the eye, they diffuse a pleasing perfume 
through the apartment. The tables and chairs, 
made of the finest wood, are highly varnished and 
polished. Large houses have a whole range of 
rooms not communicating with each other, but all 
opening into a covered gallery supported on pillars, 
which runs in front of them. There are no stoves 
in the rooms, which are heated by coals placed in 
copper vessels, made for the purpose; or in hollows 
contrived under large stone benches. These benches 
are placed under the windows or along the opposite 
wall, and serve as seats during the day, and as beds 
by night. The roofs of the Chinese houses are not 
flat, as in the hot countries of the East; but high 
and concave, from the top to the edges, which pro¬ 
ject beyond the walls of the houses, and are curved 
a little upwards, something like the summer-houses 
in our European gardens. The form of these roofs 
seems to be taken from the tents of the Nomade 
tribes who were the primitive inhabitants of China. 
All the buildings are covered with tiles, which are 
sometimes glazed with a green, red, or yellow var¬ 
nish ; but according to the rules of this country, 
where there are rules for every thing, only the im¬ 
perial buildings and the temples may be covered 
with yellow tiles; those of princes and great men, 
with green ; for other houses gray tiles are used. 
In other respects the style of the houses differs only 
in such particulars as the locality and the circum¬ 
stances of the proprietors, naturally cause. Thus 
the houses in the southern provinces differ from 
those of Peking. 

Every thing in Peking betokens a city of great 
trade, crowded population, and a civilisation an¬ 
cient and matured, though of a peculiar character. 
European diligence and Asiatic servility seem to be 
here united. The population is probably upwards 
of two millions, fifty thousand of whom have no 
employment, and no ostensible means of subsis¬ 
tence, and are therefore supposed to live by their 


depredations upon the property of others. Yet 
robberies of importance are far from frequent; the 
wants of a Chinese are few, and the police is rigid. 
The power of the government, contemptible as it 
appears in the eyes of foreigners, is yet sufficient 
for the preservation of order. The Chinese army is 
computed at seven hundred and forty thousand 
men, distributed over the whole extent of the em¬ 
pire, but badly armed and equipped, and totally 
unskilled even in the use of the miserable weapons 
provided for them. The naval force is said to be 
still less formidable. But in the cities, it is the fear 
of the bamboo, rather than of the musket or the 
bayonet, which restrains the disorderly. Blows are 
freely administered, and passively received. A few 
police officers, armed with these slender canes, 
are as much feared as a file of soldiers in Paris. 

The internal commerce for the supply of this 
capital is extremely active. The southern pro¬ 
vinces may be considered as the centre of the 
inland trade. They produce tea, rice, cotton, and 
silk. There are manufactories of silk, and also of 
porcelain, ink, furniture, and lackered goods. 

Provisions are sold in all quarters of the city ; al¬ 
most at every step there are shops where they sell 
rice, flour, small loaves baked, or rather boiled in 
steam, meat, &,c. The inhabitants of Peking, and 
the Chinese in general, eat much pork, which is 
here well flavoured and easy of digestion. Mutton 
and beef are not very good in China, because the 
cattle coming from Mongolia are too much exhaust¬ 
ed, and are not properly attended to after they 
reach the capital. Butter, especially made of 
sheep’s milk, comes from Mongolia. The Chinese 
prefer hog’s lard, and cannot bear even the smell of 
butter made of cow’s milk. The most common do¬ 
mestic fowls are geese, ducks and chickens. The 
first are indispensable at grand entertainments. 
The physicians forbid patients to eat poultry, as in¬ 
digestible and unwholesome. A species of duck, 
called ya-tsu, is a very favourite dish on grand oc¬ 
casions, and is dressed in more than thirty different 
ways. The ducks of Peking are very large, fat and 
juicy. In the Winter there are partridges, phea¬ 
sants, and game of all kinds. But it is necessary 
to be very careful in purchasing provisions, for the 
Chinese dealers mix plaster or sand in the flour to 
increase the weight. Often they sell the flesh of 
animals that have died of some disorder, or of such 
as are not generally used for food ; for instance, 
asses, mules, camels, &c. They improve the ap¬ 
pearance of ducks and chickens by blowing air be¬ 
tween the skin and flesh, which makes them look 
very white and plump. Peking is supplied with 
fresh fish, especially carp, from the neighbouring 
rivers, and the sea-coast. Smoked fish and lobsters 
are very common. In the Winter, the court re¬ 
ceives large frozen fish, such as sturgeons, sea eagles., 
(Raia aquila) carp, of a particular species, &c.; 
these are brought on camels, from the river Amour. 
The Emperour distributes them among the princes 
of the first order, and by this means a certain quan¬ 
tity finds its way into the markets. As for fruits 
and vegetables, they have them of all kinds as in 
Europe, such as very excellent cabbages, cucum¬ 
bers, carrots, <urnips, radishes, &-c. All these 





478 


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vegetables, except the cabbage, are salted to such a 
degree that they are used at table instead ol salt. 
Grapes, peaches, apples, and delicious pears, are 
extremely abundant; there are also oranges, and 
lemons, but they are not well flavoured. 

The general and constant beverage is tea ; but 
it is prepared very differently from that which comes 
to Europe. The Chinese gather for their own use 
the young leaves of the tea-shrub, which are dried 
in the sun. This kind of tea has a very delicious 
fragrance and taste, and is very good for the sto¬ 
mach. They distil a very strong brandy from rice, 
which they drink warm in small cups. At table, 
they have a kind of sour brandy, called chao-tsieou, 
(burnt wine) extracted by distillation from fer¬ 
mented rice. 

A visit to the shops of the merchants afforded 
us much amusement. In one street, very narrow 
and dirty, we entered several booksellers’ shops. 
They sell Chinese and Mautchoo books, which they 
keep ready bound, and in good order; but on exam¬ 
ination, we discover that many of them are imper¬ 
fect. The booksellers, besides asking five times the 
value of a book, try to put off’ copies which want 
some leaves, or are composed of the sheets of three 

or four different works. You must be very much 

«/ 

on your guard to avoid being imposed upon ; the 
same mistrust, indeed, is necessary in all purchases. 
The best books, and chiefly historical ones, are 
printed at the imperial press, where the booksellers 
of Peking and other towns buy them at prices fix¬ 
ed by the government. This press likewise, pub¬ 
lishes every two days, a gazette containing the ex¬ 
traordinary events which occur in the empire, the 
ordinances, and especially a list of the promotions 
and favours granted by the Emperour, such as yel¬ 
low robes and peacock’s feathers, which are equiva¬ 
lent to orders of knighthood in Europe; it also an¬ 
nounces the punishment inflicted on Mandarins 
who have been guilty of misconduct, &c. 

Printers and even booksellers have copper and 
wooden plates engraved for works of minor inter¬ 
est ; as many copies are printed off as are required, 
and sold at arbitrary prices. Very neat and legible 
characters, printed on fine paper, enhance the price 
of the work. Movable types cannot be used for 
the Chinese language. Their best paper is made of 
cotton. 

Further on, in the same street, are the jewellers’ 
shops, where -they sell pictures, articles sculptured 
in jasper, ivory, and fine wood, for the ornaments 
of apartments ; the workmanship of these things is 
very good. We also see glass wares, varnished 
porcelain, &c.: every thing of the best quality. 
There are even things which come from the impe¬ 
rial palace, and which the eunuchs contrive to carry 
off, and sell at a low price to the shopkeepers; 
likewise English goods imported into Canton. 

Near each gate of the town, between the south¬ 
ern wall and the canal, we meet with saddled asses 
for the use of the public. The Chinese mount these 
animals to go from one gate to another, for which 
they pay about four coppecks in copper; they are 
likewise employed to carry light burdens. We 
were told that people often travel from Peking to 
the southern provinces in little carts drawn by men, 


—a melancholy consequence of the too numerous 
population, which is destitute of tneans to obtain a 
better livelihood. The extent of China is dispro- 
portioned to the number of inhabitants, and the 
ground is exhausted by incessant cultivation. Near 
the wall of the town are caverns, which serve as 
dwellings for the poor. It is impossible to form in 
idea of the misery of these unhappy people. Al¬ 
most destitute of clothing, and covered with frag¬ 
ments of mats, they haunt the shops of the mercan¬ 
tile quarters, and when they have received a few 
tchokhi, return and hide themselves in their caves. 

The Chinese love numerous assemblages. The 
public walks are not frequented every day, but at 
certain seasons they are crowded by immense mul¬ 
titudes. Besides the festivals at the nevv year, 
and a few others, the Chinese have no weekly holy- 
days; the people labour continually. 

In Spring, the people frequent the promenades 
in the environs of Peking, which are for the most 
part very |)leasant. The common people go on 
foot, d'he company drink tea, and amuse them¬ 
selves with the feats of jugglers, rope-dancers, &-c. 
Persons of rank and fortune show themselves on 
the promenades in splendid carriages, drawn by 
fine mules, or riding on spirited l'.ors<;s. The spirit 
of vanity and luxury, common in all great cities, 
manifests itself in the same forms at Peking. 


ON THE ENTRANCE OF THE AMERICAN WOODS. 
By Mu. Galt. 

What solemn spirit doth inhabit here ? 

What sacred oracle hath here a home ? 

What dread unknown thrills through the heart in fear, 

And moves to worship in this forest dome ? 

Ye storied fanes in whose recesses dim. 

The mitred priesthood have their altars built, 

Aisles old and awful where the choral hymn 
Bears the rapt soul beyond the sphere of guilt. 

Stoop your proud arches, and your columns betid, 

Your tombs and monumental trophies hide,— 

The high, umbrageous walks that here extend. 

Mock the brief limits of your sculptured pride,— 
Stranger forlorn, by fortune hither cast. 

Barest thou the genius brave, the ancient and the vast! 


Revolutionary Navy. —In the Revolution, the 
American navy appears to have attained its greatest 
strength, not long after the commencement of the 
contest. In October, 1776, there were twenty-four 
captains, commanding vessels of from ten to thirty- 
two guns. After that period, the few additions 
were insufficient to compensate for its losses. But 
in 1778, and thenceforward through the war, the 
naval power of France was on the side of the United 
States, and partly supplied the want of a maritime 
force of our own. 


Philadelphia. —The early growth of Philadel¬ 
phia was rapid, though not to be compared to that 
of some of our western cities, or of Lowell in the 
East. In the first year after its foundation, by 
William Penn, eighty houses were erected ; in ten 
years, the private estates were valued at upwards of 
seventy-five thousand pounds. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


479 


THE MILITIA. 

[American Quarterly Review.] 

It has been the opinion of officers who have 
seen service in all parts of the globe, that the mass 
of the people of the United States furnishes the 
finest material for a military force, which exists in 
any part of the world. Yet, as our militia is at 
present constituted, it has been reasonably doubted 
whether its employment upon emergencies has been 
productive of most good or evil to the military 
character of our country. The same description of 
force which fled at North Point without seeing an 
enemy; which broke at Bladensburgh upon the first 
fire ; which refused to cross at Queenstown to com¬ 
plete a victory already gained ; manned the weak 
lines at New Orleans, from which a superiour regu¬ 
lar force retired completely beaten; and foiled at 
Plattsburgh, the veterans of the Peninsular wars. 
It is therefore certain that no reliance can be placed 
upon the eflects a militia force, as at present organ¬ 
ized, will produce; for, by circumstances not to be 
predicted, it may either achieve victory, or ensure 
defeat. This must always be the case, so long as 
citizens are called on sudden emergencies from their 
homes to act as soldiers, and are retained no longer 
in service than is sufficient to give them a distaste 
for the profession of arms, without instilling either 
habits of discipline, or a knowledge of military evo¬ 
lutions. In addition, the demoralizing influence of 
a succession of calls, which may reach a whole 
population, is not to be disregarded ; for if the 
moral character of the debased may be raised by 
the influence of military honour, and curbed by the 
regularity of military discipline, it is no less true, 
that a partial acquaintance with the profession of 
arms, incapacitates for steady civil industry. 

The calls for the militia, then, should be of such 
a nature, that the subject of them must know, that 
his civil occupations are to be at an end, at any 
rate, for a term of years, and that his own com¬ 
forts will be promoted by his acquiring a knowledge 
of his new business, and at the same time abstain¬ 
ing from the vices which have sometimes been con¬ 
sidered the reproach of the life of a camp, but which 
have never failed to influence a draughted militia. 

It is to a militia force alone, drawn from all clas¬ 
ses of citizens indiscriminately, and officered by the 
authority of the States, although acting under the 
call of the general government, that the defence of 
the country can be safely intrusted. Two wars 
have witnessed at their close, regular armies dismiss¬ 
ed, in the one case without pay, and in the other 
almost with disgrace, and it is not in the nature of 
things that such events can be repeated without 
danger. It is calculating too much upon human 
virtue, to hope that on any future occasion, a large, 
and perhaps successful regular army, shall not be at 
the beck of its commander, to do whatever he may 
dictate; nor can it be hoped that if in preponderating 
force, they will assent to be disbanded, when the 
purpose for which they were raised is fulfilled. It 
is far otherwise with a militia force. However 
powerfully they may be attached to their standards 
by patriotism or discipline, a return to their fire¬ 
sides will be a reward instead of a punishment, and 
the news of a pet.ce will be hailed by such a force 


with joy, when to regulars it will convey the un¬ 
welcome intelligence of their occupation being 
gone. 

That the patriotism of the people of the United 
States will induce them to bear the fatigues and 
dangers of military service without a murmur, was 
fully proved during the late war, in which no small 
portion of the population was actually called into 
service. But it is no more than just to such a 
population, that such a service should be rendered 
as little onerous as possible, by confining it to the 
least number of individuals. This can only be done 
by deciding upon an organization in time of peace, 
by which the persons to be called upon in case of 
war shall be pointed out, and the manner of desig¬ 
nating them, and fixing the order of rotation, ren¬ 
dered precise and definite. 

The largest call yet made upon the militia was 
for 100,000 men, and this may be safely taken as 
the maximum thatcanever bedemanded in any future 
war. In fact, the means of concentration at any 
given point, by the improved modes of conveyance, 
are so much greater than they formerly were, that a 
much less force would be necessary than on former 
occasions. A force of this amount ought to be at 
once called for by law, although in a time of pro¬ 
found peace, by draughts from militia of all classes 
and ages, as at present organized ; it might be form¬ 
ed into one hundred and two battalions of infantry, 
organized into seventeen brigades. Each battalion 
should be composed of eight companies or platoons 
of thirty-two files, and would make, with officers, 
eight hundred men. To the seventeen brigades 
should be attached thirty-four companies of artillery, 
and as many squadrons of cavalry. The force at 
first drawn, should be divided according to their 
ages, into six classes, one of which should be dis¬ 
charged annually. The place of this class, and of 
all vacancies by death or removal, should be sup¬ 
plied by annual draughts from all citizens between 
the ages of twenty and twenty-six. The draughts 
thus constituted, should be assembled in the largest 
bodies the nature of the population would admit of, 
as many times in the year as the militia of the sev¬ 
eral States is now usually called out, but separate 
from those not designated by lot, and under the 
command of the officers designated from the gen¬ 
eral body for the purpose. For non-attendance at 
such parades, no other penalty than a pecuniary fine 
should be imposed. An option should, however, 
be left to the several States to substitute in whole 
or in part for draughts from the militia, volunteer 
corps having a term of service of six years, provided 
they be officered and organized in conformity with 
the war establishment of the United States ; say, in 
battalions of eight platoons, each of thirty-two files, 
but with the privilege that no more than two-thirds 
of the number, making a formation of two in depth, 
should be required to be present except when called 
into active service and put upon pay. The laws of 
the several States give privileges to volunteer corps 
enrolled for a term shorter than that of the usual 
military liability, and who equip and arm themselves, 
which would ensure the creation of an efficient 
force of this sort, if put under some one general re 
gulation. But such general and uniform regulation 



480 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


is necessary, if we wish to do away with the ridi¬ 
cule which is beginning to attach itself to our citi¬ 
zen soldiers. This ridicule, we are sorry to say. is 
not unmerited, and it cannot be denied that those 
who have seen service in our trained bands, are far 
less fitted to make good soldiers than if they had 
never donned an uniform. All this reproach may, 
however, be done away, by making the volunteer 
battalions permanent, discliarging and receiving 
equal numbers annually, and conferring the privi¬ 
leges due to voluntary service, only upon those who 
perform it in a corps designated by the state gov¬ 
ernment, in lieu of a drauglited militia, as ready to 
be called at any moment into the general service. 
To the sense of pride which our volunteers have 
exhibited, however misdirected on most occasions, 
may be safely committed the care of providing in¬ 
struction in manoeuvres and tactics. It is other¬ 
wise with those called out by draught. To give 
these a chance of being speedily rendered efficient, 
when embodied for service, their non-commissioned 
officers, to the number of fifty-six to each battalion, 
should be kept in pay, and in constant service. 
These would form a company, which should be 
commanded by the adjutant of the battalion, who 
should also be in constant service, and by three 
other officers of the battalion serving in monthly 
rotation. In this way a school of military knowl¬ 
edge would be formed for each portion of the 
militia, by which a knowledge of the duties both of 
soldier and officer, would be communicated. The 
expense of such an arrangement would indeed near¬ 
ly equal that of our present military force, but as it 
would ensure the action of a well appointed army 
of 100,000 men upon any emergency, it would be 
more than defrayed for whole years, by the saving 
which would ensue in a few weeks of war. It 
would, moreover, furnish a mode of distributing 
surplus revenues among the States, to which no 
pretended or actual constitutional objection could 
apply. 

In case of any alarm of war, the whole or any 
(required part of the battalions, might be at once 
embodied and called into service; first the men 
whose term of service had not extended to four 
years, and, in case of invasion, the whole. A call 
of this sort to the extent of twenty-four battalions, 
would at once set free the whole of the regular 
iforce from the duty of garrisons, and to this the 
(inilitia ought of course to be devoted until time had 
6eec afforded ito re their discipline. 

If, upon a call for fne active service of the militia, 
substitutes were to be accepted, not, however, to 
enter into the militia, but to be embodied in the 
regular army, and to serve for the war, a large ac¬ 
cession would at once be made to the regular force; 
and as the demand for substitutes in the militia, 
and for recruits, would no longer conflict with each 
other, the filling up of the regular army to the war 
establishment, might be almost ensured by calling 
the draughted militia into service. The pay, too, 
of the forced levies of the militia, ought no't to 
equal that of the enlisted army, and thus theVe 
would be many who would prefer to pass from thfi 
militia ranks to those of the standing force. 

For an illustration of th’.s part of our subject, 


may refer to the histories of the war of the Revolu¬ 
tion, and of the more recent contest with England. 
In both of these, it became necessary to embody 
large draughts from the militia ; the consequence 
was, that the demand for substitutes almost v\ holly 
impeded the regular recruiting service, or enhanced 
the bounties on enlistment to a burdensome extent; 
and, finally, the supply of the regular force depend¬ 
ed almost wholly upon those persons who, draught¬ 
ed themselves into the embodied militia, could not 
be accepted as substitutes, but preferred to take the 
bounty for joining the regular army, to serving with¬ 
out it. It would be impolitic not to accept substi¬ 
tutes, as those who obtain exemption in this way 
are generally of habits of life which would make 
them but poor soldiers ; and it is still more impolitic 
to admit such substitutes into the embodied militia 
itself, and thus cut off the source whence the regu¬ 
lar army might be supplied. 

Disposal of the Dead.— In ancient times, the 
people of the East had several methods of disposing 
of their dead friends. They sometimes deposited 
the body in a subterranean sepulchre, built with 
brick, stones, and mortar, and having niches in the 
sides, wherein the kindred corpses had each a place ; 
—or they inclosed the body in an urn or vase;—or 
they laid it in a coffin, and the coffin in a grave, as 
we do;—or they washed it in pure water, clothed it in 
a perfumed garment, and then burned it on a fun¬ 
eral pile, carefully collecting the ashes and whiten¬ 
ed bones for burial:—or, after washing the lifeless 
form, and arraying it in a perfumed garment, as be¬ 
fore, they immersed it in a vessel of aqua-fortis ; 
and when it was entirely dissolved, they carried the 
liquid to some solitary spot, and poured it on the 
earth. This latter method of performing the sepul¬ 
chral rites was deemed the best of all. 


Sun-Fish. —One of these fish, Tetraodon mola,) 
taken in the Persian Gulf, measured fourteen feet 
across the back, and was nine feet in length, exclu¬ 
sive of a tail four feet long. The mouth was two 
yards wide, and there was a large sucking-fish at¬ 
tached to the gills. Such was its strength, that, 
on being harpooned, it whirled the ship round, and 
could not be got on board in less than four hours. 


Its flesh was soft, and dotted all over with reddish 
spots, giving it an appearance which the sailors ex¬ 
pressed by the descriptive name of ‘ Plumb-pudding 
Fish.’ - 


Steam-Power.— In Cornwall, Eng., one bushel 
of coal now gives the same quantity of steam-power, 
that was obtained from two bushels, ten or twelve 
years ago—from four bushels, during the contin¬ 
uance of Bolton and Watt’s patent—and from six¬ 
teen bushels at an earlier period. The whole 
power of the steam-engines, in Cornwall, is equal 
to the united strength of at least forty-four thousand 
horses. - 

The difficulty which blind people have, in find¬ 
ing things which are not exactly in their proper 
place, causes them to form habits of order and regu¬ 
larity. I have remarked that those, who associate 
much with the blind, form similar habits.— Diderot 








JOHN ADAMS. 

John Adams was lineally descended from an old 
Puritan patriarch, who fled, as his tombstone ex¬ 
presses it, from tlie ‘Dragon Persecution,’ and came 
to New Enjxland with seven marrierl children. He 
had also the blood of the Plymouth pilgrims in his 
veins, derived from the marriage of John Alden, one 
of the May-Flower’s passengers, with a lady whom he 
had wooed as proxy for the valiant Captain Stan- 
dish. From 1630, when the patriarch Adams cross¬ 
ed the Atlantic, down till 1735, when John Adams 
was born, the successive generations of the family 
continimrl on the same farm, which he himself has 
transmiOed to his son. The descendant of so hon¬ 
orable a lineage was bound, by peculiar obligations, 
to uphold those civil and religious principles for 
which his ancestors had become exiles. According- 

O 

ly, he may be taken as an example of the primitive 


New-Fngland character, modified by the change of 
time and circumstances, yet the same in its oaken 
substance as of old. 

He was educated at Harvard College, and took 
his first degree in 1755. While pursuing the study 
of the law, he had charge of the grammar school in 
Worcester, and during his residence there, attracted 
the notice and favour of Mr. Gridley, the Attorney 
General of the Province. That his abilities were 
early developed is remarkably j)roved by the existence 
of a letter, written at the age of twenty, in which he 
infers the future greatness of America, from causes 
which had not yet even begun to operate. Sik Ij 
prophecies have sometimes flowed from the consum¬ 
mate wisdom of experienced statesmen, but never be¬ 
fore from the natural sagacity of a stripling, inspired 
by youthful imagination. It is probable that the 
author himself had hardly a suspicion of the mighty 

61 






















































































































































































































































482 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


truths which he was uttering ; he followed his own 
fancy, and wandered into prophecy. But, in regard 
to his own career, the farthest flight of fancy could 
not have reached that eminence, whither the ris¬ 
ing fortunes of his country were to bear him up. 
There were many young Americans, at that day, 
who never dreamed of any thing so strange as their 
own destiny—to ascend, from the middle ranks of 
colonial life, into the sphere of rulers, legislators, 
generals, and ambassadors. Such promotion is now 
in the ordinary course of things. Then, it was im¬ 
possible, save by the overturn of a government which 
seemed to stand on the same basis as the constitu¬ 
tion and throne of England. 

John Adams commenced the practice of the law 
in his native town of Quincy, which was then a part 
of ancient Braintree. In 1763, he was married to 
Abigail Smith, a country clergyman’s daughter, and 
an e.xcellent woman, with wliom, though she died 
some years before him, he lived in wedlock more 
than half a century. He published, in 1765, a dis¬ 
sertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, in which 
he explained the Puritan principles of religion and 
government, and brought them to bear upon the dis¬ 
putes between Great Britain and the colonies. A 
year afterwards, he removed to Boston. His pro¬ 
fessional standing was now so high, that, in 1768, 
'Governor Bernard ofl'ered him the post of Advocate 
General of the court of Admiralty. But IVIr Adams 
had ranked himself decisively with the friends of the 
peo|)le ; and had he accepted a lucrative office un¬ 
der the crown, although no conditions were annex¬ 
ed, his course could not have been the same as here¬ 
tofore. In truth, the ofler must have been intended 
quite as much to silence his political opposition, as 
to secure his legal services. He therefore declined 
it, but gave a noble evidence, not long afterwards, 
that no base subserviency to the people, any more 
than to the government, could make him swerve 
from his own ideas of right. This truth was shown 
in 1770, by his conduct in reference to the Boston 
Massacre. Few men have had such an opportunity 
of proving their rectitude and indepeiulence, and 
fewer still have possessed the strength of character to 
take advantage of it. 

The scene of bloodshed in King Street was a 
natural consequence of the relative positions of the 
soldiery and the people. No good feeling could 
possibly exist between them. On the part of the 
troops, the haughty consciousness that Britain had 
made them the keepers of the province, together 
with a sense of the odium in which they were held, 
produced a contemptuous antipathy towards the col¬ 
onists. The latter saw themselves treated like sub¬ 
jugated rebels, with a court-of-guard in the centre 
of their metropolis, and cannon pointed against the 
town-house. Their continual bickerings with the 
individual soldiers galled them, as the captive is gall¬ 
ed by each separate link of his chain. They bestow¬ 
ed on these instruments of despotism the hatred 
which was rightfully due to tho.se who sent them. 
In such cases, when the malevolence between the 
citizen and armed soldier has reached its hci'>ht, the 
immediate provocation is generally given by the op¬ 
pressed partv, and bloodily resented by the oppres¬ 
sors. This was the almost inevitable result in Bos¬ 


ton. At the sight of their own blood, the ferment 
of the people became terrible, and was shared for a 
time, by the calmest patriots in New England. A 
multitude, computed at ten or twelve thousand, as¬ 
sembled at Faneuil Hall, and adjourned thence to the 
Old South church. There went a rumour, that the 
tragedy in King Street had been premeditated, and 
was but the prelude to a general massacre. For 
defence against this exaggerated, yet not altogether 
shadowy danger, a military guard was enrolled, and 
the town put itself under martial law. No British 
officer or soldier could have walked the streets with 
safety to his life ; a parade would have been the 
signal for a battle. Samuel Adams and other lead¬ 
ing patriots were sent as a committee to the Lieu¬ 
tenant Governor and Council, to demand the re¬ 
moval of the troops, as the only method of prevent¬ 
ing an appeal to arms. Hutchinson felt the neces¬ 
sity of the measure ; the two British regiments were 
ordered to Castle William ; and their commander. 
Colonel Dalrymple, was compelled to seek the pro¬ 
tection of a popular leader, on his way to the water¬ 
side. 

Such was the state of affairs, when John Adams, 
himself a leading patriot, and a member of the mili¬ 
tary guard, was solicited to undertake the defence of 
Captain Preston, and the soldiers who had fired the 
fatal volley. It w'as a singular compliment to his in¬ 
tegrity, that the prisoners should have sought the 
aid of a man so situated. Not one man in a thous¬ 
and could have so freed himself from party excite¬ 
ment, as to do justice to the cause ; not one in a 
million, taking all circumstances into consideration, 
would have made the attempt. But Mr. Adams di 1 
it : he exerted his whole strength, for that single 
time, in a cause w'hich the king and ministry approv¬ 
ed—and won the blood-stained regulars their lives. 
Undoubtedly, he considered them guiltless of mur¬ 
der ; yet, had they suffered the penalty of that crime, 
posterity, after the coolest reconsideration of tlie trial 
could not absolutely have called the sentence an un¬ 
just one. 

It does not appear that the confidence of his coun¬ 
trymen w^as shaken ; or if so, it was only for the mo¬ 
ment, In 1773, he was chosen a member of the 
provincial Council, but was rejected by Governor 
Hutchinson, and afterwards by General Gage. 

In the year 1775, John Adams, as a delegate in 
Congress, nominated George Washington to the post 
of Commander in Chief of the American armies. The 
glory of the choice appears to belong principally to 
Mr. Adams, and, did he need a secondary reputation, 
this would have been claim enough to his country’s 
gratitude. The service cannot be too highly estima¬ 
ted. Washington’s character w^asof such a nature, 
that, if some sagacious individual had not pointed 
him out, he probably would not have been the fore¬ 
most figure in the public eye. And had another been 
raised, in the first instance, to the military suprem¬ 
acy, there is no reason to suppose that a second op¬ 
portunity would have offered for the elevation of the 
only man who could have saved us from Britain, 
w'ithout •oiisigning us to anarchy or native despot¬ 
ism. Setting him aside, inefficiency on the one 
hand, or talent combined with dangerous ambition 
on the other, must have been the sole alternative. It 



OF USEFUL INFORMATION 


483 


is true, that, had there been no Washington, the 
country would still have wrought out its freedom in 
the end ; but after a far longer term of blood and 
tumult. 

Mr. Adams was one of the committee who draft¬ 
ed the Declaration of Independence ; and the calm, 
yet high enthusiasm of the letter in which he announ¬ 
ced that event to a friend, and prophesied that its 
anniversary would become a national festival, must 
be recollected by every American. He had a share 
in all the weightiest business of Congress, and bore 
the burden of much that was less important; being 
a member of no less than ninety committees, and 
chairman of twenty five. In 1777, he was a[)point- 
ed Commissioner to France, in the room of Silas 
Deane. lieturning home in 1779, he was again 
sent out, in the Autumn of the same year, with pow¬ 
ers to conclude a treaty of peace and commerce. . 

Mr. Adams in 1785, was ap[)ointed the first min¬ 
ister to the court of St. James. If in his early youth, 
the whole progress of his high destiny could have 
been foreshown to him, this event would probably 
have e.vcited the most of wonder and anticipation. 
That he should approach the throne of his heredit¬ 
ary sovereign, as ambassador from an independent 
nation ! In a letter to the American Secretary of 
State, Mr. Adams has fully narrated the circum¬ 
stances of his interview with King George. Sir 
Clement Dormer, Master of Ceremonies, had hinted 
to him that a complimentary address was expected 
from foreign ministers, on their presentation ; and 
the Dutch and Swedish envoys, probably at the in¬ 
stance of the English court, had advised him to the 
same effect. It may well be supposed that some¬ 
thing of the kind was desirable, to sooth the morti¬ 
fied feelings of the King. But of all the duties 
that could have been imposed on Mr. Adams, that 
of [)aying a set compliment to any man, was the 
one least suited to his character and turn of mind ; 
and of all complimentary addresses, one of which 
George the Third should be the object, and the rela¬ 
tions of England with America the subject, was the 
most difficult to frame. It required, among other 
things, a tact, an adroitness, and a refinement of 
taste, which John Adams does not seem to have 
[)ossessed. Accordingly, in our judgment, this was 
the scene of his public life, in w'hich he made the 
least advantageous figure. The very tone, in which 
he describes the interview, is not quite such as we 
could have desired him to use. On arriving at the 
palace, Mr. Adams was ushered into the ante-cham¬ 
ber, which was then thronged with noble lords and 
rightreverend bishops, generals, officers of state, and 
courtiers of every degree, among whose embroidered 
and magnificent array, the unpretending figure of 
the American minister attracted the eyes of all. 
He speaks gratefully of the Dutch and Swedish en¬ 
voys, who relieved the awkwardness of his situation 
bv giving him the favour of their countenance. Af¬ 
ter an interval of some length, the Master of the 
Ceremonies appeared, and ushered Mr. Adams into 
the presence-chamber. 

We may pardon the minister of our proud Dem¬ 
ocracy, if he felt, at that moment, that he had not 
always been a Republican ; if his thoughts went 
back, as they doubtless did, to the old times, when 


the people were wont to pray for their gracious mon¬ 
arch in the meeting-house of Braintree, and his own 
gray-headed sire had prayed for him at his hearth— 
if, in short, the impressions of infancy and youth 
were not utterly subdued by the settled principles 
of manhood. Mr. Adams advanced, making an 
obeisance at the threshold, a second in the centre of 
the chamber, and a third in the immediate presence 
of the King, who stood with the prime minister to re¬ 
ceive him. He then proceeded to deliver his com¬ 
plimentary address. It was short and simple, [)re- 
senting not many particular points that are tangible 
by criticism, and containing one or two sentences 
that could hardly have been better thought or bet 
ter said. He hoped that the ‘old good nature and 
the old good humour’ would be revived between 
England and America. Thechief specific fault that 
can be pointed out, was the recommendation of our 
country to his majesty’s ‘Royal Benevolence,’ when 
she had already proved that the royal anger was not 
very terril)le. But the general tone of the address 
need not have been greatly changed, had its pur¬ 
port been to thank the sovereign for his clemency 
in receiving the rebellious colonies to favour, on 
the terms of mutual concession which, in the latter 
part of the contest. Great Britain desired to substi¬ 
tute for independence. Mr. Adams took a decidedly 
lower stand than the position of the United States 
entitled him to take. 

The King, on the other hand, if the report of Mr 
Adams have not done him more than justice, appear¬ 
ed to greater advantage than in any previous or sub 
sequent moment of his reign. The address appears 
to have been of a more agreeable tenor than he had 
anticipated. Of the many humiliations which befel 
that unhappy monarch, perhaps few were felt so bit¬ 
terly as this almost compulsory interview with the rep¬ 
resentative of a people, once his subjects, afterwards 
rebels, and now free. To George the Third, how¬ 
ever profound might be the ambassador’s three obei¬ 
sances, the mere entrance of an American into the 
presence chamber, unless to crave the honourof kis¬ 
sing his liege’s royal hand, was the last token of a 
realm dismembered. Yet his deportment was dig¬ 
nified, though not unmarked by natural emotion ; 
his reply to the address was a])t, and full of good 
feeling and just sentiments ; and with an air of ea¬ 
sy condescension, he took the ascendency which Mr. 
Adams had yielded to him. There w'as a kingly 
spirit in what he said. Though he spoke of Ameri¬ 
ca as free, yet his speech conveys the impression 
that he still felt himself a sovereign by Divine-Right, 
as much on one side of the Atlantic as the other. 
Well might he think so, when he perceived that 
neither the war of tongue and pen, nor of the sword, 
nor triumph itself, had extinguished the sentiment 
of loyalty in the breast of this sturdy commonwealth’s 
man. To the formal address and reply succeeded 
a brief and good humoured conversation; after 
which the King bowed, as a signal that the audience 
was at an end ; and Mr. Adams retired, highly grat¬ 
ified with the gracious deportment of his Majesty. 

If, as we have hinted our opinion, Mr. Adams did 
bend somewhat lower than befitted the representa¬ 
tive of a victorious people, the sacrifice of dignity 
W'as recompensed by no solid profit. George the 





484 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Third, whatever good qualities he might possess, was 
as obstinate a man as ever lived.—Pig-headed is 
just the phrase to express his temper, which is, in 
some degree, the temper of John Bull himself. 
England was in the sulks, and would not shake 
hands cordially with America. In the course of the 
three years that Mr. Adams continued in London, 
he was not favoured, we believe, with another pri¬ 
vate audience; nor did Great Britain send an am¬ 
bassador to our own government. Mr. Adams at 
length solicited his recall, and returned home in 
1788. His life, for some years afterwards, was not 
such as to supply many events for our narrative. 
He assisted in forming the Constitution of his native 
state. During the presidency of Washington, he 
was Vice-President, and when the former retired 
from office, John Adams, after a hard contest with 
Jefferson, became President of the United States. 

Mr. Adams was not the choice of the people. 
The House of Representatives made him President. 
The country was at that period infected with the 
contagion of French anarchy ; and as Mr. Adams 
was supposed to give the preference to England, he 
had to contend with a strong and violent opposition, 
throughout his term of office. He was even accus¬ 
ed of holding monarchical principles. 

His administration, beginning under no favoura¬ 
ble auspices, went on through a continual storm, 
and terminated in a cloud. At the end of the first 
four years, Mr. Jefferson came in by a triumphant 
majority, and President Adams retired to domestic 
life. 

This was in 1801, when he had reached the age 
of sixty-six. His long course of public services was 
now closed. At the period of his retirement, he 
did not enjoy the unreserved, and cordial approba¬ 
tion of any party. Some of his measures had gone 
far towards alienating the Federalists, although, as 
the least evil in their choice, they gave him a gener¬ 
al vote for the second term of office. Mr. Adams 
was a man of warm passions, and liable, it is said, 
to a certain wrong-headedness, which sometimes 
caused him to assume rather an unamiable attitude, 
in regard to men with whom it is a pity that he 
should have differed. He had bitter enemies, who 
have left proofs of their hostility in newspapers, 
pamphlets, and volumes, the virulence of which now 
makes us smile, when we light upon them in some 
obscure corner of a library. On his part, Mr. Ad¬ 
ams was not slow to resent, nor cautious to hide his 
resentment. He once observed, pointing to his own 
portrait,—‘That fellow could never keep his mouth 
shut!’ Certainly, this was a great fault in a states¬ 
man, but a fault which oftenest marks integrity. 
Thomas Jefferson, his successful rival, but never his 
personal foe, has borne the strongest testimony that 
John Adams was an honest man. His whole life 
::onfirms the fact. 

In his old age, the world acknowledged it. As 
the Ex-President went farther and farther down in¬ 
to the vale of years, his path became still greener 
and more peaceful. The young, to whom he was a 
man of History, did reverence to the hoary sage, 
now long emerged from the dust of contending par¬ 
ties, and drawing cheerfully towards his sepulchre. 
He loved to linger by the wayside, and tell of the 


great deeds of the past, and the great men of whom 
he was a brother. At length, when the full Jubilee 
was finished, since that band of mighty brethren 
signed the deed of freedom, the survivor mingled 
his expiring breath with the swell of consummated 
triumph. Independence Forever! —were the last 
words that John Adams uttered. Such a death, 
had there been no other evidence, was proof unan¬ 
swerable of a patriotic life. 


SONNET.— By Richard Hovvitt. 

Away, away, it ia the Summer time ; 

To the dim twilight of the dell away ; 

Missing the glories of the season’s prime. 

In crowded haunts why do we thus delay? 

There Hows the brook, with its low lulling chime, 
Through all the freshness of the breezy day ; 

And songs gush forth, to woodland quiet dear, 

Whilst the world’s crowds and cares oppress us here 
There shouts the cuckoo from the distant heath , 

And in the pure and beechen boughs above. 
Whose shadows dance upon the sward beneath. 
Loud are the dreamy cooings of the dove. 

With natural sights and sounds beside that stream. 
These crowds, these cares, wdll live but as a dream. 


THE MOONBEAM.— By F. Waller. 

“ That every soft and solemn spirit worsships.”—.Vafuria 

How hushed and solemn is thy bright rise. 

Thou spirit that rulest the midnight skies ; 

Shadowed and dim, as a dream may be, 

Afar from the depths of eternity ! 

Thou art rising in beauty, and Ocean smiles. 

And light is shed over her thousand isles. 

And silence is spi'eading from shore to shore. 

O’er the wild waves moan, and the billows roar 

Where a fount is seen in a forest shade. 

Through the heavy gloom by the pine boughs made ; 
Where a flash is sent from its silvery spray, 

It is wakened to beauty by thy bright ray. 

Where the flowers are sleeping in gentle dew, 

Where the woods repose in the midnight blue. 

Where the groves are spread—where their beauty lies. 

Is a ray of thine from the sapphire skies ! 

Where the green turf is raised in burial heaps. 

Where some churchyard love in the moonlight sleeps, 
With a silvery gleam upon grave and flower. 

Thou art there in thy silence at midnight’s hour ! 

Thus over earth, and the solemn sea. 

Through the beautiful night thou art shining free. 

As a holy dream, as a visioned spell, 

Or a midnight presence visible ! 

But unto man thou art more than these. 

When slumber comes with its mysteries, 

When a light is shed, when a dream is given. 

Pictured with hues as are those of heaven. 


Consumption of Olive Oil. —It was stated, so 
long ago as 1769, that twenty thousand gallons of 
Olive Oil were annually consumed in New England. 
A person in South Carolina recommended a sub¬ 
stitute, which was obtained by bruising the seeds of 
the ground-nut, or ground-peas—a plant which 
grew wild, very abundantly, in the southern colo¬ 
nies. A bushel of the seed yielded a gallon of oil, 
the quality of which was represented as equal to 
that of Florence oil, while it might be afforded at 
less than one-fourth the price. We do not find that 
the oil was ever very extensively manufactured, and 
the discovery is now probably forgotten. The oil 
of poppy-seeds is now the succedaneum for genuine 
Olive Oil. 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


485 


ANECDOTE OF A WOLF. 

The Wolf is one of those ferocious animals in 
which attachment may be carried to the greatest ex¬ 
tent, and which presents us with one of the most 
singular examples of the developement to which the 
desire of affection may attain, a desire so extraordina¬ 
ry, that it has been known to prevail, in this animal, 
over every other necessity of his nature. 

The individual, instanced by Cuvier, must un¬ 
doubtedly have been naturally, of a very peculiar 
disposition. Brought up like a young dog, he be¬ 
came fatuiliar with every person whom he was in 
the habit of seeing. He would follow his master 
everywhere, seemed to suffer much from his ab¬ 
sence, was obedient to his voice, evinced, invariably, 
the most entire submission, and differed, in fact, in 
nothing from the tamest of domestic dogs. His 
master being obliged to travel, made a present of 
him to the Royal Menagerie at Paris. Here, shut 
up in his compartment, the animal remained for 
many weeks, without exhibiting the least gaiety, 
and almost without eating. He gradually, howev¬ 
er, recovered ; he attached himself to his keepers, 
and seemed to have forgotten his past affections, 
when his master returned, after an absence of eigh¬ 
teen months. At the very first word which he pro¬ 
nounced, the wolf, who did not see him in the crowd, 
instantly recognised him, and testified his joy by 
his motions and his cries. Being set at liberty, he 
overwhelmed his old friend with caresses, just as the 
most attached dog would have done after a separa¬ 
tion of a few days. Unhappily, his master was 
obliged to quit him a second time, and this absence 
was again, to the poor wolf, the cause of most pro¬ 
found regret. But time allayed his grief, three 
years elapsed, and the wolf was living very comfort¬ 
ably with a young dog, which had been given to 
him as his companion. After this space of time, 
which would have been sufficient to make any dog, 
except that of Ulysses, forget his master, the gentle¬ 
man again returned. It was evening, all was shut 
up, and the eyes of the animal could be of no use 
to him ; but the voice of his beloved master was not 
efiaced from his memory ; the moment he heard it, 
he knew it; he answered, by cries, indicative of the 
most impatient desire ; and when the obstacle which 
separated them was removed, his cries redoubled. 
The animal rushed forward, placed his two fore feet 
on the shoulders of his friend, licked every part of 
his face, and threatened, with his teeth, his very 
keepers, who approached, and to whom, an instant 
before, he had been testifying the warmest affection. 
Such an enjoyment, as was to be expected, was 
succeeded by the most cruel pain to the poor ani¬ 
mal. Separation again was necessary ; and from 
that instant the wolf became sad and immovable ; 
he refused all sustenance; pined away; his hairs bris¬ 
tled up, as is usual with all sick animals ; at the 
end of eight days, he was not to be known, and 
there was every reason to apprehend his death. His 
health, however, became re-established, he recover¬ 
ed his good condition of body, and brilliant coat; 
his keepers could again approach him, but he would 
not endure the caresses of any other person ; and 
he answered strangers by nothing but menaces. 

Such is the recital of a scientific naturalist, him¬ 


self an eye-witness of the facts which he relates, 
and who, we may well believe, as he himself asserts, 
has exaggerated nothing in his account of them. 
It is the narrative, not of an Ignorant exhibitor, or 
an ambitious traveller, but of a philosopher, not less 
distinguished for his patient habits of observation 
and comparison, than for the soundness and calm¬ 
ness of his general deductions. We dare not there¬ 
fore, refuse it a particle of credit, however little it 
may agree with the popular notions concerning the 
dispositions of the wolf, and the reports of travellers 
concerning it. But this animal has hitherto been 
known only in its wild state, surrounded with ene¬ 
mies and dangers, among which no feelings could be 
developed but those of fear, hatred, and distrust. 
Certain it is, that dogs suffered to run wild in the 
woods, from birth, become just as savage and fero¬ 
cious as wolves. So true is it, that to acquire a 
complete knowledge of the character of a species, 
of its essential intellectual qualities, it must be seen 
under every circumstance adapted for their manifes¬ 
tation.— Selected. 


Asthma —This disease is proverbially capricious; 
its severity, in one case, will be lessened by the same 
circumstances that would greatly heighten it in 
another. Dr. Johnson, who was afflicted with asth¬ 
ma, was frequently obliged to retire from the resi¬ 
dence of his friend Mr. Thrale, at Streatham, where 
the air was pure and fresh, to his own lodgings in 
the narrow precincts of Bolt-court; because he 
could breathe more freely in the smoke of London. 
An asthmatic gentleman, while building a house in 
an elevated and beautiful situation, lived in a cottage 
at the foot of the hill. When his mansion was fin¬ 
ished, he removed into it, but was so afflicted with 
asthma, that he was compelled to return to the cot¬ 
tage. Another person, being advised to travel for 
the relief of an asthma, found a certain village, the 
air of which suited him so well, that in the course 
of a few weeks, he was able to ascend a hill at a 
brisk pace, without stopping to take breath. 


Mischievousness of Monkeys.— Monkeys are 
famous for mischief, but seldom of so serious a kind 
as to endanger the life or limbs of those on whom 
they play their pranks. Sometimes, however, what 
is sport to them comes pretty near being death to 
man. Lieutenant Turner, an officer in the East 
India service, was lately shooting on a hillside, 
when he was alarmed by the descent of several great 
stones, which were rolled down upon him by a 
troop of monkeys, apparently with a settled design 
to crush him. One of the stones, in fact, hit him on 
the head, fracturing his skull in so terrible a manner 
that a portion of the brain protruded, and was re¬ 
moved by the knife of a surgeon. 


Fire Weed. —In Upper Canada, after the timber 
of a new tract of land has been burnt, a tall thistle, 
of rank and unpleasant scent, makes its appearance. 
If the soil be suffered to lie untilled during the first 
Summer, it is covered with an immense crop of this 
troublesome plant, which, because it springs from the 
ashes, is called the Fire Weed. 









486 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


TRANSPLANTATION OF FOREIGN PRODUCTS. 

[‘ Voyage of the Potomac.’] 

A proper estimation, in this country, has never 
been placed upon the benefits which might result to 
agriculture, and particularly to horticulture, from 
an e.xpedition to the coast of China. That country 
has a climate very similar to our own, arising from 
its similar position on the eastern edge of a great 
continent. Both are dry, and subject to greater 
vicissitudes of heat and cold than countries in the 
interior, or on the other side of the great continent. 
This being the case, the vegetable productions suita¬ 
ble to the one, cannot but thrive well in the 
otner. 

China has been a long time civilized, and the 
whole extent of its coast been for ages under a gov¬ 
ernment which has paid more attention to agricul¬ 
ture than any other government that ever existed. 
Under such circumstances, it is impossible to be 
otherwise, but that the vegetables and fruits of the 
various climates have been acclimated to a degree 
much beyond what they have with us, or in Europe, 
from whence we derive our fruit.s and vegetables. 

The territories of China enibracing both sides 
of the Tropic, we have every reason to believe that 
the productions of the south have been extended as 
far as possible to the north, and those of the north 
to the south. By getting, therefore, fruits and veg¬ 
etables from a country thus situated, we get the ad¬ 
vantage of a thousand or more years of acclimation. 
For instance, we procured our apples and pears 
originally from England and France. The apple 
we have not yet acclimated as far south as Georgia. 
There are, we believe, only one or two varieties, 
which, in the upper part of that state, prove fruitful 
in some years. Their flavour is very indifferent, so 
with the pear. Coming from the latitude of from 
forty-two to fifty, it is unproductive south of Balti¬ 
more ; and so with other fruits. 

Who can doubt that, in a country in which the 
extension and prosperity of agriculture have been tlie 
great object of government, their fruits and other | 
vegetables have, in the course of fifteen hundred 
years, been extending grarlually to the south, so as | 
to become used to a climate which it will take us 
nearly the same period to reach with the varieties 
of fruits which w^e now have. It is the same with 
the fruits and vegetable productions of the south. | 
The tropical fruits and vegetables must have been 
brought as far north as they can be profitably culti¬ 
vated. From fifteen hundred to two thousand i 
years have been passed in this process of acclima¬ 
tion. Why should we undergo this long process, i 
when a few thousand dollars may introduce them I 
among us? I 

It is well known, that among other plants, the su¬ 
gar cane may be gradually introduced into a climate 
w'hich w'as at one time uncongenial to it. The Ota- 
heite has been introduced into Louisiana. What a 
gain it would be to our country if we could obtain 
a variety, which could be raised one degree farther 
north than the Otaheite! The advantages from 
this single plant alone would a thousand times com¬ 
pensate for all the expenses of such an experiment, i 
For the introduction into this country of the various 
fruits and vegetables which such a country as China 


must produce, might be attended with advantages 
almost incalculable. 

We have already received from China one ani¬ 
mal, the benefits of which to our country surpass a 
thousand times the expenses which might accrue in 
setting on foot the proper inquiry in relation to this 
matter. The Chinese hog is the animal to which we 
allude. A long series of years devoted to the selec¬ 
tion of animals having a propensity to fatten, could 
alone have produced the breed, which has added so 
much to the wealth of our farmers, and to the pleas¬ 
ure of our epicures who admire a nice ham. What 
would our gardeners think of the immense piles of 
headed lettuce, described by travellers in China as 
heaped up at the gates of the cities, preparatory to 
entering and being distributed among the morning 
markets? We have nothing of the kind in the Uni¬ 
ted States or Europe. We cannot have, unless by 
hundreds of years of persevering industry and care. 

These things are more particularly of importance, 
because they are those in which the great mass of 
the community are directly and principally interest¬ 
ed. They add to the comfort of the poorest as 
much as they do to that of the richest. All are 
benefited, and none could complain of any expen¬ 
diture universally acknov\ ledged to be for the bene¬ 
fit of all classes, and all sections of our country. If 
there be any section to which it would be peculiar¬ 
ly productive of good, it is from latitude 32 degrees 
south. 

The introduction of one single vegetable, the tur¬ 
nip, into England, changed the whole face of a large 
district of country, and rendered it, from being 
almost barren, one of the most fertile in the king 
dom. 

As to the commercial advantages, independent of 
other articles of commerce, which might be brought 
into view, by means of such inquiries, we have no 
doubt that the iron of Formosa, if introduced into 
our country, would be found in ready demand, and 
that the highest advantages would arise from the 
use of it. That iron is of so superior a quality, that 
for some particular purposes, it would be invaluable. 
Such is the temper that can be given to it, it is sta¬ 
ted, that sw'ords made of it will sever with ease 
those made of ordinary steel. If we could obtain 
a sufficient quantity of this iron to make our finest 
edge-tools, and most delicately constructed instru¬ 
ments, it w'ould not only produce immediate benefit 
to the mechanic arts, but to a degree that we can 
hardly over-estimate, accelerate their future pro¬ 
gress. 


South American Boots— The Guachos, in South 
America, manufacture a very singular kind of boot; 
they strip the skin from the ham and part of the leg 
of a young colt, and thrust their own leg into it. 
The wddest part of the skin forms the calf of the 
boot, the hock is fitted to the heel, and the lower 
part covers the man’s foot, leaving an aperture, 
through which he [irotrudes his great toe, for the pur¬ 
pose ol placing it in the stirrup, when on horseback. 


In 1799, forty thousand inhabitants of Quito per¬ 
ished by an earthquake. Since that period, the cli¬ 
mate is much colder than formerly. 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


487 



SHAW’S PATENT THRESHING MACHINE. 

This Threshing Machine and Horse Power was in¬ 
vented by Mr. John Sliaw, of Kennebec, in the State 
of Maine. It received a premium at the Annual 
Fair of the American Institute, in October 1S3(), and 
likewise at the Albany Fair. The Journal of the 
American Institute speaks of it in favourable terms, 
as compared with the numerous other patent Ma¬ 
chines, which have been designed to facilitate the 
same department of rural labour. ‘The Horse Pow¬ 
er,’ it is remarked, ‘seems to present the greatest 


difficulty, and in this we think Mr. Shaw’s as good, 
and perhaps better, than any others; as it will oper¬ 
ate with as much certainty, with as little power, and 
at less expense, and being less complicated, is less 
liable to disorder ; and we are not abaid therefore, 
to recommend it to any farmer.’ We learn that 
competent judges, who have made a trial of the 
machine, prefer it to any other invention of the kind. 
Further information on the subject may be obtained 
of Messrs. T. L. Pollard A. Co. Albany, New 
York. 


ENGLISH COTTAGES. 

[‘Allan's Practical Tourist.’] 

Many of the cottages are built of cut stone, and 
are tastefully ornamented with little garden plots, 
laid out in front of them. The fruit trees covered 
witli blossoms, and the creeping vines forming cur¬ 
tains of verdure, sprinkled also with gay blossoms, 
nearly hide some of the walls from sight. These 
simple and economical decorations of the country 
house are more truly agreeable and attractive to the 
eye than the columns and stately portico fashioned 
by the chisel of the scul[)tor. The neglect of these 
natural and cheap modes of improving the appear¬ 
ance of farm-houses is lamentably common in the 
United Slates, where pride too often leads to the 
expense of erecting great houses, often three stories 
high, to lift up their exposed and naked fronts with¬ 
out a tree to throw a grateful shade about them. 
In frequent instances, these tall houses remain with 
unfinished rooms, and with several windows closed 
bv boards instead of glass ; or with broken panes 
sliifled with old hats, or other articles readily appli¬ 
cable to close the open chinks. Whilst surveying 
in the [rride of their hearts these lofty, unfinished 
structures, the proprietors are not aware that such 
buildings appear to most persons of judgment as 
juonuments at once of the vanity and folly of the 


builders; and excite pity rather than admiration. 
Thus has a misguided taste often been the cause of 
useless expense for the purpose of attempting pleas¬ 
ing architectural displays in the country, where a 
more agreeable result might have been attained in 
a simple and cheaper way. The dwelling, howev¬ 
er low and humble, which is embosomed by trees, 
and the walls, however rough, that are screened by 
a curtain of the honey-suckle, trumpet-flower, or 
other creeping vines, with a small patch of ground 
in front of them containing a few common wild flow¬ 
ers, display a far more attractive appearance. A 
trifling cost bestowed on these cheap natural embel¬ 
lishments will allow the proprietor to adapt the size 
or plan of his edifice to his own convenience, in 
point of internal arrangements, while he may dimin¬ 
ish the expense commonly sacrificed in arcliitectur- 
al decorations for ornamenting the exterior, to please 
the eye of strangers.* The villages are frequently 

* If it were not trespassing upon the domestie province of the 
fair of the United States, it might be suggested to their considera¬ 
tion, that although they are themselves the most attractive objects 
in tlie palace as well as the cottage, yet the home where they are 
destined to preside, and dwell with husbands, brothers or children, 
will lose none of its charms to lure the absent home, if associated in 
recollection with over-mantling vines and Howers ; and the bright 
eyes and dimpling smile of the loveliest maiden, will not be seen 
to disadvantage at tbe window overhung with honev-suck'ei and 
roses. 












































































































































































































































































488 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


rendered so neat in appearance from the taste thus 
bestowed, that they might serve as a model of a po¬ 
et’s description of rural residences. Some of the 
pretty cottages, as a friend informed me, are hired 
by gentlemen as summer residences for their families. 

^VOOD ENGRAVING. 

[‘Dunlap’s History of the Arts of Design.’] 

As engraving and printing unquestionably had 
their origin in China, it will be proper to give a 
sketch of the peculiar modes practised in that empire. 
The design is made on a thin, transparent paper, 
and pasted with the face downwards on the block; 
it is then engraved by cutting through the paper into 
the wood, leaving standing only those portions of 
the surface which appear black in the drawing. 
Their tools are similar in many respects to those of 
other block cutlers, ancient and modern, consisting 
of a knife for outlining, with gouges, chisels, &.c. of 
various shapes, for clearing away the wood. They 
use them with much celerity, especially the knife, 
■which they guide with both hands ; this facility en¬ 
ables them to furnish their blocks with great rapidity, 
and at an astonishingly cheap rate. The Chinese 
have never attempted the use of moveable types; 
all their books, illustrative or descriptive, being prin¬ 
ted from wooden blocks, cut in the manner described; 
and this mode is to them far more economical, ow¬ 
ing to the low price of workmanship of every kind. 

Their method of printing is simple, and peculiar 
to themselves. The block must be in a firm and 
level position, being first tightly fi.ved in a larger 
piece of wood to give it stability ; in front of this 
the paper is placed, cut to the proper size. The 
ink (which is merely a reduction without oil of that 
known as Indian ink) being distributed on a smooth 
piece of board, the workman takes a moderately 
stiff brush, which he dips into it, and rubs the block 
carefully therewith. The paper is next laid over, 
and rubbed with a second brush, which is soft, and 
shaped like an oblong cushion ; the paper not being 
sized, a gentle pressure is sufficient, which may be 
repeated or regulated, as occasion may offer. A 
third brush very stiff, is used for cleaning the blocks. 
These brushes are curiously made of the fine fibres 
of the palm or cocoanut trees. A set of these print¬ 
ing materials, supposed to be the only specimens 
in Europe, may be seen in the Museum of the En¬ 
glish East India Company. In the manner described, 
without the aid of any press, have all impressions 
been taken in China, from the earliest periods to the 
present day. Their ])aper being so very thin, is 
printed on one side only, and each leaf in their books 
is folded in binding, and the edges turned inwards, 
and stitched with silk. There is much neat and cu¬ 
rious execution about some of their cuts, but they 
seldom go beyond outlines, and are altogether defi¬ 
cient in the true principles of drawing. 

Much disputation has arisen as to the period 
when engraving was first practised in Europe. The 
earliest specimen of which there is any record is said 
to have been executed, on wood, at Ravenna, in 
1285. In the next, or 14th century, the produc¬ 
tions of the art were chiefly playing-cards and fig¬ 
ures of saints. It was practised, first in the Vene- 
\ian States, and afterwards in Germany and the Low 


Countries, to a great extent. The impressions ap¬ 
pear to have been taken by a hand-roller, the press 
not being known until the following century, in the 
early part of which larger subjects, of a devotional 
kind, with inscriptions, were engraved. Several of 
these curious prints are still extant; amongst them, 
in the possession of Earl Spencer, is the celebrated 
one of St. Christopher bearing the infant Jesus, 
remarkable as being the earliest print to which is 
assigned a certain date, viz. 1423. The success of 
these gave rise to a more extensive application of 
the art. Scriptural designs of many figures were 
cut with descriptive texts on each block; they were 
printed on one side only of the paper, and two of 
the prints were frequently pasted together to fd?tn 
one leaf, with a picture on each side; entire sets 
were subsequently bound up, and thus were formed 
the block books so well known to antiquaries. 
The Apocalypse of St. John, probably the first of 
these works, was published ab#ut the year 1420; 
one of the identical blocks cut for it still exists in 
the library of Earl Spencer. The latest and most 
noted of them, the ‘ Speculum Ilumanm Salvation- 
is,’ appeared in the year 1440, and being partly 
printed from movable wooden types, became the 
connecting medium that gradually introduced the 
invaluable art of typography, which, facilitating the 
production of books, was the means of greatly in¬ 
creasing the demand for wood cuts for primers, 
prayer books, &c. In 1457, Faust produced his Psal¬ 
ter, printed with metal types, and initials in colours 
from blocks. Typography was introduced into 
England in 1474, but was executed in a ruder man¬ 
ner than on the continent; and till 1493, wood 
cuts every where consisted of little more than out¬ 
line. In that year, a great improvement was per¬ 
ceptible, and attempts were made at cross-hatching. 
This was carried to a much higher perfection by Al¬ 
bert Durer, an eminent painter, who published sever¬ 
al large works of high talent, and who engraved on 
copper as well as wood. The 16th century produc¬ 
ed Holbein, and many other able wood engravers, 
in several parts of continental Europe. In the 17th 
century the art visibly declined, owing to the supe¬ 
rior cultivation of copper engraving, and by the 
year 1700, it had sunk to a very depressed state. 
With the exception of the French family of Papillon, 
its annals afford no name of distinction, till 1768, 
when Bewick, who had the genius of a painter, ap¬ 
peared. His works are well known, and effected, 
by their excellence, the restoration of an almost lost 
art. Other artists have since introduced a richer 
and more varied style of workmanship, which has 
led to the adoption of the art to so wide an extent 
as must ever prevent its again sinking into neglect. 

The theory and practice of this art are in princi¬ 
ple the reverse of engraving on copper ; in the latter 
the lines to be printed are sunk or cut in the plate; 
these being filled with ink, are by means of a rolling 
press transferred in effect to the paper. In wood 
engraving, on the contrary, the parts that are to ap¬ 
pear must be raised, or rather left untouched, and 
hence it is frequently termed relief engraving. In 
printing, the surface is only charged with ink, and 
the itnpression is taken as from types. The copper 
engraver rarely uses more than three tools of the kind 




OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


called burins, or gravers. The artist on wood requires 
according to circumstances, from ten to tifieen or 
eighteen, called gravers, tools for tinting and sculp¬ 
tures, the latter are used for cutting out the broad¬ 
er parts which are to be left white. The earlier ar¬ 
tists cut on various kinds of wood, such as the apple, 
pear, &c.: these being termed soft woods, are now 
only in request for calico printing, and other manu¬ 
facturing purposes; for as the style of work improv¬ 
ed, they were abandoned, and box was tried on ac¬ 
count of its superior texture and compactness, which 
have caused it to be the only kind used for every sub¬ 
ject that can be properly termed a work of art. 
The surface of the wood to be engraved is carefully 
planed, scraped, &c. so as to render it as smooth as 
possible, in order to receive the draw'ing which must 
be put on the block itself, previously to commencing 
the engraving. The artist in its execution, has to 
arrange the strength and direction of the lines re¬ 
quired for the various parts and distances, so that 
the printed impression, though composed of differ¬ 
ent series of interlineations, may present the same 
character in effect as the original drawing. 

Much care is requisite, on the part of the engra¬ 
ver, to prevent a delicate design from being rubbed 
during the process of cutting; and it is usually cov¬ 
ered with paper, which is removed by degrees as 
required. It will be apparent also, how much de¬ 
pends upon the skill of the engraver, when it is con¬ 
sidered, that with every line cut by the tool, a por¬ 
tion of the effect of his original is removed, and his 
recollective powers and taste must be in constant 
exercise, to preserve the points of the design ; and 
the block must be wholly engraved before any im¬ 
pression can be taken. The copper engraver, on 
the contrary, is enabled to take progressive proofs 
of his work, and has his original drawing unimpair¬ 
ed, constantly before him. The latter has also 
another important advarjtage, in what is termed 
tintins:; inasmuch as all his skies and flat back- 
grounds can be cut on the plate itself by mechanical 
means ; and his various tints are thereby produced 
with every required delicacy. The wood-engraver 
can have no such facility ; all depends upon the 
steadiness of the eye and hand, properly to effect 
the object, by cutting line after line individually, 
without any auxiliary assistance whatever. 

These brief explanations may show the principles 
on which all wood engravings are effected. Thus, 
whether the design relate to landscape, the human 
figure, or any other subject, it must be composed of 
an infinite number and variety of projecting por¬ 
tions of wood, produced by those delineations 
which, in the judgment of the engraver, are best 
calculated to convey, when printed, the desired ef¬ 
fect. 

The ancient mode of working was on the side of 
the grain, the wood being cut the longitudinal way 
of the tree ; this method continued, for all wood 
cuts, till about the year 1725, when the present 
method was commenced in England, of cutting the 
tree transversely, or across. This plan, present¬ 
ing the end of the grain, admits, from its greater 
tenacity, of a finer kind of workmanship, and the 
application of the description of tools before named. 
The block cutters for paper hangings, &c. have 


their wood prepared in the same way as the o/d 
masters, and of course use similar tools; the chief 
of which is a knife, shaped somewhat like a lancet, 
with which the line must be cut on both sides, and 
the superfluous wood must be removed by gouges, 
chisels, Slc. of various shapes, as derived originally 
from the Chinese. When we consider that in this 
way all the finished works of the ancients were pro¬ 
duced, it attaches a very great degree of merit to 
them; it being evidently a more tedious process 
than the modern ; since, if a line be cut with the 
knife, it must be met by another line, before any 
wood can be taken out; whereas, in the present 
mode, the graver, as it cuts the incision, removes 
the wood at the instant of operation. 

The value of wood engraving is becoming daily 
more and more apparent in both hemispheres, by 
the demands on the talents of those who practise it. 
Its prominent points and beauties will hereby, by 
degrees, become more universally understood ; but 
for this a thorough reformation in printing is neces¬ 
sary. Considering the innumerable works contin¬ 
ually issued, illustrated with wood cuts, the public 
have, with very few exceptions, but little chance of 
duly estimating its merits; since, in the greater 
number of these books, the engravings are printed 
in so heedless a manner, as scarcely to deserve, by 
their appearance, the name of embellishments. Pub¬ 
lishers will no doubt, ere long, discover it to be their 
true interest to give more serious attention to this 
subject; which is of vital importance to the reputa¬ 
tion of the art. 


NATURAL HISTORY AMONG THE ANCIENTS. 

In a comparison between ancient and modern 
times, nothing is more remarkable than the igno¬ 
rance and misconceptions of the learned men of old, 
in regard to natural science. Their strictly intellec¬ 
tual cultivation was the most perfect of which human 
powers are susceptible; but they were mere children 
in all matters that are to be learned by physical ex¬ 
periments, the observation of facts, and scientific 
analysis. Pliny the Elder, who lived in the most 
enlightened Roman era, and had acquired all the 
science of the ancient world, wrote a huge work on 
Natural History, which is full of the most laugha¬ 
ble absurdities. The more of such false knowledge 
a man had, the greater fool he was. As a pretty 
fair specimen of this book, we condense a few pas¬ 
sages from that part which describes the characteris¬ 
tics of different nations :— 

The Arimaspii, who dwell near the Scythians, are 
distinguished from other men, by having only a sin¬ 
gle eye, in the centre of the forehead. Not far from 
their country, there are found wild people, who as¬ 
sociate with the brute beasts, and whose feet grow 
backwards, being turned behind the calves of the 
legs. They are prodigiously swift runners. In Alba¬ 
nia there is a race of men who are gray-headed from 
childhood, and who see better in the darkness than 
by daylight. In Pontus there is a kind of people 
who can never be made to sink nor be drowned in 
the water, whatever weight is attached to their bod¬ 
ies. Some of the inhabitants of Ethiopia are so. 
venomous that if their sweat do but touch a man’s 
body, he immediately falls sick of a consumption. 

G2 





490 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


In the vicinity of Rome, there are certain families, 
the individuals of which can walk in the midst of a 
blazing fire, without being burnt, or anywise in¬ 
commoded by the heat. There was such medicinal 
efficacy in the great toe of King Pyrrhus, that by a 
mere touch he could cure all who were afflicted with 
liver complaints. In India, there are men seven 
and a half feet high, and of such excellent constitu¬ 
tions, that they are never troubled with head-ache, 
tooth-ache, or sore eyes, and very seldom with dis¬ 
eases of any kind. Among the hills of that region, 
dwell people with heads like dogs, and whose con¬ 
versation is carried on by barking. There is like¬ 
wise a race of men called Monoscelli, who are 
provided with but one one leg apiece, on which they 
hop very nimbly. The foot, which is appended to 
this single leg, is so broad, that in the heat of Sum¬ 
mer, they lie down on their backs, raise their legs 
perpendicularly, and thus defend themselves from 
the heat of the sun by the shadow of their feet. 
Another people have only two small holes, instead of 
noses, and legs and arms so limber, that they creep 
about like serpents. In the farthest part of India 
towards the East, near the source of the river Gan¬ 
ges, there is a nation that have no mouths, and do not 
subsist by eating and drinking, but by inhaling sweet 
perfumes through their nostrils ; they dwell among 
the woods, where they may snuff the scent of wild 
flowers and fruits ; but if any strong and unpleasant 
odour chance to pollute the air, they are soon over¬ 
come by it, and die. (It was a happy circumstance 
for these sweet-scented people, that there were no 
skunks in that part of the world ; this vile beast be¬ 
ing competent to annihilate the whole nation, by one 
foul catastrophe.) The same country is also inhab¬ 
ited by the Pygmies, whose ordinary stature is a 
foot and a half, and whose houses are constructed 
of tnud, the feathers of birds, and egg shells. One 
race of the inhabitants of India live tvvo hundred 
years, and have hoary hair in youth, which becomes 
black, as they advance in age. There is another 
nation, where the women are marriageable at the 
age of five, and grow old and die at eight. A cer¬ 
tain people have long shaggy tails, and are remarka¬ 
bly swift of foot; others have such immense ears, 
that they serve to cover their whole bodies. Some 
of the Ethiopians are above twelve feet high. In 
the deserts of Africa, the traveller often meets with 
fairies, wearing the semblance of men and women; 
but, on a nearer view, they vanish away like fantas¬ 
tical illusions. 

Like the fairies in the African deserts, all these 
fabulous varieties of the human race have disappear¬ 
ed, in the progress of modern intelligence ; and their 
memory is worth preserving, only as a sample of 
what would have been the contents of a Magazine 

, o 

of Useful Knowledge, about eighteen hundred years 
ago. Yet, let us not look back too scornfully upon 
those elder times; for Science is even now but in 
her alphabet; and it is unquestionable, that future 
investigations will convict the present age of ab¬ 
surdities as intrinsically, though perhaps not so 
glaringly ridiculous, as any in Pliny’s Natural 
History. 


Indian Corn in England. —Indian corn is not ri¬ 
pened in England in ordinary years, but is frequently 
planted in the best gardens, that a few stalks may 
annually lift on high their broad flaunting leaves, as 
a sort of outlandish product, to adorn the border 
of a walk, and perhaps to flatter the pride of the 
proprietor of the grounds. He thus beholds all 
classes of the vegetable kingdom assembled, like the 
captives from far distant nations brought together 
in a Roman triumphal procession, in subjection to 
the art that has in a degree subdued nature, and 
caused the vegetable tribes of every climate to live 
and flourish as vigorously in an English garden as in 
their native soil. Throughout England, an ear of 
Indian corn, as a sort of curiosity, may be seen sus¬ 
pended from the shop windows of the seedsmen’s 
stores, where it serves as a well known sign. On 
inquiring for my old acquaintance, the yellow faced 
pumpkin, I found that it is held in little considera¬ 
tion out of the borders of the land of thanksgivings 
and pumpkin pies. The squash is known by anoth¬ 
er name, and is rarely raised in the English gardens. 
An American gentleman resident at Leeds told me 
that he had seen at a shop window a dried squash 
and an ear of Indian corn, labelled ‘American 
Fruits.’— Selected. 


Andrew Ferrara. —This was the name of a fa¬ 
mous manufacturer of sword blades, who dwelt in 
the highlands of Scotland. He was the only man 
of his day, in Great Britain, who was acquainted 
with the method of tempering swords in such a 
manner, that when the point was bent so as to touch 
the hilt, the blade would spring back uninjured. 
In allusion to this artist, broad-swords were long 
known by the name of Andrew Ferrara. 


Goldfinch. —A goldfinch, belonging to the cap¬ 
tain of a vessel, became restless and unusually ac¬ 
tive, for some hours previous to the discovery of 
land. He sang continually, and his notes were 
louder, clearer, and more thrilling, than they had 
been during the voyage. The difl'erence of air, as 
the vessel approached the land, had evidently enliv¬ 
ened his spirits; and this was so invariably the case, 
in every voyage, that the captain affirmed that he 
would trust as much to his bird, for information 
that land was near, as to his spy-glass. 


PoTOSi.—The most elevated spot on earth, that 
is permanently inhabited, is supposed to be the town 
of Potosi, which is situated among the Cordilleras, at 
a height of 13,265 feet above the level of the Pacific 
Ocean. 


Silk Manufacture.— The silk business is of 
older standing in the United States, than some may 
suppose. It is recorded in a newspaper of 1792, 
that, at the wedding of three couple in Bradford, 
Pennsylvania, all the ladies wore silk gowns of their 
own raising and reeling, and which had been woven 
in the neighbourhood. 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


491 


INDIANS OF FRASER’S RIVER. 

Fraser’s River is the principal stream in a large 
tract of country called New Caledonia, in the west¬ 
ern regions of North America. The Indians, in¬ 
habiting the upper shores of this river, are of the 
lowest order of red men ; nor can their degradation 
be imputed to the influence of the whites. Their 
customs are entirely indigenous, and untainted by 
any tincture of civilisation. 

The usual habitations of these people are large 
huts, partitioned into several divisions, each of 
which is occupied by a separate family. In the 
winter, however, they dig holes in the earth, where 
men, women, children, and dogs, burrow together 
in dirt and nastiness, till warmer weather recalls them 
to the light of day. They appear to be the filthiest 
wretches that ever polluted the pure air of the for¬ 
est. They never bathe, nor wash themselves, on 
any account whatever ; and their bodies are con¬ 
sequently encrusted with a thick shell of dirt, which 
they are careful to preserve unimpaired, as a defence 
against the cold of Winter and the scorching rays of 
the Summer’s sun. 

Their mental and moral habits are in accordance 
with their physical uncleanness. They are the on¬ 
ly uncivilized people who have no reverence for 
age, nor regard for the ties of kindred and relation¬ 
ship. The sick are left to die, and the old and in¬ 
firm are turned away to starve. Yet it is a singu¬ 
lar contrast to their disregard of these natural ties, 
that they consider the matrimonial bond too strong 
to be broken even by death. The body of a dead 
person is kept nine days in his habitation, during 
which time the widow must spend all her nights, 
from sunset to sunrise, by the side of the decaying 
corpse, slumbering on the same couch where her 
husband lies in the sleep of death. On the ninth 
day, the dead man is placed on a funeral pile, con¬ 
structed of sticks of cypress, intermixed with pieces 
of resinous wood. The widow is compelled to lie 
down beside the corpse ; fire is communicated to 
the pile ; and thus far, the ceremony bears a strik¬ 
ing resemblance to the suttees among the Hindoos. 
The Indian widow, however, is not burnt to death ; 
but, when her skin is pretty well blistered by the 
flames, is snatched from the pile by her surrounding 
kinsmen. If, during her husband’s life-time, she 
has shown herself a negligent or unfaithful wife, his 
relations seize her, and again throw her upon the 
funeral pile ; and thus the poor woman is bandied 
to-and-fro, till more than half dead with scorches 
and bruises. 

But the most horrible doom of her widowhood re¬ 
mains yet to be inflicted. It now becomes her duty 
to collect her husband’s bones from among the ash¬ 
es of the funeral pile, and to roll them up in a cover¬ 
ing of birch-bark, which thenceforth she must always 
carry on her back. The ashes of the body are bu¬ 
ried in a grave, which the widow must keep free 
from weeds, rooting them up with her fingers, while 
the kindred of the dead stand by and compel her to 
diligence by blows. She is considered the slave of 
all the tribe, and is subjected to the severest labours 
and hardships, and to all sorts of cruelty that the 
devilish nature of these barbarians can invent. 
Even the little children have absolute power over 


the poor woman, who bears her husband’s bones 
upon her back. She suffers this treatment for sever¬ 
al years, during all which time, she is not relieved 
from her dreadful burden of mortality, until perhaps 
driven to suicide. It is not uncommon, we are told, 
for the hunters in that region to find the corpses of 
females hanging to the boughs of trees. 

If, however, she possess fortitude enough to en¬ 
dure her sufferings, they are at length terminated by 
a grand ceremonial in which all the tribe bear part; 
and she is declared free to contract matrimony a 
second time. Very few women have the folly to 
take advantage of this license, at the risk of again 
undergoing the terrible ordeal of widowhood. 


Tukkish Coin. —Every kind of Turkish coin, 
we are informed by the author of Letters from Con¬ 
stantinople, is made of one and the same metal. 
The para is worth only the seven hundred-and-twen- 
tieth part of our dollar, or the fortieth part of a 
Turkish piastre ; but if the para be gilded, it instant¬ 
ly becomes a rubick, which is worth three piastres, 
or the sixth of a dollar. A twenty para piece, by 
the process of gilding, acquires the value of twenty 
piastres. It is to be presumed that there is some 
regulation as to the quantity of gilding which is laid 
over the metal, in order to effect this change of 
value. 


Macadamized Road.— Between forty and fifty 
years ago, Mr. John Curwen, an Englishman, con¬ 
structed a high-road on the same plan which Mr. 
Macadam has since claimed as his own invention. 
It was between Philadelphia and Lancaster. The 
bottom was formed of common earth, over which 
was spread a concave layer of stones, broken into 
about the bigness of a man’s fist. ‘This road,’ says 
the American Annual Register, for 1796, ‘with a 
small expense for repairs, will endure for centuries. 
We should like to know whether it is in existence at 
this moment, without having undergone any funda¬ 
mental alteration. 


Rheumatism.— The Indians on the Western coast 
of North America are very successful in their treat¬ 
ment of this disease. When it has been recently 
contracted, they cure it by immersing the patient 
through a hole in the ice, where he undergoes a fric¬ 
tion of the shoulders, back, and loins ; the tempera¬ 
ture being sometimes so severe, that the water con¬ 
geals on the upper parts of his body. He is then 
wrapt in a blanket, placed before a good fire, and 
soon feels a warm glow throughout his whole sys¬ 
tem. The repetition of the process generally effects 
a radical cure. Chronic rheumatism, where the pa¬ 
tient is advanced in life, is treated in a different 
manner. He is placed in a hut of deer-skins, shaped 
like a bee-hive, about four feet high and three broad. 
Some hot stones are then introduced, and water 
thrown upon them ; and the entrance being quick¬ 
ly closed, the patient is almost suffocated by the 
heat and steam. When taken out, in a state of 
profuse perspiration, he is covered with blankets and 
conveyed to bed. This operation greatly alleviates 
the complaint. 








492 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


VOICE OF THE WIND. 

Mr. Head, the author of ‘ North American For¬ 
est Scenes,’ who passed a Winter on the shores of 
Kempenfeldt Bay, an outlet of Lake Huron, has 
described, in a very pleasing manner, the various 
natural appearances and events that give interest to 
an abode in those frozen regions. ‘ 1 w'as,’ says he, 
‘ occasionally surprised by sounds produced by the 
wind, indescribably awful and grand. Whether 
the vast sheet of ice was made to vibrate and bel¬ 
low like the copper, which generates the thunder of 
the stage, or whether the air rushing through its 
cracks and fissures produced the noise, I will not 
pretend to say; still less to describe the various in¬ 
tonations that struck upon the ear. A dreary, un¬ 
dulating sound wandered from point to point, per¬ 
plexing the mind to imagine whence it came or 
whither it went, whether aerial or subterraneous; 
sometimes like low moaning, and then swelling into 
a deep-toned note, as if produced by some iEolian 
instrument; it being in fact and without metaphor, 
the voice of winds imprisoned in the bosom of the 
deep. This night I listened for the first time to 
what was then perfectly new to me, although I ex¬ 
perienced its repetition on many subsequent occa¬ 
sions, whenever the temperature fell very suddenly.’ 

RETURN OF SPRING. 

[Head’s ‘North American Forest Scenes.'] 

The following is an animated picture of the 
breaking up of the ice, at the return of Spring: 

‘ I perceived in the morning all the ice broken in 
pieces, and floating towards the lake. It was mov¬ 
ing slowly away, and a considerable extent of wa¬ 
ter was already uncovered. This was a joyful 
sight, for of all things a sheet of water conveys the 
most lively impressions to the mind ; and confined 
as I was, from the impassable state of the ice, to 
the shores on one side of the bay, the barrier was 
no sooner removed than I felt a sensation of libera¬ 
tion, which seemed to be shared by the turbulent 
waves themselves, as, just risen from their bondage, 
they rallied as it were, and held council together, 
bubbling and fretting in their eagerness to press on 
the rear of their retiring enemy. The wind chased 
the chilly field before it, which, split into mammocks, 
was every minute retiring farther from the sight, 
till about three o’clock in the afternoon, when the 
lively change was altogether perfect, and Kempen¬ 
feldt Bay, so long the type of dreary Winter, be¬ 
came a lovely basin of pure water. And, as if to 
add to the gratification, the ice had no sooner dis¬ 
appeared than the wind lulled, and the sun beamed 
forth to embellish a spot excelling in natural charms. 
As the evening advanced, it was beautiful to see 
the enormous pines with which the banks were 
fringed, reflected in the water, while the winding 
coast presented a pleasing variety of sandy beach 
and bluff, rocky headland. Nor were the animal 
creation insensible to the moment; the large fish 
leaped incessantly high out of the water, and it w'as 
scarcely dark before a flock of wild fowl flew round 
and round in circles, lowering themselves by de¬ 
grees, till each, one after another, dashed heavily 
into the favourite element. A sportsman can rea¬ 
dily comprehend how animating it was to listen to 


the wild sounds which now broke upon the ear, as 
the feathered troop held their babbling conversa¬ 
tion together; and diving and splashing by turns, 
commenced every now and then a short flight for 
the sake of a fresh launch upon the water. Every 
thing now was new; nature had thrown ofl’ her 
homely winter’s garb, and was beginning to unveil 
her beauties. My enjoyments were from that day 
increased, and fish and fowl were added to my 
resources.’ 


Mahometan Libraries. —It is difficult to be¬ 
lieve that immense libraries were formerly in the 
possession of the princes of the East, where learn¬ 
ing of every kind is now almost entirely obliterated. 
The library of the Caliphs of Egypt, about a thou¬ 
sand years ago, was contained in forty halls of their 
palace at Cairo, and consisted of one million five 
hundred thousand manuscript volumes, many of 
which were in the hand-writing of the authors. All 
these books were remarkable for the beauty of the 
characters in which they were written, and for the 
splendour of the binding, which was enriched with 
gold, silver, and precious stones. During the trou¬ 
bles which disturbed a part of the reign of the 
Caliph Moskaner, about the year 1080, this vast 
library was greatly injured by the Turkish soldiers, 
who took the books in payment of their wages. 
The bindings of some of these books were stripped 
off, and used as shoe-leather. Others were torn in 
pieces, and burnt, or thrown into the Nile, or trans¬ 
ported to foreign countries. A large number, how¬ 
ever, remained in heaps, in the open air, where the 
w'ind gradually covered them with earth and sand. 
Thus several hillocks were formed, which were long 
visible in the vicinity of Cairo, and were called the 
Hills of Books. 


Turkish Idleness.— A Turk never works, if 
there is a possibility of his being idle. ‘ I have 
never seen one stand,’ observes Commodore Porter, 
‘ if by any possibility he could be seated. A black¬ 
smith sits cross-legged at his anvil, and seats him¬ 
self when he shoes a horse. A carpenter seats 
himself when he saws, bores holes, or drives a nail, 
planes, dubs with his small adze, or chops with his 
hatchet. (I believe I have named all his tools,) if it 
be possible to do so without standing.’ How dif¬ 
ferent are these customs from our own. In Amer¬ 
ica, hardly any workmen, except shoemakers and 
tailors, sit down ; and even clerks stand up to write— 
a practice which, perhaps, might be advantageously 
adopted by literary men. But intense mental exer¬ 
tion (except it be oratorical) seems to require a 
sedentary posture. 


Count d’ Estaing. This French Admiral, well 
known in our Revolutionary history, died by the 
guillotine, in 1793. A similar fate, under the 
French Republic, befell many who had assisted in 
founding the Republic of America. 


The statue of William III, at Dublin, erected in 
1701, in commemoration of the battle of the Boyne, 
has been blown up and entirely defaced. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


493 


FASHIONS OF HATS. 

The Magasin Universel (a French Penny Maga¬ 
zine, to which we have been indebted for much use¬ 
ful and entertaining matter) observes, in regard to 
the subject of this article :— 

‘ In lew things is fashion so variable as in hats. 
Whole volumes might be occupied with the history 
of the innumerable changes, which this one article 
of the toilet has undergone. These changes must 
have cost so much the greater efforts of invention, 
because a hat is a very simple thing in itself, and 
susceptible of only a limited variety of combinations. 
Sometimes the crown of the hat has been lowered, 
and almost flattened ; sometimes it has been eleva¬ 
ted into a point, like the cap of a magician. By 
turns the rim has been widened or narrowed, turned 
up, or slouched down, and always without reference 
to the season of the year, which ought to be the 
chief consideration in fi.xing the shapes of hats. It 
has often happened that, in the Summer months, 
the face is exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, 
by a hat almost without a rim ; while in Winter, 
when not a particle of sunshine can be spared, an 
immense breadth of brim throws a circular shadow 
round the wearer. Fashion is not seldom the re¬ 
verse of comfort; and it is singular that the majori¬ 
ty of people should agree in sacrificing the latter to 
the former.’ 

We confess that, in examining the followingseries 
of cuts, we have been struck rather by the similarity 
than the diversity of hats, in different ages. In ev¬ 
ery specimen we observe a round crown and a brim; 
and it appears to us that all the variations, which 
the hat has assumed in the course of many centuries, 
might have been contrived by an active fancy, in 
one or two hours. In dress, as in everything else, 
an absolutely new idea is as rare as the discovery 
of a new planet. 

The hat itself, however, or any other separate 
covering for the head, except for the purpose of de¬ 
fence in battle, appears to have been unknown 
among the ancients. As a protection against rain 
or cold, when the hair was insufficient, they proba¬ 
bly drew their mantles over their heads. We are 
indebted for the invention of the hat to the Saxons, 
who inhabited a country where the great changes 
of temperature rendered a garment for the head as 
desirable as for the rest of the body. The first hats 
mentioned in history were made of wool or felt. 
The poet Chaucer, at a later period, represents a 
merchant as wearing a Flemish beaver. Froissart, 
in his Chronicles, makes frequent mention of hats, 
although, according to some chronological tables, 
they were not invented till 1404, many years after 
the historian flourished, and were first made in Lon¬ 
don in 1510. Some of the early fashions may be 
seen in the two following figures. 



At a very early period, white hats were worn by 


the fashionables of the city of Ghent, in Flanders, 
and it has been conjectured that the shape and col 
our of the hat were regulated by the politics of the 
wearer, and made known the party to which he be¬ 
longed. Mrs. Trollope, in her recent work, informs 
us that the same kind of political emblem is now in 
use at Paris. In an inventory of the personal efl'ects 
of an English knight, in the year 1459, one entry 
is of a beaver hat, lined with flowered damask, be¬ 
sides two straw hats. In 1517, hats of enormous 
size came into fashion, and were worn entirely on 
one side of the head. Henry VIII. king of England 
bought a hat and plume for fifteen shillings, or be¬ 
tween three and four dollars—which, considering 
the relative value of money at that period, was a 
price that could be afforded only by monarchs and 
nobles. The hats, in the next cut, are said to be 
copied from a picture, painted in the year 1544. 
One of them is of so familiar a shape, that we should 
not ourself be ashamed to wear it this very day, 
on the sunny side of Washington Street. 



It now became the fashion to line hats with vel¬ 
vet, and to manufacture them with high crowns, 
and occasionally with very broad brims. Specimens 
of these may be seen in the following cut, the first 
figure of which is taken from a portrait of the Earl 
of Morton, a Scotchman, and the second from that 
of Sir Philip Sidney, who was the most accomplish¬ 
ed gentleman of his age. His hat is one of the odd¬ 
est in the series. 



The wearing of hats appears to have been long a 
privilege, enjoyed only by lords, knights, and gentle¬ 
men. In the reign of Elizabeth, it was enacted 
that every person, above seven years old, unless of 
knightly rank, or possessed of a certain property in 
land, should wear a woollen cap, or pay a fine of 
three farthings. At this period, the privileged 
ranks were very extravagant in their hats. Some 
were made of silk, some of velvet, some of taffeta, 
some of wool, some of a fine species of fur, which was 
imported from distant regions. They were adorn¬ 
ed with black, white, brown, red, green, or yellow 
ribbons. In course of time, hats became so com¬ 
mon as to lose their sacred character, and to be 
worn not only by knights and nobles, but by their 
meanest domestics. 

In the reign of Charles the First, and until the 









494 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


accession of the Prince of Orange, broad brims 
were in fashion. The Puritans were distinguished 
from the Cavaliers by their steeple-crowned hats. 
Some of the modes which prevailed, during this in¬ 
terval, are represented in the four following figures. 



But these broad brims being found troublesome, 
the inconvenience was remedied, not by cutting 
them oflf, but by turning them up against the side of 
the hat. First one segment of the brim was eleva¬ 
ted ; then, two. 



About the commencement ot the last century, or 
somewhat sooner, the third segment of the brim was 
raised, and the result was a three-cornered cocked 
hat. 



During the fifty or sixty years that ensued, the 
three-cornered hat, with unimportant variations of 
shape, was universally worn by men of all ranks and 
ages. Children, likewise, were adorned with a pair 
of breeches at one extremity of their persons, and 
a triangular hat at the other. Round hats first be¬ 
gan to be worn by the common people in 1750, or 
thereabouts, but were not adopted by the higher 
classes till nearly thirty years later. In times not 
long gone by, we used occasionally to be greeted by 
an apparition of 

‘ The old three-cornered hat, 

Aad the breeohes—and all that,’ 


but now, we are inclined to doubt whether the last 
of the three-cornered hats be not hung upon a peg. 

On reviewing our series of cuts, we do not per¬ 
ceive that a single one of these successive fashions 
was calculated to add grace to the wearer’s aspect, 
nor very well adapted to the more important pur¬ 
poses of a garment for the head. Nor can the more 
modern variations be considered as improvements, 
in either respect. Would it be beneath the digni¬ 
ty of men of science, taste and genius, to turn their 
attention to this, and other matters of dress? By 
bringing philosophical principles to bear upon the 
subject, with regard to elegance and utility, they 
might possibly present the world with fashions, 
which should be as universal as the difierence of 
climate would permit, and immutable in the coun¬ 
tries where they should be once established. We 
have not much faith, however, in any projects 
which seek to contravene the maxim, that the ‘ fash¬ 
ion of this world passeth away.’ 

Fire Worshippers.— There is a sect in Hindos- 
tan, who call themselves descendants of the ancient 
Persians, and, like tlieir ancestors, pay adoration to 
the sun, the moon, and stars, but especially to fire, 
esteeming all these objects as visible emblems of the 
invisible Deity. Like the Roman Vestals, they 
keep a perpetual fire in their temples, feeding it with 
odoriferous woods, of great value. Private individ¬ 
uals, when rich enough to sustain the expense, like¬ 
wise keep these fires in their house, and thus trans¬ 
mute their wealth into the perfumed smoke which 
arises from the costly woods. Niebuhr affirms, 
that he saw, in one of the temples of these people, 
at Bombay, some fires which had been kept perpet¬ 
ually burning for two hundred years, and had prob¬ 
ably been all that time supplied with odoriferous fuel. 
Such is their veneration for the element of fire, that 
they will not permit a candle to be blown out, lest 
the breath of man should pollute the purity of the 
flame. It has been remarked, that if there could 
possibly exist an idolatry founded on reason, and 
which did not degrade the Divine Majesty by the 
symbols of its worship, it would be that of the adorers 
of fire, and of the eternal lustres of the firmament. 
There is, in truth, nothing that can be seen or felt, 
which combines so many symbolic attributes of splen 
dor, terror, and beneficence, as fire. 


Machinery. —An English writer observes, that, 
since the year 1760, ‘ machines have been invented 
which enable one man to produce as much yarn as 
250 or 300 men could have produced then—which 
enable one man and boy to print as many goods as 
100 men and 100 boys could have printed formerly ; 
and the effect has been, that now the manufacture 
supports hundred thousand persons, or up¬ 
wards of thirty-seven times as many as in the for¬ 
mer periods’—before these improvements in machin¬ 
ery were invented. 


Stenography. —The first stenographer employed 
in taking down the debates in Congress, was Mr. 
Lloyd, an Englishman ; the second, was Mr. John 
Carey, a native of Ireland. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


495 


LIFE OF ELIOT.* 

The name of Eliot, ‘the Apostle to the Indians,’ 
has come down to us in traditionary honour from an 
early period ol our annals; and in the present age 
of benevolent enterprise, cannot but be venerated 
in proportion as it is known. Ilis life and labours 
are here recorded in a very pleasing and judicious 
narrative, bearing internal evidence of the same con¬ 
scientious fidelity to truth so remarkable throughout 
the series of volumes of which it forms a part; and 
which enables us to read them all with undoubting 
confidence, and with the conviction that they are 
written not for effect, not for gain, but with the 
veritable purpose of instructing the public on 
some of the most interesting points of our his¬ 
tory. This praise, indeed, belongs to whatever is 
attested by tlie authority of Mr. Sparks,—himself 
eminently trust-worthy as well as discerning ; uni¬ 
ting more excellencies than any other biographical 
writer in our language, 

‘Comprehensive, clear. 

Exact and elegant,’— 

in some essential qualifications unrivalled, and even 
unique. 

The author of this work has done justice to the 
conduct of the first colonists of New England to¬ 
wards the Indian tribes. He has shown that Eliot 
was zealously assisted in his benevolent plans by the 
magistrates and people of Massachusetts. And in an¬ 
swer to the questions scoffingly proposed ; ‘what af¬ 
ter all was the use of this difficult eft’ort, this hard toil? 
Was it not a wasted labor? Were the Indians ben¬ 
efited, or was Christianity planted with an abiding 
power in their wigwams and villages? Did not 
the whole disappear, like the snow-wreath in the 
sun ?’—he says: 

‘But even if not one of the Indians had been per¬ 
sonally benefited by the labors of the Apostle Eliot, 
still those labors, like every great benevolent effort, 
have answered a noble purpose. They stand as 
the imperishable record of good attempted by m'an 
for man ; and such a record, who, that values the 
moral glory of his country, will consider as a triv¬ 
ial portion of her history ? It constitutes a chapter 
in the annals of benevolence, which every Christian 
will contemplate with pleasure, even if his gratifica¬ 
tion be mingled with the sad reflection, that so much 
was done for so small results. When the settlers 
of New England came hither, and built new homes 
on these shores, they and the natives, the stranger 
emigrant and the old inhabitant, stood side by side, 
each a portion of God’s great family. Had our fa¬ 
thers never cast one kind regard on these wild men, 
had they never approached them in any office of 
kindness or any manifestation of sympathy, had they 
stood off from them in surly or contemptuous indif¬ 
ference, except when occasion might serve to cir¬ 
cumvent or crush them, a melancholy deduction 
must have been made from the reverence, with 
which every son of New England loves to regard 
their character and doings. 

‘But it is not so. The voice of Christian affec¬ 
tion was spoken to the savage. The accents of 
pious kindness saluted his ear. For him, benevo- 

[* Library of American Biography, Vol. 5. Life of John Eliot, 
the Apoetle to the Indians:—By Converse Francis.] 


lence toiled, and faith prayed, and wisdom taught; 
and the red race did not pass away, carrying with 
them no remembrance but that of defeat and wrong, 
and submission to overpowering strength. The 
Christianity of the white man formed a beautiful, 
though transient bond of interest with them. The 
light, which Eliot’s piety kindled, was indeed destin¬ 
ed soon to go out. But there his work stands for¬ 
ever on our records, a work of love, performed in 
the spirit of love, and designed to efl'ect the highest 
good which man is capable of receiving. Nonan- 
tum and Natick will ever be names of beautiful moral 
meaning in the history of New England.’ 

We extract the following account of Nonantum, 
the first settlement of Christian Indians, established 
about the year 1646. ‘Mr. Eliot’s care for the In¬ 
dians was not confined to religious teaching. It 
was his favorite and well known opinion, that no 
permanent good efl’ect could be produced by efl’orts 
for their spiritual welfare, unless civilisation and so¬ 
cial improvement should precede or accompany such 
efl'orts. In conformity with this sound view of the 
subject, he had already endeavoured to introduce 
among them the benefits of a school. He now 
aimed to soften, and gradually to abolish, their sav¬ 
age mode of life, by bringing them together under 
some social arrangement. The Indians, with Wa- 
ban at their head, formed the plan of a settlement, 
and framed certain laws for their own regulation. 
These laws are interesting, as specimens of savage 
legislation, and as indicating the existing habits 
among these people. They relate entirely to the 
promotion of decency, cleanliness, industry, and 
good order. 

‘When the natives had received a grant of land 
for the settlement, they next wished to find a name 
for it. Their English friends advised them to call it 
Noonatomen, or Nonantum, which name was ao 
cordingly adopted.* 

‘They now began to work very industriously, be¬ 
ing encouraged and aided by Mr. Eliot, who prom¬ 
ised to furnish them with spades, shovels, mattocks, 
iron crows, &c. and to give them sixpence a rod for 
their work on the ditches and walls. So zealous 
were they in their new enterprise, that he says they 
called for tools faster than he could supply them. 
The wigwams they built were in a better style than 
formerly. Before this time they had used mats ; but 
now thev used the bark of trees in constructing their 
humble dwellings, and had in them distinct rooms. 

‘By Eliot’s direction they fenced their grounds 
with ditches and stone walls, some vestiges of which 
were remembered by persons in the latter part of 
the last century. Their women partook of the spir¬ 
it of improvement, and became skilful spinners, 
their good teacher himself taking pains to procure 
wheels for them. They began to experience the 
stimulating advantages of traffic, and found some¬ 
thing to carry to market in the neighbouring towns. 
In the Winter, they sold brooms, staves, eel-pots, 
baskets, and turkeys; in the Summer, whortleber- 

* ‘This towne the Tiulians did desire to know what name it should 
have, and it was told them it should be called Noonatomen, which 
signifies in English rejoicing, because they hearing tlie word and 
seeking to know God, the English did rejoice at it; and God did 
rejoice at it; which pleased them much ; and therefore ,that is to 
he tire name of their towne .’—The Day Breaking of the Gospel. 







496 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ries, grapes, and fish; in the Spring and Autumn, 
strawberries, cranberries, and venison. In the sea¬ 
son for hay and harvest, they sometimes worked on 
wages for their English neighbors, but were not found 
to be hardy and persevering laborers. 

‘The impulse of improvetnent, however imperfect, 
was strongly felt. The poorest wigwams amojig 
them were equal to those of the princes or Sachems 
in other places. Their infant settlement, rude and 
poor as it must necessarily have been, already began 
to show that man, amidst the relations of a commu¬ 
nity in some degree orderly, working with his own 
hands for himself and his family, is a being far su¬ 
perior to man roaming through the forest in reck¬ 
less vagrancy, with no excitement to industry in any 
form, and dividing his time between hunting and 
sleep.’ 

Eliot, strong in temperance, in well ordered ex¬ 
ertion, and in faith, lived to the age of eighty-six. 
There was a saying among the people, ‘that the 
country could not perish, so long as he remained.’ 
But to himself, death was welcome. ‘He used some¬ 
times pleasantly to say, that he was afraid some of 
his old Christian friends, who had departed before 
him, especially John Cotton of Boston, and Richard 
Mather of Dorchester, would suspect him to have 
gone the wrong way, because he remained so long 
behind them.’ 

Eliot’s Indian Bible, and his other translations, 
with his Indian Grammar, Primer, &c. are highly 
esteemed, by scholars of the present day, as contri¬ 
butions to the science of j)hilology. But the hope 
that cheered and encouraged him in the composition 
of these works, the confident trust that they would 
be read by the Indians and their posterity through 
successive ages, was, we need not say, disappointed. 
‘The second edition of the translation of the Scrip¬ 
tures was the last. The printer never was, and 
never will be again called to set his types for those 
words, so strange and uncouth to our ears. A cen¬ 
tury and a half has elapsed since the last impression 
of the volume appeared, and it is a thought full of 
melancholy interest, that the people for whom they 
were designed may be considered as no longer in 
the roll of living men, and that probably not an in¬ 
dividual in the wide world can read the Indian Bi¬ 
ble. It is a remarkable fact, that the language of a 
version of the Scriptures, made so late as the latter 
half of the 17th century, should now be entirely ex¬ 
tinct.’ 


REVOLUTIONARY SENTIMENTS. 

There is a good deal of rough energy, and yet a 
classical turn, in the following passage, which we ex¬ 
tract from old Timothy Pickering’s ‘Easy Plan of 
Discipline for a Militia,’ published in 1775. The 
introductory remarks, prefixed to the treatise, are 
well worth reading, because so thoroughly charac¬ 
teristic of the writer and of the times. They give us 
a perfect idea of the thoughts and feelings of a plain, 
strong-minded, upright citizen, conscientiously com¬ 
pelled to become a soldier, yet carrying a quaker- 
like simplicity into the ranks of war. 

‘Why throw away our money,’ cries the Revolu¬ 
tionary colonel,’ for a fool’s baubles?—Will a lor)g 
tail and powdered hair obstruct the passage of the 


keen-edged sword ? Or a rich garment prevent 
the entrance of the pointed steel ?—If an enemy be 
pierced through the heart with the ball or bayonet 
of a rough, plain-dressed warriour, would he be more 
etfectually pierced, though the ball or bayonet were 
sent by the arm of a tinselled beau ? Away then 
with the trap|)ings (as well as tricks) of the parade. 
Americans need them not, their eyes are not to be 
dazzled, nor their hearts awed into servility, by the 
splendour of equipage and dress; their minds are 
too much enlightened to be duped by a glittering 
outside.’ 

The colonel complains of the enormous waste of 
silk in the manufacture of standards:— 

‘Two-thirds of the silk imported from Great Britain,’ 
he remarks, ‘ which is made into colours, would 
amount to a considerable sum ; (for every company 
has its colour ;)and so much, at least, we might save 
in future, if colours be reduced to a reasonable, and 
useful size. Three or four square yards of silk are 
taken to make one. This obliges the Ensigns, 
whenever they are in the ranks, or the wind blows, to 
gather up the colours in their hands, till by several 
folds and doublings, they are reduced to a quarter 
of their size when fully displayed, and thereby the 
distinguishing marks, by which the men might find 
their own regiments or companies, are liable to be 
wholly or in part concealed. At any rate, all that is 
thus doubled up is absolutely useless.’ 

There is something of the old Puritan spirit in 
the following remarks on military music; they re¬ 
mind us of the Cameronean leader, who ordered his 
druran)er to beat the hundred and nineteenth psalm. 
As a battle-tune, the author would evidently have 
preferred Old Hundred to Yankee Doodle. 

‘Whenever the battalion marches, in order to per¬ 
form the firings, advancing and retreating, the fifes 
are to play some tune to regulate the step. And 
tunes, which have some grandeur and solemnity in 
them, are undoubtedly to be preferred. The light 
airs, frequently played for a march, would appear to 
me as unnatural and improper to be used when a 
battalion is advancing toward an enemy, as the 
church music, censured by the poet, is unfit and in¬ 
decent on those occasions when it is commonly 
used,— 

‘Light quirks of music, broken and uneven, 

Make the soul danfce upon a jig to Heaven.’ 

If Colonel Pickering, after spending a few years 
in the service, had re-written this pamphlet, he would 
probably have made great alterations, and thereby 
have destroyed its peculiar and characteristic value. 
Any practised soldier might form a better system of 
Military Discipline; but here we see the New Eng¬ 
land militia-man, putting himself on his defence 
against the drilled warriours of Britain. 


Birch Tree Sugar. —Where sugar and molasses 
cannot be otherwise obtained, recourse is sometimes 
had to the extract of birch. It is obtained by per¬ 
forating the tree, as in making maple-sugar, and 
causing the sap to flow into kettles, in which it is 
afterwards boiled down to the consistency of mo 
lasses. The taste is a bitter sweet. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATIONS. 


497 


CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS. 

There is one department of architecture—that of 
edifices for public worship—in which it does not ap¬ 
pear probable that our own country will ever pro¬ 
duce such magnificent specimens, as may be seen in 
many parts of Europe. Those grand and noble 
structures are the symbols of an established national 
religion, and could never have had existence, unless 
a portion of the public wealth, drawn from the peo¬ 
ple by other than voluntary taxes, had been devoted 
to the purpose. They may as justly be numbered 
among edifices of state, as the royal palaces, the for¬ 
tresses, and the national prisons. They do not form 
a fair expression of the degree of religious zeal, 
which influences those who assemble beneath their 
stupendous domes. In the United States, on the 
contrary, every church is a type of the united zeal 
of private individuals ; the building is as much the 
work of the congregation which worships there, as 
if each member had laid one of the stones that com¬ 
pose the walls. Thus, our temples, instead of the 
pride and splendour which state policy imparts to 
those of other countries, generally possess a neat¬ 
ness and elegance, more analogous to the decorations 
of private dwellings. Another reason for a simpler 
style of architecture in our churches, may be found 
in the simplicity of our faith, divested as it is of those 
elaborate inventions, which being of earthly origin, 
require an earthly grandeur in every thing connect¬ 
ed with them. 

We should be glad to give an engraving of one of 
the primitive meeting-houses of New England, such 
as the Puritans first reared, when they ceased to 
worship beneath the open sky, or the canopy of for¬ 
est boughs. None such being at hand, we present, 
instead of the barn-like edifice and humble spire, a 
view of Trinity Church, in Summer street, Boston. 



This is a massive structure of rough gray stone, 
with a square and lofty tower, the whole forming as 
good a specimen of architecture, in the Gothic style, 
as may generally be found on this side of the At¬ 
lantic. Yet it is chiefly serviceable for our pres¬ 


ent purpose, as a contrast to those wondrous edi¬ 
fices which have been consecrated to religion in 
other parts of the world. 

In Europe, there are cathedrals of so vast a size 
that this church might be contained entire within the 
walls, yet scarcely appear to occupy more room than 
some of the noble monuments which have been erect¬ 
ed there. Five hundred workmen were employed 
during thirty-five years, in the construction of St. 
Paul’s, in London. Other cathedrals are of unknown 
antiquity; but, from their immense extent, must 
have demanded the labour of whole generations of 
men, and have become venerable with age even be¬ 
fore they were completed. 

The cathedral of Milan, in Italy, is thought to ex¬ 
cel all others in grandeur and magnificence, except 
St. Peter’s, at Paime. It is composed entirely of 
white marble, and decorated with an innumerable 
multitude of beautiful ornaments, and according to 
some authorities, with no less than four thousand 
five hundred statues. The edifice is surmounted 
by one hundred and thirty-five spires, each of which 
sustains twenty-seven statues. At the summit of 
the principal steeple stands a colossal statue of the 
Virgin, richly gilt; and from the floor of the cathe¬ 
dral to the top of this statue, the whole height i.s 
nearly four hundred feet. The interior of the edi¬ 
fice corresponds with its external magnificence. 
The vaulted roof is sustained by fifty-two gothic pil¬ 
lars, of prodigious height and circumference, all of 
which are ornamented with capitals of diflerent de¬ 
signs. Tire sides of the principal entrance are com¬ 
posed of two columns of granite, each of which was 
hewn from a single block ; and they are supposed 
to be the loftiest that ever were employed in archi¬ 
tecture. This cathedral, though commenced in the 
middle ages, is still far from being completed. The 
late Emperor of Austria devoted an annual sum of 
about one hundred thousand dollars to the progress 
of the work. 



(Cathedral of Milan.) 

The church of Saint Peter, at Rome, is the won^r 
der of the world, and undoubtedly the most sublime 
monument that mankind ever consecrated to the 
Deity, since the creation ; nor is it probable that fu¬ 
ture ages will produce any thing similar to its vast 
magnificence. This edifice has so often been des¬ 
cribed, that we will refer our readers to the works 
of every traveller who has visited Italy, and content 

62 






















































































498 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


ourself with a diminutive representation of its exter¬ 
nal form, as given in the cut. More than a centu¬ 
ry was occupied in completing it, at an expense 
equal to one hundred and sixty millions of dollars. 
It is said, however, that the structure is now greatly 
out of repair—that there are many cracks in the cu¬ 
pola, which has been surrounded by an iron hoop of 
several millions of pounds in order to prevent it from 
breaking down—and that large and increasing sums 
are annually required, to makegood the dilapidations 
of each successive year. Spain formerly paid about 
four hundred thousand dollars per annum, for this 
purpose. 



[Church of Saint Peter.] 


The religious edifices of France are less grand 
than those of Italy, or than the monuments of the 
Catholic faith in England. 

The Church of Notre Dame, however, is a noble 
structure, nearly four hundred feet in length, with 
two towers, each two hundred and four feet high. 
It was completed more than six centuries ago, after 
two hundred years had been spent in building it. 
The great length of time, that was often consumed 
in rearing these ancient structures, must be imputed 
j)artly to tlie disadvantages under which the workmen 
laboured, fiom the want of proper tools and machine- 
rv. It is likewise probable that such works were of¬ 
ten interrupted by the public events of the period. 



of Notre Dame otPaj-w.] 


There is one species of religions edifice which 
should not be forgotton, in glancing at the various 
temples of the Christian faith; although the specimens 
that remain are now consecrated to Paganism. VVe 
allude to the ancient Greek churches, in Constanti¬ 
nople and its vicinity, which have only been pre¬ 
served from destruction by being converted into 
mosques. Travellers remark that the cross, and 
other symbols of Christianity, are still visible upon 
their desecrated walls. The most celebrated of 
these buildings is the Mosque of St. Sojihia, which 
is tw'O hundred and seventy feet in length, and two 
hundred and forty in breadth. Its architecture is 
peculiar, and somewhat of an Oriental cast, and is 
probably less calculated to impress the spectator 
with devotional awe, than is the sombre sublimity 
of the churches in u’estern Europe. This mosque, 
although many centuries old, is still in good repair, 
and may stand till the true faith be again preached 
beneath its splendid dome. 



[Mosque of St Sophia.] 


In conclusion, let us bless God that the narrow¬ 
est closet may be a temple consecrated to His wor¬ 
ship, and that a devout heart may find Him there, 
as well as in the loftiest cathedral on earth. 



[A Coal Railway.] 

COAL. 

The cut represents the method used in Pennsyl¬ 
vania for transporting coal from its native beds to 























































































































OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


499 


the streams, by which it is conveyed to Philadelphia, 
thence to be distributed over a wide extent of coun¬ 
try. Coal, for the purposes of fuel, is fast taking 
the place of wood. In a few years, its comparative 
cheapness will have become so decided, that almost 
all the good old-fashioned fire-places will probably 
be succeeded by dimindtive grates, filled with red 
hot lumps of anthracite, diffusing an intense heat, 
but never gladdening the room with a cheerful blaze. 
The furnaces of the American steamboats will like¬ 
wise be replenished with coal, as is already the case 
with those Europe. Yet even when this change 
shall have been completed, the only difference will 
be, that, instead of cutting down the trees which are 
now fiuurisliing, we shall build our fires with the 
carbonized forests of past and forgotten ages. All 
coal is evidently of vegetable origin, and is supposed 
to have been reduced to its present state by the com¬ 
bined influence of heat and pressure. Masses of this 
substance often bear the impress of the bark and leaves 
of enormous vegetables, thus displaying to modern 
botanists the'forms and characters of plants, some 
of which are analogous to those of the present day, 
while others have entirely vanished from the garden 
of nature. 

Bituminous coal consists of carbon, or charred 
wood, combined with an earth. Having been ex¬ 
posed to an inferior degree of heat and pressure, it 
retains a larger portion of inflammable matter than 
the anthracite, and is likewise softer; hence it takes 
fire more easily, but evolves a far less quantity of 
caloric. This is the sort of coal which is dug from 
the mines of England, and constitutes almost the 
whole fuel of that country. The anthracite coal is 
combined with a portion of flint and iron. Such is 
the hardness of some of its varieties, that they are 
occasionally carved into inkstands, and other articles 
of use and ornament, which possess a beautiful black 
lustre, and would probably receive little injury in an 
ordinary wood fire. A few years ago, it was deem¬ 
ed itnpossible to apply the harder species of coal to 
the common purposes of fuel; but the improvements 
in the construction of grates will doubtless enable 
mankind to consume everything of a combustible na¬ 
ture, whether on the surface of the earth, or within 
its bowels. In a million or two of years, perhaps, 
the world will thus have been destroyed by a piece¬ 
meal conflagration. 

Girdle for the Earth. —The English cotton 
manufacturers, though they cannot, like Shakspeare’s 
fairy, ‘put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes,’ 
might perform this feat in little more than a month. 
It is stated that the ‘wrought fabrics of cotton, ex¬ 
ported in one year, would form a girdle for the globe, 
passing eleven times round the equator and also, 
that ‘the yarn spun in a year would, in a single 
thread, reach fifty-one times from the earth to the 
sun.’ If all this yarn were to'be wound in one 
huge ball, it would form a good-sized planet by it¬ 
self. 


THE CAT. 

In treating of the moral qualities of the Cat, we 
are aware that we are touching on debateable ground. 
While some bestow upon poor Puss all the epithets 


of treachery, cruelty, and ingratitude, others, find¬ 
ing in its disposition, kindness, gentleness, and play¬ 
fulness, are warm in eulogies of their favourite. In 
fact the character of the Cat is judged of too much 
by comparison, and thus, like many persons in the 
world, its stock of really good qualities are thrown 
into the back ground, and all its bad propensities 
magnified. That the Cat has not the sagacity, ap 
proaching almost to human reason, of the Dog— 
that it has not his devotedness of aflection, his en¬ 
tire self control and patient submissiveness under 
the rebuke of his master,—is not to be denied, nor, 
from its natural inherent habits, is it to be expected 
that it should have these qualities to the same ex¬ 
tent. Neither can it be affirmed, that the Cat is in 
disposition to be estimated like the noble and pa¬ 
tient Horse, another of the chief and favourite com¬ 
panions of man. Yet Puss is not only the affec¬ 
tionate sharer of the clean and quiet hearth of tha 
lonely widow; but it will be found quietly reposing 
on the silken covered cushion in the boudoir of the 
more wealthy ; and from the palace to the cottage 
it everywhere finds its patrons, to whom its gambols 
and its fawnings, the beauty and symmetry of its ele¬ 
gant figure, and its graceful motions, are all circum¬ 
stances of recommendation. In fact, it is bad usage 
alone that calls forth the savage propensities of this 
Feline domestic ; with gentle and kind treatment, 
it can be as gentle, and kind, and insinuating as 
any other animal. It is true, even in its most do¬ 
mestic state, it exhibits a native propensity for prey, 
and hence is derived its usefulness : though fed with 
the most delicate dainties, it will still prefer as a pe¬ 
culiar delicacy a Mouse, caught by its own prowess 
and cunning, and it will revel in the quivering flesh 
of the yet gasping victim. Still nothing can exceed 
the affection of the Cat to those who treat it kindly 
This affection it expresses by rubbing its body close 
on the individual, and by the loud purring noise in 
dicative of its satisfaction. It will not, however, beat 
to be crossed, and though it returns kindness by ev¬ 
ery expression in its power, it is also prompt to re¬ 
taliate on the slightest opposition. Neither has it 
the perception of the Dog, in desisting from any ac¬ 
tion when commanded to do so; it will persist in 
clawing food off one’s plate, and has no hesitation 
in stealing whenever it can. Although the Cat can 
be made to perform some actions at the command 
of its master, such as leaping, and other tricks, yet 
it does so always with reluctance, and has by no 
means the teachable and persevering disposition of 
the Dog. 

The Cat, however, shows many instances of a 
species of reasoning powers, which, like similar 
cases in the Dog, almost surpass what can strictly be 
termed instinctive. Thus Smellie relates an instance 
of a Cat that frequented a closet, the door of which 
was fastened by a common iron latch. A window 
was situated near the door; when the door was shut 
the Cat gave herself no uneasiness : as soon as she 
was tired of her confinement, she mounted on the 
sill of the window, and with her paws dexterously 
lifted the latch and came out. This practice she 
continued for years. We recollect once observing 
a Cat, seated on a table, make several efforts to put 
her head into a long narrow vessel containing some 






500 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


milk. Finding her efforts ineffectual, she at last 
dipped her fore paw into the milk, licked it off with 
her tongue, and continued to help herself in this 
way, till her appetite was satisfied. 

An anecdote of a Cat discovering a murderer, is 
thus given in the 31onthly Magazine, for January, 
1801 : 

‘ A physician of Lyons was, in July 1800, request¬ 
ed to inquire into a murder that had been committed 
on a woman of that city. In consequence of this 
request, he went to the habitation of the deceased, 
where he found her extended lifeless on the floor, 
weltering in her blood. A large white Cat was 
mounted on the cornice of a cupboard, at the far 
end of the apartment, where he seemed to have ta¬ 
ken refuge. He sat motionless with his eyes fixed 
on the corpse, and his attitude and looks expressing 
horror and affright. The following morning he was 
found in the same station and attitude, and when 
the room was filled with officers of justice, neither 
the clattering of the soldiers’ arms, nor the loud con¬ 
versation of the company, could in the least degree 
divert his attention. As soon, however, as the sus¬ 
pected persons were brought in, his eyes glared with 
increased fury, his hair bristled, he darted into the 
middle of the apartment, where he stopped for a mo¬ 
ment to gaze at them, and then precipitately retreat¬ 
ed under the bed. The countenances of the assas¬ 
sins were disconcerted, and they were now, for the 
first time during the whole course of the horrid bu¬ 
siness, abandoned by their atrocious audacity.’ 

It has been affirmed that the Cat has no individ¬ 
ual attachment to man; yet instances occur every 
day to contradict this assertion. A Cat frequently 
recognizes that individual in the family who shows 
it the greatest kindness ; and instances occur where 
it will follow persons about the house and gardens 
like a dog. We knew a Cat which was so much 
attached to a young lady, that it followed her even 
when she went out on horseback. Pennant men¬ 
tions, that when the Earl of Southampton, the friend 
and companion of the Earl of Essex, in his fatal in¬ 
surrection, was confined in the Tower of London, 
he was surprised by a visit fron) his favourite Cat, 
which, it is said, obtained access to its master by 
descending the chimney of his apartment. An an¬ 
ecdote of the attachment of a black Cat for the cel¬ 
ebrated Arabian horse Godolphin, is mentioned by 
Lawrence. These two animals were con)panions, 
for marjy years, and when at last the horse died, the 
Cat had to be removed by force from his dead body. 
She crawled away wdth extreme reluctance, and was 
found dead some time afterwards in a hay loft. 
There was a hunter in the late king’s stables, at 
Windsor, to which a Cat was so attached, that when¬ 
ever he was in the stable, the creature would never 
leave her usual seat upon the Horse’s back ; and 
the Horse was so well pleased with this attention, 
that to accommodate his friend, he slept, as horses 
will sometimes do, standing. This, however, was 
found to-injure his health, and the Cat was at length 
removed to a distant part of the country.— Selected. 

Eyesight of the Horse. —Horses see much bet¬ 
ter than men, in the night-time. Their eyes aresup- 
1 osed to be of a similar structure to those of the cat. 


Feminine Characteristics. —Bishop Aylmer 
preaching a sermon before Queen Elizabeth, spoke 
in very uncourtly terms of the great body of the fe¬ 
male sex. It will not be unfair, perhaps, to consid¬ 
er the first clause of the following passage as merely 
complimentary to his royal auditress, and to set 
down the remainder as the Bishop’s bona fide opin¬ 
ion. ‘ Women,’observes he, ‘are of two sorts :—> 
Some of them are wiser, better learned, discreeter, 
and more constant than a number of men ; but 
another and a worse sort of them, and the Most 
Part, are fond, foolish, wanton flibbergibs, tattlers, 
triflers, wavering, witless, without counsel, feeble, 
careless, rash, proud, dainty, nice, tale-bearers, eaves¬ 
droppers, rumour-raisers, evil-tongued, worse-mind¬ 
ed, and in everywise dollified with the dregs of the 
Devil’s Dunghill !’ It would be a bold man, in our 
day, who should stand up in a pulpit and repeat 
these words. At the time when they were uttered, 
and long afterwards, there was a species of cant in 
vogue, which aspersed the daughters of Eve with 
all their mother’s frailties, and denied their claim to 
any of her heaven-born virtues. Modern cant (if 
we may venture to think it such) would produce 
a very curious counterpart to the above passage 
from Bishop Aylmer. 


Puritanic Scraps.— There is remarkable vigour 
in the following extract from a letter of Randall 
Holden to the Governour of Massachusetts, in 1643. 
The writer was a leading man among a party of tur¬ 
bulent heretics, who gave the Puritans much trou¬ 
ble;—‘For we are resolved, that according as you put 
forth yourselves towards us, so shall you find us 
transformed to answer you. If you put forth your 
hand to us as countrymen, ours are in readiness for 
you. If you exercise your pen, accordingly do 
we become a ready writer. If your sword be drawn, 
ours is girt upon our thigh. If you present a gun, 
make haste to give the first fire ; for we are come 
to put fire upon the earth, and it is our desire to 
have it speedily kindled !’ In the same letter, is 
this sharp allusion to the severities exercised by the 
Puritans on religious offenders:—‘We live not by 
blood as you do, either through incision of the nose, 
division of the ear from the head, stigmatics upon 
the back, suffocation of the veins through extremity 
of cold, by your banishments in the winter, or strang- 
lings in the flesh with a halter.’ 


Titles of the Sultan.— The titles of Sultan 
Mahmoud, which are placed at the heads of treaties 
and other public documents, are above a score in 
number. Some of the most singular are, ‘The Shad¬ 
ow of God upon Earth,’—‘The Odour of Paradise,’ 
—‘The Agreeable of Soura.’ Among the mass of 
people, however, instead of these celestial designa 
tions, the Sultan goes by the name of‘The Man-slay¬ 
er,’ or ‘The Blood-Drinker ’ 


Marble Balls.— Commodore Porter says, that a 
portion of the marble, which composed the edifices 
of ancient Troy, has been manufactured into balls of 
several hundred [lounds weight, lor the Turkish can¬ 
non at the Dardanelles. 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 


501 



[View of Suffolk Bank, Slate street, Boston.] 


All who have visited State street, within the last 
year or more, must have noticed the elegant front 
of the Suffolk Bank, with its range of granite pillars, 
forming perhaps the most splendid object in that 
beautiful portion of our city. The edifice occupies, 
we believe, the site of the ancient Custom House, 
and looks down upon the spot where the first Amer¬ 
ican blood was shed by the hands of the British sol¬ 
diery. It may therefore be said to throw its shadow 
across the very tract of ground, where the Revolu¬ 
tion—the progress and consequences of which were 
to shake the world—began its career of violence. 
No succession of events, no brilliant nor mournful 
vicissitudes of our history, can obliterate the remem¬ 
brance of what once occurred there, nor prevent 
this spot from being famous, so long as posterity 
shall feel an interest in the deeds and sufferings of 
their fathers. The Massacre, if not of primary im¬ 
portance in itself, became so by the use which was 
made of its anniversary, for many years afterwards, 
in kindling up the spirit of the people, and renewing 
as it were, the traces of their kindred blood upon 
the stones of King street. The event itself was lit¬ 
tle more than a Riot; but it gave a mighty impulse 
to a Revolution. When the former building was ta¬ 
ken down, therefore, it might not have been unde¬ 
sirable to appropriate a part of its site to an historic 
naonument, or to have connected such a design with 


the modern edifice, so that no stranger, nor school¬ 
boy should pass through the street, without being 
aware that his feet were treading now where the 
blood-tracks once had been. It would have been in 
consonance, we think, with the character of New 
England, to associate a memorial of this nature with 
the daily business of the people, and to consecrate 
even the Exchange by some architectural or sculp¬ 
tural device, which should point to the Past, as 
surely as the clock on the Old State-House points 
to the noontide hour. 

But we have gone somewhat astray from the prop¬ 
er subject of our article. The Suffolk Bank was 
erected in the course of the year 1834. The cost of 
the carpenter’s work, as we learn from a copy of the 
survey-bill, was more than eight thousand dollars, 
and the net cost of the granite, furnished by the 
Railway Company, was ten thousand, five hundred 
dollars. The entire cost of the edifice, in its finish¬ 
ed state, is estimated at about forty thousand dollars. 
The architect was Isaiah Rogers, Esq. to whom the 
country is indebted for the designs of several of its 
most admired structures. 


Indian Proveiib. —‘ If the fog goes a fishing, 
(\.e. if the wind blows it seaward,) we shall have 
fiiir weather; but if it goes a hunting, (towards the 
interior,) then look out for a storm.’ 


















































































































































































































































































602 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


AMERICAN BUILDE’RS BOOK* 

We copy the following article as a specimen of a 
work, the nature of which cannot be better explain¬ 
ed than by its own copious title-page, which we 
therefore give at full length, in the Note.* The work 
is now in the press, and will shortly be published 
by M. Burns, 139, Washington street. From such 
portions as we have examined, we are inclined to 
think very favourably of its merits, and cordially re¬ 
commend it to that class of the community for whose 
use it is intended. 

LIME AND SAND CEMENT. 

The best methods of preparing calcareous ce¬ 
ments, have been investigated by Dr. Higgins, with 
great ability. He has advanced the most satisfactory 
proofs, founded upon analysis, that the Romans, 
whose mortar or cement, after a lapse of two thous¬ 
and years, instead of being decayed, has become as 
hard as the stones it binds together, possessed no 
uncommon secret, which we are unable to discover. 
Sharp sand, free from clay, salts, calcareous, gypse¬ 
ous, or other grains less hard and durable than 
quartz, is better than any other. When a coarse 
and fine sand, corresponding in the size of their 
grains to the coarse and fine sand hereafter de¬ 
scribed, cannot be easily obtained in its native state, 
the following method of sorting and cleansing it 
must be resorted to. 

Let the sand be sifted in streaming clear water, 
through a sieve which will allow all grains, not ex¬ 
ceeding one sixteenth of an inch, to pass through, 
and let the stream of water be so regulated as to 
wash away the very fine parts of the sand, the clay, 
and every other matter lighter than sand. The 
coarse rubbish left on the sieve must be rejected. 
The sand which subsides in the receptacle must 
then be further cleansed and sorted into two parcels, 
by the use of a sieve, which allows no grains to pass 
but what are less than one thirteenth of an inch in 
diameter. That part which passes through the sieve 
we shall call fine sand; the remaining portion, 
coarse sand. These separate portions should be 
dried in the sun, or by a fire. 

That sort of lime must be chosen, which heats 
the most in slacking, and slacks the quickest when 
duly watered ; which is the freshest made, and has 
been the closest kept. 

Put fourteen pounds of the lime chosen according 
to these important rules into a brass wire sieve, still 
finer than the last mentioned. Slack the lime, by 
alternately plunging it into, and raising it out of a 
butt of soft water ; reject all the matter which does 
not pass easily through the sieve, and use fresh por¬ 
tions of lime in a similar manner, until as many oun¬ 
ces of lime have passed through the sieve as there 
are quarts of water in a butt. This is the lime wa¬ 
ter that contributes so materially to the excellence 
of the stucco. As soon as a sufficient portion of 
lime has been imparted to it, it should be closely 
covered, until it becomes clear, and then drawn off 

* The American Builder’s General Price Book and Estimator, to 
elucidate the Principles of ascertaining the correct value of every 
description of Artificers’ work required in building, from the prime 
cost of materials and labor, in any part of New England : deduced 
from extensive experience in the art of building; to which are ad¬ 
ded a variety of useful tables, memoranda, &c. by James Gallier, 
Architect. Second edition. Revised and Improved. 


by plug holes placed at different heights, as the 
lime subsides, without breaking the crust formed on 
the surface. The more free the water is from saline 
matter, the belter will the liquor be. Lime water must 
be kept in air-tight vessels till the moment it is used. 

Slack 58 pounds of lime, chosen as above direct¬ 
ed, by gradually sjirinkling on it the lime water. 
Sift the slacked part of the lime immediately through 
the last mentioned fine brass wire sieve; the lime 
which passes must be used instantly, or kept in air¬ 
tight vessels, and the rest rejected. This finer, rich¬ 
er part of the lime, may be called purified lime. 

The materials of the cement being thus prepared, 
take 56 pounds of the coarse sand, and 42 pounds 
of the fine sand; mix and place them on a clean 
mor' ir board, to the height of six inches, with a 
flat surface, wet with the lime water, and allow all 
that the sand in this condition cannot retain, to flow 
off’ the board. 

To the wetted sand, add 14 pounds of the puri¬ 
fied lime, in several successive portions, mixing and 
beating them well together. Then add 12 pounds 
of bone ashes in successive portions, mixing all to¬ 
gether, and the sooner the cement thus formed is 
used, the better it will be. As this cement is short¬ 
er than mortar or common stucco, and dries sooner, 
it ought to be worked expeditiously, in all cases. 
The materials used along with it in building, or the 
ground on which it is laid in stuccoing, should be 
well wetted with lime water at the instant of laying 
it on ; and when the cement requires moistening, 
lime water should always be used. 

The proportions above given, are intended for a 
cement suited to exposed situations, where it is ne¬ 
cessary to guard against the effects of hot weather, 
or rain. In general, half the quantity of bone ash¬ 
es will be sufficient; and although the cement in 
this latter case will not harden deeply so soon, it 
will be ultimately stronger, provided the weather be 
favorable. 

This cement should never be applied to walls be¬ 
fore they have become perfectly dry, otherwise the 
damps or gases, that should escape by exposure to 
the atmosphere, are held in the wall, or on the sur¬ 
face behind the cement, which being converted by 
frost into ice, separates the cement from the wall; 
but if prepared and applied as above directed, it may 
be used for all outside purposes on brick or stone 
work, or upon lathwood, having first a strong prick- 
up coat of lime and hair, without any danger of its 
cracking, or of being injured by frost. When the 
work is required to be frescoed, or colored, to imi¬ 
tate stone, it should be done in the following man¬ 
ner. Take of the lime water before described, and 
add 5 ounces of copperas to every gallon, with as 
much of the powdered lime as will make a thin 
whitewash : this may be tinted of any desired color, 
by adding ochre, umber, blue black, red lead, or 
other color, to give the desired tint, and applied to 
the cement, as soon as it is laid on. 


A Musical. Ear.— As an argument to induce a 
gentleman to patronise itinerant musicians, it was 
stated that another person had attended their per¬ 
formances, although he was deaf. ‘And so would 
I,’ replied the gentleman, ‘ if I were as deaf as hel’ 







OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


503 


IVLUOR BURNHAM’S ORDERLY BOOK. 

We have in our possession the Orderly Book of I 
the late Major Thomas Burnham, of Ipswich, who 
acted as Adjutant to a militia regiment during the 
siege of Boston. It supplies us with several inter¬ 
esting extracts, and among them, the following or¬ 
der of Washington, relative to the formation of his 
body-guard:— 

‘The General being desirous of selecting a partic¬ 
ular number of men as a Guard for himself and bag- 
gage, the colonels and commanding officers of each 
established regiment (the Artillery and Riflemen 
excepted) will furnish him with four, that the num¬ 
ber selected may be taken out of them. His Ex¬ 
cellency depends upon the colonels for good men, 
such as they can recommend for their sobriety, hon¬ 
esty, and good behaviour. He wishes them to be 
from five feet eight inches high, to five feet ten in¬ 
ches,—handsomely and well made; and as there is 
nothing in his eye more desirable than cleanliness 
in a soldier, he desires that particular attention may 
be had, in the choice of such men as are neat and 
spruce. They are all to be at Head Quarters to¬ 
morrow, (11th March, 1776) precisely at twelve 
o’clock, at noon, when the number wanted will be 
chosen. The General wants men neither with uni¬ 
forms nor arms; nor does he desire any man to be 
sent to him, that is not perfectly willing and desir¬ 
ous of being of the Guard. They should be drilled 
men.’ 

The following Order affords a hint of the degree 
of proficiency which the American forces had made, 
in the business of soldiership;— 

‘As it is exceeding good weather for exercise, and 
little or no fatigue, the General desires all officers of 
every rank to exert themselves in disciplining the 
men, especially the captains and subalterns, as it will 
be a great disgrace to them to have their men make 
an awkward appearance, after being under discipline 
some months. The character of the officers will be 
fornied from the appearance of their men. From 
the present situation of the Enemy, there is a prob¬ 
ability of our moving from hence in a few days. 
The General hopes the Officers will spare no pains 
to make a good appearance, as well for their own 
credit, as for the benefit of the service.’ 

The enemy, as appears by the next passage, 
were suspected of plotting the destruction of the in¬ 
surgent army, by a very dishonourable mode of 
warfare:— 

‘As the Ministerial Troops in Boston, both from 
information and appearances, are preparing to evac¬ 
uate that town, the General expressly orders, that 
neither officer nor soldier presume to go into Bos¬ 
ton without leave from the General-in-Chief at 
Cambridge, or the commanding General at Roxbury; 
as the Enemy with malicious assiduity, have spread 
the infection of the small-pox through all parts of 
the town. Nothing but the utmost caution, on our 
part, can prevent that fatal disease from^ spreading 
through the army and country, to the infinite detri¬ 
ment of both. His Excellency expressly commands 
every officer to pay the exactest obedience to this 
order. 

‘If, upon the retreat of the Enemy, any person 
whatsoever is detected in pillaging, he may be as¬ 


sured the severest punishment will be his lot. The 
unhappy inhabitants of that distressed town have 
already so severely suflered from the iron hand of 
oppression, that their countrymen surely will not 
be base enough to add to their misfortune.’ 

We find the danger from the small-pox again in¬ 
sisted on, the next day—partly, perhaps, from mo¬ 
tives of policy, in order to restrain these half-disci¬ 
plined troops from the irregularities, which they 
would otherwise have been likely enough to com¬ 
mit:— 

‘ The General was informed yesterday evening, 
by a person just out of Boston, that our Enemies in 
that place have laid several schemes for communi¬ 
cating the infection of the small-pox to the continen¬ 
tal Army, when they get into the town. This shows 
the propriety of yesterday’s orders, and the absolute 
necessity of paying the strictest obedience thereto.’ 

General Green, Brigadier of the day, on the fif¬ 
teenth of March, issues the following order:— 

‘From the present situation of the Enemy, we 
have the strongest reason to apprehend that they 
are meditating an attack by surprise. The officers 
of all ranks are desired to keep in their quarters, 
that they may be ready at a moment’s warning. 
The General is informed that the captains and 
subaltern officers make frequent and unnecessary 
visits to Cambridge and other places, and there con¬ 
tinue till late in the evening. This conduct is dan¬ 
gerous, in our present situation ; and those who are 
imprudent enough to continue it may expect to be 
arrested, if detected. The security of the Post, 
and the preservation of the Troops, are objects too 
considerable to give place to private indulgences.’ 

On the nineteenth of March, after the evacu¬ 
ation— 

‘All officers, soldiers, and others, are positively 
forbid going into the town of Boston without a pass, 
or being sent expressly upon duty. As soon as the 
Selectmen report the town to be cleansed from in¬ 
fection, liberty will be given to those who have 
business there to go in. The inhabitants, belong¬ 
ing to the town, may be permitted to return to their 
habitations—proper persons being appointed at the 
Neck, and Charlestown-ferry, to grant them passes.’ 

We have a suspicion, from the reiterated in¬ 
junctions with respect to personal appearance, that 
there was rather an unusual degree of slovenliness 
among the New England troops. It was easier to 
outshine them on the parade-ground, than in the 
battle field. When they were to march, it was 
thought expedient to admonish the officers, as fol¬ 
lows :— 

‘ Head Quarters, March 23d, 1776. 

‘Colonels James Reed’s, Nixon’s, Poor’s, Prescott’s 
Arnold’s and Baldwin’s regiments are the first to 
march, under Brigadier General Sullivan. They 
are to be ready at a moment’s warning.—The Gen¬ 
eral flatters himself that the commanding officers of 
each of these, and the other corps, will exert them¬ 
selves (as they are going to join the troops of other 
Colonies) in sprucing up their men, that they may 
look as soldierlike and reputable as possible. This, 
and a proper attention to the good and orderly be¬ 
haviour of the men, and a proper care of the arms, 
ammunition, and accoutrements, are qualifications 




504 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


especially necessary to every commanding officer. 
Therefore, for their own honour, and the honour of 
the New England Colonies, it is hoped they will 
diligently exert themselves at this titne,’ 

Apprehensions, it seems, were entertained of an 
attack from the British forces, some days after they 
had been embarked on board the fleet:— 

‘The enemy still continuing in the harbour with¬ 
out any apparent cause for it, after winds and 
weather have favoured their sailing, there is abun¬ 
dant reason to suspect that they may have some de¬ 
sign of aiming a blow at us, belore they depart. 
The General, therefore, in the strongest terms im¬ 
aginable, recommends to the commanding offi¬ 
cers of every corps to prevent their men off duty 
from straggling, but to have them ready to turn out 
at a moment’s warning, with their arms and ammu¬ 
nition in good order. For this purpose, strict ex¬ 
amination is to be paid to roll-calling, and delin¬ 
quents severely punished. The General Officers, 
in their several departments, are to take care that 
proper alarm-posts are assigned to every corps, that 
no confusion may ensue, in case they are called 
out.’ 

The concluding entries in the Orderly Book re¬ 
fer to the payment of the militia regiments which 
had assisted at the blockade of Boston. The pa¬ 
triotism of these citizen-soldiers was as disinterested, 
we presume, as is generally met with ; but, never¬ 
theless, there appears lo have been some little diffi¬ 
culty about settling the terms of remuneration for 
their services. They put in a claim to pay and ra¬ 
tions from the time that they had volunteered to per¬ 
form a tour of duty ; whereas the Commander-in- 
Chiof decided, very reasonably, that their emoluments 
were to commence only from the date of their ac¬ 
tually leaving home. On quitting the At<my, they 
were to be allowed one day’s pay for every twenty 
miles of their homeward journey, besides a penny a 
mile, to defray their travelling expenses. 

Every document, that refers to this period of our 
Revolutionary warfare, is particularly worthy of 
attention. It was at the Siege of Boston that the 
American people first acted together, as one nation; 
and not till then do the separate streams of their his¬ 
tory unite in one mighty current. Nothing could 
be more interesting than to investigate, were it now 
possible, the composition of the motley army which 
surrounded the trimontane Peninsula, and to observe 
the points of difference and agreement among the 
natives of various colonies, then, for the first time 
brought into mutual contact. These diverse ingre- 
dients were then, as we may say, undergoing the 
process of fusion, in order to form a homogeneous 
mass. This, of all other scenes and periods in 
American annals, offers the best field for an histori¬ 
cal novel; and it is singular that no one has attempt¬ 
ed to work out the striking and strongly contrasted 
picture which it presents. Mr. Cooper, indeed, in 
his Lionel Lincoln, has hit upon the right moment; 
but he erred in confining his story almost exclusive¬ 
ly within the British lines, instead of establishing 
his head-quarters near the earthern ramparts of 
Dorchester and Roxbury. 


duellists were to be punished by fine, imprisonment, 
setting in the stocks, or whipping. In case of a fa 
tal result, the dead body was to be buried either at 
the place of combat, or in the most public highway, 
with a stake driven through it. The body of the 
slayer (after hanging) was to be treated in the same 
manner. These were good and wise laws, where 
(as was the case among our forefathers) the state 
of public sentiment would permit them to be execu¬ 
ted. The deep ignominy of the punishment was 
well adapted as an antidote to all notions of false 
honour. 

It appears to us that the present tone of the pub¬ 
lic press in regard to duelling, though doubtless well 
meant, is of very evil tendency. A bloodless duel 
becomes a topic of ridicule and jest-breaking in eve¬ 
ry newspaper throughout the Union. Unless one 
of the duellists be left dead or mortally wounded on 
the field, both must expect to be universally hissed, 
like two unskilful gladiators in the Roman amphi¬ 
theatre. 

Most young men would deem it far more tolera¬ 
ble to undergo the most solemn and weighty expres¬ 
sions of public abhorrence, for murder committed in 
a duel, than to encounter such ‘grinning infamy,’ 
for stopping short of murder. This we conceive to 
be one of the reasons, why duelling in America is a 
more bloody business than anywhere else in the 
world. In England, where, in theory at least, every 
gentleman must hold himself responsible to a chal¬ 
lenge, or lose his place in society, nothing is more 
rare than a fatal duel. The reason is, that, while 
the custom of private combat continues in ap[)arent 
force, it has in reality been so refined away, that its 
more horrible features are almost obliterated. Du¬ 
elling (except in tlie few cases of mortal injury and 
animosity) is there a mere ceremony ; but, by that 
mere ceremony, the antagonists incur no public 
ridicule, and are supposed to vindicate their honour. 
It is time that w'e should adopt the same refinement. 
Doubtless, if duelling could be entirely put down 
by the force of law, or of public sentiment, it would 
be infinitely the better way ; but, that being mani¬ 
festly impractical^le, it should be our endeavor to 
make the custom fade aw'ay from realities, and be¬ 
come gradually a phantasm. 

Tomb of the Saviour. —Although Jerusalem 
has been under the dominion of the infidels, during 
many centuries, yet the Tomb of Jesus has been 
kept sacred from them. When the city was taken 
by the Turks, the Holy Sepulchre was redeemed 
for a sum in gold, by the Christians of Syria. 

Coral. —This substance was formerly of consid- 
able value in Europe, as a material for the manufac¬ 
ture of ornaments. Such ornaments are not at pres¬ 
ent worn, except by the inhabitants of the Indies, 
w'ho are said to value jewels of coral more highly 
than pearls ; because the colour of the coral harmo¬ 
nizes with the dark skin of the wearer. 


Town-Whipper. —This personage was annually 
appointed, while whipping-posts yet remained in 
New England ; and his office was one of eonsidera- 
ble labour and emolument. 


Duelling. —By the old law of Massachusetts, 








OF USEFUL INFORMAl'lON. 


505 


MOBS. 

(From Dewey’s Old World and New.] 

‘Liberty seems yet to be regarded among us rather 
as a boon to be carelessly enjoyed, than as a trust to 
be faithfully discharged. It is rare to meet with 
any production of the periodical or daily press, that 
enters deeply into the moral and social, as well as po¬ 
litical dangers inseparably connected with free insti¬ 
tutions. The pulpit addreses our people precisely as 
it would the people of China or Hindostan—taking 
no account that ever I have observed of the peculiar 
discontents and exposures of a community circumstan¬ 
ced as we are. Meanwhile, there are enough to prate 
about liberty—demagogues and party orators—to tell 
the people continually of their power and importance 
—not of their duties—and the people, hearing little 
else, are led to conclude that their situation offers only 
occasion for pride and gratulation. In addition to 
this, there is always a vis inertia in the body of ev¬ 
ery society, not disturbed by actual revolution—an in¬ 
dolent and passive habit of feeling as if all must be 
well, which disinclines, and almost disenables us, 
from forming any discriminating judgment of the 
peculiar perils of our situation. That this is all 
wrong, that we have entered upon a new era in so¬ 
ciety, an era of as much peril as promise; that soci¬ 
ety cannot adjust itself to its new duties and rela¬ 
tions without much consideration and care, I think 
I distinctly see; and I cannot but deeply feel that 
a momentous experiment for happiness and virtue is 
passing over us. 

‘I trust that, in our country we are to show that 
the people may be confided in ; and that the inter¬ 
ests of a country may be more faithfully kept by 
popular intervention than by despotic authority. 
But if we are to show this, we must see to it in sea¬ 
son, and charge ourselves with this responsibility, 
and prove ourselves faithful, as no people before us 
has ever done, and as no people after us will ever 
have equal advantages for doing. We must see to 
it, that knowledge is built up, and religion promoted, 
and virtue practised, that every man be sober and 
vigilant, and stand upon his individual guard and 
watcli, us if he were a sentinel for the safety of an 
empire. Especially must we see to it that the ven¬ 
erableness and sanctity of the laws are sustained 
among us. 

‘ If all the multitudes in our American republic 
were assembled, the whole body of them, almost as 
one man, would pronounce the law and the govern- 
n)ent established among us to be good and benefi- 
cient. Then 1 say, it is a matter of conscience to 
obey it. If we break it, we are moral offenders;— 
not mere technical or political offenders, according 
to some arbitrary or unacknowledged rule ;—but of¬ 
fenders against conscience and against God, and we 
must answer it, not at the human tribunal only, but 
at the bar of an eternal judgment! 

‘The disposition on the part of some of our citi- 
I zens to take the law into their own hands—public 
I executions without legal trial in one part of the 
I country, and the mobs and riots in some of our ci- 
i ties, demand a fixed and serious if not anxious con- 
I sideration. Nothing can restrain these excesses but 
1 a universal and deep conviction among the people 
' that a religious reverence and an exact obedience to 


the law is our only safeguard. The only alterna¬ 
tive is a standing army—an alternative not to be 
thought of. Moral restraint, then, is the only ex¬ 
pedient. And we shall duly estimate the impor¬ 
tance of this restraint, when we consider how surely 
the very principle of irregular and authorized inter¬ 
ference destroys every good end of government and 
society. The action of a mob, and all action of bo¬ 
dies of men against the laws is necessarily fatal to the 
very object which a man proposes to attain. For 
let us do the justice to these bodies of violent and 
misguided men to say, that they usually propose to 
themselves some good end. 

‘The trades unions subject themselves to the same 
censure, whenever they overset the limits of the law. 
The prejudice of many against them is so violent, 
that they probably regard the very combinations as 
I unlawful. But let it be considered, whether any 
body of people has not a right to assemble to delib¬ 
erate and act for the common welfare. It never 
has been denied, that employers have a right to 
agree upon the wages they will give ; certainly, tlien 
the employed may agree upon those they will de¬ 
mand. Doubtless, combinations of a jiarticular 
class for almost any purpt)se, are liable to do much 
mischief and wrong. I regret them, because it 'is 
the policy of our institutions, not to separate, but to 
blend the different classes of society. Trades un¬ 
ions are a device of the Old World, naturally 
enough springing from fixed and repulsive distinc¬ 
tions of classes. The sensible mechanics a id labor¬ 
ers of our country ought to see this, and to h Id their 
hands from those association-bonds as the) would 
from manacles. The man who aspires to a higher 
place in society, should take care how he links him¬ 
self with a combination, which is likely to embrace 
the lowest and vilest of the community. He les¬ 
sens his power by doing so, he lessens his free action; 
he lessens his chance of rising in the world. I 
appeal to any intelligent trades-unionist, whether 
the body to which he belongs is not likely to be led 
by one or two demagogues, who have not more 
sense, but a greater gift of speech than the rest, and 
whether it is not likely to be absolutely controlled 
by the poorest and most desperate of its class. 
With these, then, notwithstanding all his mental re¬ 
monstrances, he must be confounded in the eyes of 
the world. He ought to have something too much 
pride for that. He ought also to refiect, that al¬ 
though such a combination may be lawful in the 
outset, it is very likely to be lawless in the end. 
And when it does become lawless, when it assumes 
the character of a mob, when it breaks in with vio¬ 
lence upon the peaceful labours of those who are 
still inclined to work for the support of their fami¬ 
lies, or compels them by threats of violence to de¬ 
sist from their lawful occupations—then, I say it 
as much for the sake of the poor as of the rich, that 
there ought to be an armed police, strong enough 
to put a stop to such outrages upon the public or¬ 
der ! I am perhaps as averse as any one can be to 
such a remedy. But it would preserve in (he end 
more lives than it would sacrifice in the outset, and 
lives of far greater value; to say nothing of the wives 
and children of these misguided insurgents, who 
are brought to the extremity of poverty and distress, 

G4 






506 


l^ICTORIAL LIBRARY 


to disease and perhaps to death, by the idleness of 
their natural protectors—or who perhaps are begging 
at one end of the town, whiie their husbands and 
fathers are violently arresting industry and destroy¬ 
ing property at the other—'one part of the family 
levying contributions for charity upon the very 
wealth which the other part are laying waste by vi¬ 
olence. But I said, that lives of far greater value 
were lost; I mean those of our police officers. The 
policeman, too, has a family ; and he goes from it 
in the morning knowing perhaps that he has that 
day to encounter a mol>. Can he do so without 
anxiety? Does not his family implore him, for their 
sakes, to take care of himself? But forth he must 
go. At the magnanimous risk of everything dear to 
him, he goes into that wild and lawless crowd. For 
the public safety he goes there. To shield the 
whole community from violence, he offers his head 
to the blows of an infuriated tmiltitude. He falls ; 
he sinks in the crowd ; he is beaten to death ! 
Is there no remedy against such a cruel issue as 
this? Are the public justice and honour to sleep 
in supine indifference, or to shrink back in pusillan¬ 
imous fear, when the faithful servants of the public 
are thus sacrificed to lawless violence ? 

‘We have had scarcely time yet to set up the 
necessary guards against new and recent forms of 
popular violence. This is the explanation of that 
unexampled state of things in some of our Atlantic 
cities, and some of our Western towns, which is 
the vvorder and ridicule of Europe. That public 
opinior is entirely right with regard to these enor¬ 
mities is our security ; for the public opinion in 
Amer ca is law. That this opinion will find out 
some way to repress mobs, and the murderous exe¬ 
cutions of the too far-famed but not too odious 
Lynch law, I cannot doubt. I believe that these 
things have no more to do with the perpetuity of 
our institutions, than the vexatious stings of a 
wasp, or the irritating attacks of a swarm of flies, 
with the life of the mighty elephant.’ 


PITCH GATHERERS. 

In a French work, we find an account of a cu¬ 
rious personal conformation, by which, it appears, an 
entire class of people are distinguished, and which 
has been caused by the nature of their labour. In 
the arid region of the south of France, extending 
from Bordeaux to Bayonne, large tracts of land are 
covered by immense forests of pitch-pines. The 
resin of these trees is extracted by the country peo¬ 
ple. This is their sole occupation; and, from the 
manner in which they pursue it, their feet have ac¬ 
quired a singularity of shape, unlike those of any 
other human beings, but considerably resembling 
those of the monkey-tribe. In order to clamber up 
the trunks of the pines, the pitch-gatherer makes 
use of a pole, which is placed against the tree, and 
is crossed by little rounds, or pegs, at intervals one 
above another, thus forming an imperfect species of 
ladder. In climbing the tree, the person places the 
toes of one foot on the successive rounds, while 
with the other foot, he grasps the trunk of the pine. 
The great toe acts in opposition to the others, pre¬ 
cisely in the manner of the thumb and fingers. So 
;}'mblp. !.. 4 iorous do the feet of the pitch-gath¬ 


erers become, that not only are they able to strip 
off tlie bark of the pines, but even to grasp the in¬ 
strument with which they make incisions, in order 
to extract the resin of the trees. They can like¬ 
wise pick up the smallest objects with their toes, as 
readily as with their fingers. It is easy to distin¬ 
guish the tracks of these people in the sand, from 
those of the other inhabitants of the same country. 


St. Clair’s Conqueror. —The following de¬ 
scription is given of the personal appearance of the 
Indian Chief, by whom General St. Clair was so 
disastrously defeated, in 1791 :— 

‘ The Messesago Chief L a person six feet high, 
about forty-five years of age, of a very sour and 
morose countenance, and apparently very crafty 
and subtle. His dress was Indian hose and mo¬ 
cassins, a blue petticoat that came half way down 
his thighs, an European waistcoat, and surtout; his 
head was bound with an Indian cap, hanging half 
down his back, and almost entirely filled with plain 
silver broaches, to the number of more than two hun¬ 
dred. He had two earrings to each ear; the upper 
part of each was formed of three silver medals, about 
the size of a dollar; the lower part was formed of 
quarters of dollars and fell more than twelve inches 
from his ear; one from each ear over his breast, and 
the other over his back. He had three very large 
nose jewels of silver, that were curiously painted. 
The account he gave of the action was, that they 
had killed fourteen hundred of the whites, with the 
loss of only nine of their own party, one of whom 
had killed himself by accident.’ 

The leader who gained so complete a triumph 
as this, over a general trained to war from his youth 
upward, should hold an honourable place in the list 
of military men. Had such a victory been achiev¬ 
ed by one civilized army over another, the con(juer- 
er would have slept beneath a marble column ; but 
none can tell under what tree this warlike savage is 
taking his final rest. Military glory is so connected 
with ideas of silken banners, swords, drums, epau¬ 
lettes, and marshalled lines, that these appear to 
make up the sum and substance of it, and the grim 
war-painted Indian is denied a place among the 
gorgeous heroes who shine in history. 


Longevity of Animals.— The average life of a 
Bull has been estimated at fifteen years ; that of an 
Ox, twenty ; of an Ass, thirty; a Horse, from twen¬ 
ty to thirty; a Dog, from fourteen to twenty, or 
more; a Sheep, a Cat, and a Hare, ten; a Goat, eight; 
and a Hog, twenty-five. The feathered tribe are 
generally longer lived. Peacocks, turtle-doves, and 
partridges, have each a span of twenty-five years. 
Ravens and Eagles are birds of a whole century. 
A Goose has been ke[)l in a family from time im¬ 
memorial ; nothing could be said of its age, except 
that it had been paddling in the same pond, when the 
great grandsires were infants. Such ante-diluvian 
geese, we suspect, are sometimes seen in the mar¬ 
ket. 


Bees. —A hive of bees, in the Autumn, should 
weigh not less than twenty-five to thirty pounds, 
and should contain half a bushel of bees.’ 








OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


507 




CAVERNS. 

Tennessee, Kentucky, and the western parts of 
Virginia, abound willi caves, which, both for their 
extent and tlie fantastic inagniticence of their sparry 
petrifactions, may be ranked among the wonders of 
the world. Weyer's Cave, in Virginia, contains a 
great number of halls, passages, and galleries, most 
of which are adorned with concretions of splendid 
and variously colored sjtar, formed by the gradual 
deposit of earthy matter from the water that mois¬ 
tens the roof and walls. Many of these concretions 
have assumed the shape of fluted columns, pyramids, 
thrones, and colossal statues, ranged in long col¬ 
onnades, and, by the dim light of the torches, per¬ 
fectly resembling the handiwork of mortal sculptors. 
It might be imagined that some great potentate 
had here built for himself a deep and secret palace, 
or perhaps a tomb, and enriched it with all the treas¬ 
ures of art, which he deemed too precious for man¬ 
kind even to look upon. But, on a nearer view, it 
is found that these objects have been wrought by 
no earthly hand : and the whole scene, with all its 
indescribable splendour, affects the mind like the 
illusions of a dream. The largest and loftiest hall 
in the cave has been dedicated to the memory of 
Washington, and contains, among other gigantic 
figures, one which bears the name of Washington’s 
Statue. 


[Weyer's Cave.] 

In Tennessee, caverns are so numerous, and fre¬ 
quently of such vast size, that they are considered 
hardly worth mentioning to the curious traveller, 
unless it be possible to wander for miles within their 
mysterious recesses. At the summit of a lofty peak 
of the Cumberland Mountains, there is a hollow de¬ 
scending perpendicularly to a depth which has never 
been sounded; so that here, we might almost believe 
is the mouth of the Bottomless Pit, or at least a 
passage-way to the central cavity of the globe. 

The Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, has been 
explored to the distance of sixteen miles—the long¬ 
est journey that ever was performed within the bow¬ 
els of the earth. Through the mouth of the cave 
there is a continual current of air, which for six 
months of the year, is drawn inward, and dur¬ 
ing the other six, rushes outward with force enough 
to extinguish a torch. It is one of the breathing- 
places of our mother Earth, where she performs 


[Mammoth Cave.] 

The most celebrated cavern of the old world, is 
the Grotto of Antiparos, in Greece. As regards 
extent, it cannot compare with the vast caverns of 
America; although it appears to equal them in the 
fantastic combinations of its stalactites, and its im¬ 
itations of natural and artificial objects; and per- 
h ij)s to excel them in the beauty of its many- 
colouretl spar, and the indescribable brilliancy of 


[Grotto of Antiparoi.] 


her long respirations, and heaves her mighty, yet 
unavailing sighs, for the sin and sorrow of her chil- 
dren. Within the cavern, the spectator beholds 
hills, plains, and valleys, high precipices, and awful 
chasms, and deep rivers, broken with waterfalls— 
the whole presenting a picture of what the external 
world would be, were the sun extinguished, and on¬ 
ly a few torches glimmering amid the darkness of 
Eternity. In the spacious gloom of this cave, the 
innumerable wretches who are weary of the light 
of day, might build a City of Despair; or, should a 
pestilence depopulate the land, the dead might 
liere find a sepulchre. Should the former of these 
two projects be adopted, the inhabitants of the sub¬ 
terranean city might hold communication with the 
outer world by means of a stage-coach, which, it is 
stated, might be enabled, by a trifling expenditiqe, 
to run fifteen miles within the cavern. 


























508 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


its crystals. The roof and walls are festooned and 
decorated with what seems the richest ornamental 
sculpture, and the floor is absolutely paved with 
substances that glow and sparkle like the dia¬ 
mond. 

Until the seventeenth century, this resplendent 
cave remained hidden from the world. To the ad¬ 
venturer whose torch first gleamed upon those glit¬ 
tering walls, the spot must have seemed the treasury 
of Nature, where she had hoarded up her brightest 
and choicest jewels, lest man should snatch them 
from her grasp. 

ASBESTOS. 

[Translated from the Magasin Uiiiversel.] 

Different specimens of this mineral have a great 
dissimilarity of contexture. Some are so flexible 
and brilliant as to resemble the most beautiful white 
silk ; some are hard and brittle, and when broken, 
resemble splinters of wood. Under these two ap¬ 
pearances, it possesses the most opposite qualities; 
in one the utmost possible softness and delicacy of 
fibre, and in the other, a flinty hardness, which will 
sometimes cut glass. Now we find it compact and 
elastic, like cork, in masses of a dirty white, similar 
to the dried paste of paper; and at other times, it 
occurs in small pieces, the filaments of which appear 
twisted together. Ancient mineralogists gave it 
the different epithets of mountain cork, leather, and 
fossil paper. 

It was a precious article among the Ancients. 
They employed its filaments in the manufacture of 
cloths, for the purpose of enveloping dead bodies 
when committed to the flames, that the ashes of 
mortality might not be mingled with those of the 
funeral pile. Bernard de Montfaucon, a learned 
Benedictine monk, informs us, that, in 1702, a 
great urn of marble was discovered in a vineyard, 
not far from the principal gate of Rome. Within 
this urn was found a cloth of asbestos, more than 
seven feet long and five broad, similar in appearance 
to coarse hempen cloth, but as soft and smooth to 
the touch as satin. It enclosed some half-burnt 
bones. This cloth was deposited in the library of 
the Vatican. 

As the asbestos of the ancients was brought from 
Persia, at a great expense, the custom of burying 
dead bodies in cloth of this material must have been 
confined to the rich. The article, in its manufactur¬ 
ed state, bore so high a price that Pliny considered 
it as reserved exclusively for the burial of kings. 
At luxurious banquets, the napkins and table-cloths 
were made of the finest asbestos; and when the feast 
was over each guest threw his napkin into the fire to 
purify it. Wicks for consecrated lamps were likewise 
composed of asbestos. Pliny did not class asbestos 
among minerals, but considered it a vegetable, and 
a species of flax. He compares its value to that of 
rich pearls, and observes that this flax, flourishing 
in the burning deserts of India, is thus rendered 
capable of sustaining the heat of the fire. We can¬ 
not but wonder at the facility with which the an¬ 
cient philosophers lent their faith to the wildest 
fictions. By the testimony of a physician, the great 
Roman naturalist was led to believe, that, if a tree 
were surrouaided with a girdle of asbestos, it might 


be cut down with an axe, the strokes of which 
would produce no noise. 

Asbestos is found among the granite of the moun¬ 
tains of England, and also in France, among the 
Pyrenees, in Savoy, Corsica,China, Siberia, and gen¬ 
erally in most of the primitive formations ot the 
earth. Corsica, especially, contains it in great abun¬ 
dance. Tarentum produces a peculiar kind, which 
is silky, and the fibres of which are about a foot long. 
The species found in Siberia has this singular quality, 
that, when first taken from its native bed, it iscompact 
and hard, and becomes flexible and silky by imbibing 
the moisture of the air. It occurs in veins in the 
mountains, and is never incorporated with the gneiss 
or granite, in the midst of which it is olten found. 
Its formation must therefore have been posterior to 
that of these rocks. 

Although asbestos is called incombustible, it 
must be remarked, that this expression is not rigor¬ 
ously correct; for, whenever it undergoes the ac¬ 
tion of fire, it loses a portion of its weight ; and if 
exposed to the flame of a blow-j)ipe. it may be con¬ 
verted into a dark-coloured glass. Asbestos is not 
acted upon by acids ; and being of a spongy tex¬ 
ture, it is used in oxygenated tindeiboves to absorb 
the sulphuric acid, by means of which the matches, 
tipt with chlorate of potash, are kindled. 

Edward Drinker. —This person was born in 
16S0, on the spot where Philadelphia now stands: 
and died in 1782. Few men have seen greater 
changes in their travels far and wide, than Edward 
Drinker, during the century which he spent on his 
native soil. ‘He saw the same spot of earth,’ observes 
one w’ho knew him, ‘ covered with woods and bush¬ 
es, the haunt of wild beasts and birds of prey, after¬ 
wards become the seat of a great city, not only the 
first in wealth and arts in America, but equalled by 
few in Europe. He saw great and regular streets, 
where he had often pursued hares and wild rabbits. 
He saw fine churches rise upon morasses, where he 
used to hear nothing but the croaking of frogs; 
great wharves and ware-houses, where he had so 
often seen the Indian savages draw fish from the 
river; and that river afterwards full of great ships 
froiij ?11 parts of the world, which, in his youth, had 
nothing bigger than an Indian canoe. And on the 
spot where he had gathered berries, he saw the City 
Hall erected, and that hall filled with legislators, as¬ 
tonishing the world with their wisdom and virtue!’ 
When the hoary patriarch had seen all this, he must 
have felt as if he had more than one century on his 
shoulders; or perhaps these changes appeared 
dreamy and unsubstantial, like the scenery of a the¬ 
atre, which shifts many times in an hour or two. 


Parchment Currency. —In 1721, the legisla¬ 
ture of the province of Massachusetts-Bay passed 
a law for the emission of five hundred pounds, in 
bills of one, two, and three-pence. They were to 
be made of parchment; the form of the penny-bill 
was to be round, that of the two-penny square, and 
the three-penny, sexangular. There were many 
small bills in circulation, of five shillings, and less. 
In order to make change, it was customary to tear 
the bills in halves or quarters. 






OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


509 


SKETCH OF THE FUR TRADE. 



[An Indian Hunter.] 

We have thought fit to illustrate the above cut 
of an Indian Hunter, by preparing a brief abstract 
of the history of the Fur Trade; in reference to 
which department of commerce, (and to this de¬ 
partment only,) do the native tribes of America 
hold an important connection with the industry of 
the civilized world. 

The only people of antiquity, that used furs for 
the purposes of luxury and ornament, were the Per¬ 
sians. They imported considerable quantities from 
the northern tribes, with whom they held commer¬ 
cial intercourse, and who were compelled, by the 
severe cold of the region which they inhabited, to 
clothe themselves almost entirely in skins and furs. 
The ordinary and most suitable garments of the Per¬ 
sians were made of linen, cotton, or wool ; they 
used furs chiefly as couches and carpets, and occa¬ 
sionally to decorate their robes. There was a pe¬ 
culiar species of mouse-skin, great numbers of which 
they used to sew together as linings for garments. 
The Jews, in accordance with the laws of Moses, 
attached the idea of uncleanness to skins and furs. 
The Greeks considered it a mark of rusticity and 
lack of refinement to wear dresses of this material. 
The Romans had a peculiar abhorrence for furs. 

In the middle ages, furs were used in all parts of 
Europe, although confined exclusively to the rich 
and great, on account of the enormous expense by 
which only they could be procured. The skins of 
seven hundred and forty-two ermines were contain¬ 
ed in a single dress of the King of France, in the 
thirteenth century. At an earlier period, Charle¬ 
magne had worn an otter-skin cloak, and also a sur- 
coat, trimmed with fox and squirrel-skins. The 
fashion was at its height during the Crusades; and 
sumptuary laws were enacted, forbidding any per¬ 
sons to wear furs, without an income of one hun¬ 
dred pounds. In later times, the use of tliis arti¬ 


cle in dress was succeeded by that of silk ; and it 
is supposed that plush and velvet were first manu¬ 
factured in imitation of furs. At the present day, 
the largest quantities of furs are used by the Poles, 
Russians, Chinese, Persians and Turks ; in other 
countries, they are chiefly in demand for ladies’ 
mufis, boas, and capes, for military caps, or some¬ 
times for the decorations of fashionable equipages. 

That portion of the globe, which now constitutes 
the Russian Empire, was formerly the source whence 
the fur-market received its supplies ; but since the 
discovery of America, the trade has been almost 
wholly turned in that direction. The French, from 
their earliest settlement in Canada, were accustom¬ 
ed to penetrate thousands of miles into the interior 
of the continent, visiting regions which even now 
are imperfectly knowm, and holding commerce with 
tribes of Indians, whose descendants are still hunt¬ 
ing on the same plains. They continued the fur- 
trade in full vigour until the conquest of Canada. 
Meantime, in 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company 
had been formed in England, and pursued the traf¬ 
fic in the more northern parts of America. More 
than a century afterwards, the North-West Com¬ 
pany was likewi-se established, and extended their 
operations over the tract between Lake Winnipeg 
and the Rocky Mountains. The rivalry of these two 
Companies soon broke into open enmity, and gave 
rise to a state of actual war, between the parties of 
traders belonging to each. Skirmishes were fought, 
fortresses were besieged and taken, and much 
kindred blood was shed on both sides; and as no 
law could penetrate so far into the wilderness, the 
offenders remained unpunished. Peace was final¬ 
ly established, not many years ago, by a junction of 
the Companies. An American association for carry¬ 
ing on the fur-trade was likewise swallowed up by 
these two great Companies; it had been formed in 
1811, by John Jacob Astor of New York, and oth¬ 
er merchants, and might probably have met w’ith 
good success, but for the almost immediate occur¬ 
rence of the War w ith England. 

The European traders depend for their supply of 
furs upon the Indian hunters, whom they pay chiefly 
with muskets and ammunition, blankets, and other 
useful articles, toys and ornaments, tobacco and 
rum. They deal, of course, at a most exorbitant 
profit. The principal furs t)btained in America are 
those of bears, otters, foxes, beavers, wild-cats, 
wolves, and of many smaller animals. The black 
bear-skins are used for the hammer-cloths of coach¬ 
es, for sleigh-coverings, for grenadier-caps, and 
knapsacks ; the russet bear-skins for muffs ; the sil- 
ver-grav, white, or polar bear-skins for rugs. The 
fur of the racoon is coarse, and is mostly disposed 
of in Germany and Poland, as is likewise that of the 
badger, and the wolverine. Minks and marten 
skins are employed in muffs and trimmings ; the first 
quality of marten-skins sell for more than four dol¬ 
lars a-piece. The sea-otter is a beautiful and high¬ 
ly valuable fur, jet-black, with a silken gloss, and 
frequently intermingled with silvery hairs. Of fox¬ 
es, the Idack is the most valuable species found in 
America; red foxes have not latterly been consid¬ 
ered worth purchasing. The skins of Russian fox 
es are said to be w'orth their weight in gold. Beav 













5i0 PICTORIAL 

er and musk-rat, and hare and rabbit skins are used 
by the hatters, and in trimmings. 

All these furs are exported from America in what is 
called the raw state, precisely as when they were stript 
from the animals, except that they have been dried. 
In this condition, they are stiff and rigid, and liable 
to break or tear. On arriving in England, in order 
to render the skins soft and supple, they are trod¬ 
den with refuse butter. They are then put into a 
revolving barrel, having spikes on the insides, by 
which the superfluous grease is combed from the 
fur, and absorbed by chalk, gypsum, or saw dust. 
The greater part of the furs are then consigned 
from London to Leipsig in Saxony, where they are 
sold at an annual fair, and thence distributed all over 
the continent of Europe. Thus the Indian Hunter, 
the aboriginal American, despised as he is, has no 
trifling office to perform, in providing the richest 
materials for female dress, the proudest robes of po¬ 
tentates and nobles, and the shaggy decorations of 
disciplined armies. 

CITY OF BUENOS AYRES. 

The city of Buenos Ayres, the capital of the coun¬ 
try of the same name, is situated on the river of La 
Plata, sixty-six leagues from its mouth. At the 
distance of some miles, the domes of cathedrals, 
the steeples of churches, and long ranges of white 
edifices, are visible, amid the vast plains that stretch 
in every direction around the city. Buenos Ayres, 
like most of the other Spanish cities in South Amer¬ 
ica, is built on a regular plan, with streets crossing 
each other at right angles, and forming uniform 
parallelograms. It covers a great extent of ground 
in proportion to the number of inhabitants ; many 
of the streets being two, or even three miles in 
length. Except in some of the public edifices how¬ 
ever, the stranger perceives no beauty of architec¬ 
ture, nothing but a collection of barn-like houses, 
mostly of a single story, without any of those em¬ 
bellishments which bespeak the affection of a peo¬ 
ple for their domestic walls. Since the revolu¬ 
tion that has separated it from the mother coun¬ 
try, improvements are taking place in these particu¬ 
lars. The navigation of the river La Plata is diffi¬ 
cult and dangerous; but notwithstanding the dis¬ 
advantages of its situation, the ships of all nations 
appear in the road-stead of Buenos Ayres ; and the 
city possesses a greater European trade than any 
other port in South America. The population is 
variously estimated at from 40,000 to 70,000, only 
one-fourth of whom are of purely white descent, and 
the remainder Indians and negroes, or a mongrel 
breed of all races. 


Price of Victory.— The only king, that we 
ever heard of, who seemed to understand that blood 
is a high price to pay for glory, was Louis the 
Twelfth, of France. When he heard of the death 
of the gallant Gaston de Foix, in the arms of victo¬ 
ry, at Ravenna, in Italy, he exclaimed, ‘I would to 
heaven, that I could give every inch of the soil of 
Italy, and, by that sacrifice, restore life to Gaston 
de Foix, and the brave men who have perished with 
him ! God forbid, that we should achieve many 
such victories, at the price of so much blood !’ 


LIBRARY 

Cutting OF Fru[t Trees. —In the East, when 
olive-trees do not bear, a deep gash is cut in their 
sides with an axe, by way of punishment, and as a 
warning to the trees to perform their duty, the next 
season. This is a custom of great antiquity, and is 
said generally to produce the desired eflect. The 
question is asked, whether a similar process might 
not be beneficial to our own fruit trees, when they 
drop their fruit before maturity. The cut is made 
in the spring of the year when the sap is rising, and 
is supposed to drain oflf the superfluous portion of 
the sap. 


Antiquity of Scalping. —Pliny speaks of a race 
of Anthropophagi, or man-eaters, who dwelt far to¬ 
wards the north, ten days journey beyond the river 
Borysthenes. It was their custom to take off* the 
scalps, hair and all, of the dead, and to wear them up¬ 
on their breasts. The river Dneiper in Russia, is the 
ancient Borysthenes. Thus two thousand years ago 
there was a people in the north ol Europe or Asia, 
distinguished by a custom which is now universal 
among the North American Indians. This fact may 
throw some light on the mysterious origin of the 
red-men. 


Disorders. —‘Few persons,’ observes a celebra¬ 
ted English Surgeon, ‘are attacked by dangerous 
disorders without due notice and repeated warnings. 
I have never known an instance of apoplexy or pal¬ 
sy, until after many previous intimations, nor any 
serious affections of the stomach, bowels, or liver, 
without the precedence of some morbid visitation, 
such as head-ache, flatulences, acidity, or local pain. 
It is more than probable, that inflammatory dis¬ 
eases occur only in vitiated habits ; and when they 
seem to arise spontaneously, or to be occasioned by 
inadequate causes, they are in truth but roused into 
activity, and owe their remote origin to an ill-condi¬ 
tioned state.’ 


Hidden Fountains. —In order to discover foun¬ 
tains under ground, before digging for them, peo¬ 
ple were formerly accustomed to go out at sunrise, 
and ascend some hill, or high place, and there lie 
down on their stomachs, with their chin touching 
the ground. If, from any spot in the landscape, a 
mist or exhalation were seen to arise, they made 
sure that, by digging there, they should find a 
spring of water. 

Slave Trade. —Our New England ancestors, we 
believe, were the only people who ever bartered one 
kind of slaves for another. In 1637, Captain Rice, 
of the ship Desire, was commissioned to transport 
fifteen Pequod boys and two women to Bermuda, as 
slaves. He brought back an assorted cargo consist¬ 
ing of cotton, tobacco, salt, and negroes. 

Book Printing. —The first regular office for book 
printing, in Philadelphia, was established about the 
year 1785, by Mr. William Young, a native of Scot¬ 
land. Twelve years afterwards, there were up¬ 
wards of thirty offices in that city, devoted exclu¬ 
sively to the printing of books. We have no esti¬ 
mate of the present number. 












or USEFUL INFORMATION. 


511 



RATTLESNAKE. 

The Rattlesnake inhabits all parts of the United 
States. In the northern regions, however, they sel¬ 
dom grow so large as at the South, where some va¬ 
rieties attain the size of a man’s leg, and are six or 
seven feet in length. They appear to thrive best 
in a hot and moist region, where vegetation is abun¬ 
dant. The venom of the Rattlesnake possesses a 
terrible energy, which becomes more virulent in 
proportion to the heat of the climate. The instant 
the bite is inflicted, the poison begins to take efTect; 
it is communicated from the limb to the brain; the 
head swells to an enormous size; the heart throbs 
with quick, but interrupted violence ; and a few 
hours generally terminates the suflferer’s agony, to¬ 
gether with his life. Should he survive longer, a 
mortification ensues throughout the whole system. 
Such, at least, are the terrible phenomena which 
often result from the bite of a Rattlesnake; although 
we have understood that death, or even serious in¬ 
jury, are not the invariable consequences. 

The organization of a Rattlesnake’s jaw is very 
curious. Annexed to the upper jaw-bone there is 
a long, sharp, and crooked tooth, which is hollowed 
like a pipe, and is placed on a gland, situated un¬ 
derneath the eye. This gland contains a yellow and 
venomous essence. Except when the snake wish¬ 
es to inject his venom, he conceals this tooth under 
a fold of his gum. His head is of a triangular 
shape, being enlarged at the sides by the poisonous 
fangs, which are all contained in the upper jaw. 
The tongue is very long, and the throat is capable 
of great dilatation. 

The Rattlesnake, as is well known, derives his 
name from the remarkable organ at the end of his 
tail. It consists of conical rings, which are jointed 
together, and are moveable. One of these rings 


is supposed to be formed, every year, from the 
snake’s skin, which is transformed into a dry and 
hard membrane, that crackles like parchment. 
Thus is produced the peculiar sound, which gives 
notice of the vicinity of the Rattlesnake. As their 
formation is annual, the rings of course betoken the 
number of years which the snake has lived: and it 
is said that the tails of some of these reptiles bear 
the indubitable proofs of an existence of forty or 
fifty years. 

Rattlesnakes, like most other serpents, have the 
faculty of swallowing animals of much greater 
bulk than themselves. In the American Traveller, 
recently, we noticed an account of a Rattlesnake 
killed in Holliston, Massachusetts, which was six 
feet long, and contained an entire rabbit and two 
squirrels. 

The Indians have the art of handling Rattlesnakes 
without incurring injury from their venom. They 
are capable of learning to dance, and may be taught 
to keep accurate time, either to vocal or instrumen¬ 
tal music. They likewise make excellent food, 
and are considered a first-rate dainty by the Ca¬ 
nadian voyageurs. Whenever these people en¬ 
counter a Rattlesnake, they take care to kill or stun 
him with a single blow ; because, if he be but par¬ 
tially injured, he will immediately strike his fangs 
into his own body, and thus render it unfit for sus¬ 
tenance. But, if properly killed, the Canadian pro¬ 
ceeds to skin the snake like an eel. The body is 
then transfixed with a stick, which, by planting one 
end in the ground before a fire, becomes a sort of 
spit. When duly roasted, the flesh of this terribl-e 
serpent possesses (according to the testimony of 
such as have feasted upon it) a delicate whiteness, 
a rich and savoury smell, a delicious flavour, and 
very admirable properties of digestion. 












































512 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 



WILD HORSES.* 


‘ Although the Horse is not a native of America, 
yet the wild horses of the Western country deserve 
particular notice here. Herds of these animals, the 
offspring of those which have escaped from the 
Spanish possessions in Mexico, are not uncommon 
on the extensive prairies that lie to the west of the 
Mississippi. They were once numerous on the Koo- 
tannie lands near the northern sources of the Colum¬ 
bia, on the*eastern side of<the Rocky Mountain Ridge, 
but of late years they have been almost exterminated 
in that quarter. They are not known to exist in a 
wild state to the northward of the fifty-second or 
fifty-third parallel of latitude. The Kootannies 
are acquainted with the Spanish American mode of 
taking them with the laso. Major Long mentions 
that ‘ horses are an object of particular hunt to the 
Osages. For the purpose of obtaining these ani¬ 
mals, which in the wild state preserve all their fleet¬ 
ness, they go in large parties to the country of the 
Red Canadian river, where they are to be found in 
considerable numbers. When they discover a troop 
of horses, they distribute themselves into three par¬ 
ties, two of which take their stations at different and 
proper distances on the route, which by previous 
experience they know the horses wdll most proba¬ 
bly take, in endeavouring to escaj^e. This arrange¬ 
ment being completed, the first party commences 
the pursuit in the direction of their colleagues, at 
whose position tliey at length arrive. The second 
party then continues the chase with fresh horses, 

* In illustration of the above cut, we copy a passage from 
Goodrich's Universal Geography ; and in so doing, it would be 
inexcusable not to hear testimony to the excellence of a book, to 
which the present number of our work owes more in the 
way of embellishments, than we have willingly borrowed. Mr. 
Goodrich has advanced no mean nor unacknowledged claims to more 
than one species of literary reputation ; but most men would have 
been content to stand upon the solid and elevated pedestal, which 
is formed by the thousand pages of this most useful and enter¬ 
taining volume. The plan of the work is entirely original -, and 
it bears the same relation to the dry and barren systems of geogra¬ 
phy which had previously existed, that a complete picture of the 
earth’s surface, with its (liversificd scenery and vaarious inhabitants, 
would bear to the naked outline of a map. Such a book, with 
the changes that the world’s moral, political, and physical history 
may introduce into the successive editions, cannot fail to become 
permanent 'n literature. 


and pursues the fugitives to the third party, which 
generally succeeds in so far running them down 
as to noose and capture a considerable number of 
them.’ The domestic horse is an object of great 
value to the nomadic tribes of Indians, that frequent 
the extensive plains of the Saskatchewan and Mis¬ 
souri ; for they are not only useful in transporting 
their tents and families from place to place, but one 
of the highest objects of a young Indian’s ambi¬ 
tion is to possess a good horse for the chase of 
the buffalo, an exercise of which they are passion 
ately fond.’ 



HOT SPRIiNGS OF ICEL.AND. 


The Icelandic fountains of boiling water, termed 
the Geysers, are attributed to the eft’ect of fires 
within the earth ; and the whole island is supposed 
to owe its origin to the same cause, and to have 
been thrown up by the eruption of some terrific vol¬ 
cano. The Great Geyser is situated in the centre 
of a basin, more than fifty feet in diameter, and 
gushes up through an immense tube, of a stony 
substance, nearly seventy feet deep. The water, 
at the moment of issuing from the tube, is probably 
at the boiling point; but in the surrounding basin, 
it stands only at about 190 degrees of Fahrenheit’s 
thermometer. The silicious matter, contained in 
the hot water, is deposited by it in cooling, and cov¬ 
ers the tnl)o and floor of the basin, and everything 
else with which it comes in contact. ‘ Every sort 
of adventitious fragments,’ observes Mr. Barrow, 

‘ wheth(;r of pieces of wood, bones, or horns of ani¬ 
mals, were here found in a silicified state; and 
among other things, by the edge of the stream, I 
met with a piece of printed paper which, with the 
letters perfectly legible, exhibited a thin plate of trans¬ 
parent flint, giving it the appearance of a child’s 
horn-book; but the moment it was removed, it fell in 
pieces. Previous to our departure, the Governor 
had shown to me a worsted stocking which, by ly¬ 
ing on the banks of this streamlet about six months, 
had been completely converted into stone, as had 
also a blue handkerchief, which exhibited all the 































513 


OF USEFUL 

ch6cks and colours of the original; these were 
solid enough to bear handling, and as hard as silex 
itselt.’ Yet the same traveller remarks, that this 
water may be kept in bottles for years, without de¬ 
positing any sediment; and only the slightest pos¬ 
sible deposite can be obtained by the application of 
chemical tests. 

Some of the Geysers, instead of pure water, vom¬ 
it large quantities of hot mud. Mr. Barrow states, 
that in order to bring on an eruption of this kind, 
the guide threw large masses of peat into the orifice 
of one of the fountains. Immediately, as if the 
Geyser were enraged at such treatment, it burst 
forth with a filthy column of black mud and water, 
intermingled with fragments of peat, to the height 
of sixty or seventy feet. 



LAPLANDISH CUSTOMS. 

A Lapland Winter begins, at the latest, in Novem¬ 
ber, and seldom closes much before June. During 
a considerable part of this long interval, the sun 
continues below the horizon, merely approaching 
so near its edge as to throw a feeble glimpse of 
twilight over the snowy desolation. But the absence 
of the solar rays are in some degree compensated 
by those mysterious phenomena, the Northern Lights, 
which dart from the horizon to the zenith, in fantas¬ 
tic and everchanging shapes, the celestial brilliancy 
and beauty of which are inconceivable by the in¬ 
habitants of other climes. By the light of this ethe- 
rial illumination, the Laplander makes long journeys 
across the ice and snow, drawn by a reindeer, which 
whirls the boat-like sledge along, at the rate of nine¬ 
teen miles an hour. It is affirmed that a messenger 
once travelled, with a single reindeer, (which was 
not changed during the journey,) from the frontiers 
of Norway to Stockholm, a distance of eight hun¬ 
dred miles, in forty-eight hours. The sledges are 


INFORMATION. 

so constructed, that an overturn is apt to take place 
many times in the course of a day’s journey ; but 
as the riders are securely fastened in, they manage 
to right themselves without stopping the reindeer, 
and seldom incur material damage. 

In the month ol June, the Laplanders make an 
annual migration from the mountainous interiour of 
the country to the seacoast. As the snow has now 
vanished, they leave their sledges behind, but take 
with them their entire herds of deer, which are la¬ 
den with the skins and furs that constitute almost 
their only articles of traffic. I'hese annual journeys 
are not, however, undertaken so much for the pur¬ 
poses of trade, as from a tender regard for the health 
of the rein-deer, wliich cannot be preserved except 
by the beneficial influence of the sea-breezes, in 
Summer. After a lew months spent in fishing for 
cod, coal-fish, huge plaice, and halibut, the emi¬ 
grants return to their native mountains, .still accom¬ 
panied by their herds, which now carry burdens of 
meal, cloth, manufactured articles, and spirituous 
liquors. 



[Migration of the Laplanders.] 

The Laplanders are a dwarfish people, averag¬ 
ing little more than five feet in height. Their life 
is one of great endurance and hardship, which, 
however, instead of breakingdown their constitutions 
renders them healthy and active. They are mea¬ 
gre and bony, yet, like most of the northern races, 
are capable of devouring, at a single meal, such im 
mense quantities of food as might afford them a 
comfortable subsistence for many days. 



[Male and Female Laplar lera.] 

65 

































































































511 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


The appearance of the two sexes, in their ordi¬ 
nary costumes, may be seen in the preceding cut. 
Their garments are chiefly composed of the fur of 
reindeer. They have no shirts nor stockings, the 
place of the latter being in some measure supplied, 
by thrusting dried grass into their shoes. It is 
averred by travellers, that the Lapland ladies are 
accustomed to wear a certain article of dress, which 
men in other countries are most anxious to keep to 
themselves. 


CONFORMATION OF MAN. 

['Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom.’] 

The foot of Man is very different from that of 
the Monkey; it is large; the leg bears vertically 
upon it; the heel is expanded beneath; the toes 
are short, and but slightly flexible ; the great toe, 
longer and larger than the rest, is placed on the 
same line with, and cannot be opposed to them. 
This foot, then, is peculiarly well adapted to sup¬ 
port the body, but cannot be used for seizing or 
climbing, and as the hands are not calculated for 
walking, Man is the only true bimanous and biped 
animal. 

The whole body of man is arranged with a view to 
a vertical position. His feet, as just mentioned, 
furnish him with a base more extensive than that of 
any other of the Mammalia. The muscles which 
extend the foot and thigh are more vigorous, whence 
proceed the projection of the calf and buttock ; the 
flexors of the leg are inserted higher up which al¬ 
lows full extension of the knee, and renders the 
calf more apparent. The pelvis is wider, hence a 
greater separation of the thighs and feet, and that 
pyramidal form of the body so favourable to equili¬ 
brium. The necks of the thigh bones form an an¬ 
gle with the body of the bone, which increases still 
more the separation of the feet, and augments the 
basis of the body. Finally, the head in this vertical 
position is in equilibrium on the body, because its 
articulation is exactly under the middle of its mass. 

Were he to desire it, Man could not, with con¬ 
venience, walk on all fours; his short and nearly 
inflexible foot, and his long thigh, would bring the 
knee to the ground ; his widely separated shoulders 
and his arms, too far extended from the median 
line would ill support the upper portion of his body. 
The great indented muscle, which, in quadrupeds, 
suspends, as in a girth, the body between the scap¬ 
ulae, is smaller in man than in any one among them. 
The head is also heavier, both from the magnitude 
of the brain and the smallness of the sinuses or cavi¬ 
ties of the bones ; and yet the means of supporting 
it are weaker, for he has neither cervical liga¬ 
ment, nor are his vertebrae so arranged as to pre¬ 
vent their flexure forwards; the results of this would 
be, that he could only keep his head in the same 
line with the spine, and then his eyes and mouth 
being directed towards the earth, he could not see 
before him ;—in the erect position, on the contrary, 
the arrangement of these organs is every way per¬ 
fect. The arteries which are sent to his brain not 
being subdivided, as in many quadrupeds, and the 
blood requisite for so voluminous an organ being 
carried into it with too much violence, frequent 
apoplexies would be the consequence of a horizon¬ 


tal position. Man, then, is formed for an erect 
position only. He thus preserves the entire use of 
his hands for the arts, while his organs of sense are 
most favourably situated for observation. 

These hands which derive such advantages from 
their liberty, receive as many more from their struct¬ 
ure. The thumb, longer in proportion than that of 
the Monkey, increases its facility of seizing small 
objects. All the fingers, the annularis excepted, 
have separate movements, a faculty possessed by no 
other animal, not even by the monkey. The nail, 
covering one side only of the extremity of the fin¬ 
ger, acts as a support to the touch, without de¬ 
priving it of an atom of its delicacy. The arms, to 
which these hands are attached are strongly and 
firmly connected by the large scapula, the strong 
clavicle, &c. 

Man, so highly favoured as to dexterity, is not at all 
so with respect to force. His swiftness in running 
is greatly inferior to that of other animals of his 
size. Having neither projecting jaws, nor salient 
canine teeth, nor claws, he is destitute of oflensive 
weapons ; and the sides and upper parts of his body 
being naked, unprovided even with hair, he is abso¬ 
lutely without defensive ones. Of all animals, he 
is also the longest in attaining the power necessary 
to provide for himself. 

This very weakness, however, is but one advan¬ 
tage more—it compels him to have recourse to that 
intelligence within, for which he is so eminently 
conspicuous. No quadruped approaches him in 
the magnitude and convolutions of the hemispheres 
of the brain, that is, in the part of this organ which 
is the principal instrument of the intellectual opera¬ 
tions. The posterior portion of the same organ ex¬ 
tends backwards,so as to forma second covering to 
the cerebellum ; the very form of his cranium an¬ 
nounces this magnitude of the brain, while the 
smallness of his face shows how slightly that por¬ 
tion of the nervous system which influences the ex¬ 
ternal senses predominates in him. 

Surgery. —The period, it is said, can be recol¬ 
lected in this country, when skilful surgeons were 
accustomed to ride one or two hundred miles, to per¬ 
form difficult operations. A gentleman crossed the 
Atlantic, in order to have the operation of lithotomy 
performed by the celebrated Dr. Cheselden. 

Pie-bald Negroes. Dr. Terry describes one of 
this variety of the negro race as having circular 
spots of white, on his hands, arms, and face, from 
the size of sixpence to that of a dollar; these spots 
were smooth, and of the colour of a fair and healthy 
man. 


Roman Houses. —Until the great conflagration 
of Rome, in the time of Nero, many of the houses 
were of wood. After that event, there was a sin¬ 
gular regulation as to their height—they were not to 
exceed seventy feet. Our modern by-laws limit the 
lowness, instead of the height, of houses. 

Want in Ireland.— In some parts of Ireland, 
for want of other food, the people are compelled to 
bleed the cattle and eat the boiled blood ! 









UF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


515 


AEROLITES. 

There are said to be two hundred and eleven 
recorded instances of the fall of stones from the 
upper regions of the air. Twenty-seven of these 
phenomena are known to have occurred previous 
to the Christian era ; but the unrecorded instances 
must have been infinitely more numerous ; as there 
have been no less than sixty, since the year 1803. 
Sometimes the stones have fallen in showers, as 
was the case in 1798, at Benares, in the East Indies. 
Generally, however, the aerolite finds its way to the 
earth in a single mass, of such weight as often to 
bury itself beneath the soil. Pallas, the French 
naturalist, speaks of one that he examined in Si¬ 
beria, which weighed about fourteen hundred pounds. 
On being analyzed, all these aerolites, or atmosphe¬ 
ric stones, are found to resemble each other in their 
composition ; and it is especially remarkable that 
they all contain the metal called nickel, in its native 
state; although nickel is never found native in any 
other mineral. 

The phenomena of large stones, descending 
through the atmosphere to the earth, appeared so 
strange, that many naturalists maintained an abso¬ 
lute incredulity in regard to their fall from the 
upper regions, and even as to the existence of the 
stone called aerolite. The latter fact, however, was 
susceptible of most abundant proof. One philos¬ 
opher then denied that they fell from the air, but 
supposed that they were drawn out of the earth by 
the attraction of a thunder-cloud. But if aerolites 
did really exist in the earth, and at so slight a depth 
that they could be thus drawn to the surface, they 
would occasionally be found, like other minerals, by 
digging. This has never been the case. Nor can 
these stones have been thrown up from volcanoes, 
(at least, not from the volcanoes of our own globe ;) 
for none of the substances disgorged by iEtna and 
Vesuvius, and other burning mountains, are anywise 
similar to the aerolite. But some highly distin¬ 
guished naturalists have adopted the theory, that 
aerolites are shot from volcanoes in the moon. 
That planet, according to their explanation, being 
only one thirty-second part as large as the earth, 
the force of gravitation is there proportionately 
small; and, of course a body thrown upward from 
the moon will fly thirty-two times farther than if, 
with an equal impetus, it were thrown from the 
earth. It is calculated that a stone flung from the 
moon, with twice the force of a cannon-ball, would 
reach the earth in two days and a half. If this 
theory be the true one, the Moon, as she sails 
through the ocean of space, may safely cannonade 
the Earth, without any dread of retaliation on our 
part; although the two planets are as unequal in 
bulk, as a gun-boat and a seventy-four. 

Other theorists suppose that aerolites are formed 
in the atmosphere by a chemical combination of the 
different ingredients, and that the masses fall to 
the earth, the moment that they come into exist¬ 
ence. Another opinion is, that aerolites are very 
small planets, which have their own separate orbits 
and regular movements, and all the other attributes 
of the great celestial bodies, except that they may 
be no bigger than one of the varnished globes on 
which we study geography. When the limit of 


existence, which the Creator has assigned to these 
miniature worlds, is fulfilled, they come, as if by 
chance, within the sphere of attraction of our own 
or other planets, and are drawn thitherward. By 
the velocity of their motion, they kindle into a blaze, 
and are fused into a mass of stone. By a similar 
process, perhaps, the Earth itself may hereafter 
become an aerolite, and be precipitated upon the 
surface of some mightier world, there to be won¬ 
dered at, as we wonder at the moon-stones. 

However fanciful the last-mentioned theory may 
appear, it is said to have been adopted by the illus¬ 
trious Sir Humphrey Davy. Nothing, however, 
seems to be determined respecting the origin of 
aerolites, except that they do really fall through the 
air, and that their fall is attended with a meteoric 
appearance in the atmosphere. On arriving at the 
earth, they are found to possess a considerable 
degree of heat. 


SPECIES OF MEN. 

Linnaeus, m his classification of the natural world, 
divided the genus Homo, or Man, into two species. 
The first was the Homo Sapiens, or Man endowed 
with intellect; this species comprehended all the 
descendants of Adam. The second species was 
the Homo Troglodytes ,—or Orang Outang ! The 
pride of the Homo Sapiens certainly revolts at the 
idea of being placed so nearly on a level with these 
great monkies; but when the claims of the latter 
are fairly considered, we might almost allow them 
to be our cousins, though we deny them the name 
of brethren. Persons, who are acquainted with the 
nature and habits of the Orang Outang, entertain 
no doubt, that their communities are governed by 
fixed laws, and that punishments are inflicted upon 
transgressors. Their government and social condi¬ 
tion considerably resemble those of an army; and 
severe penalties are incurred by those who infringe 
the rules of military discipline. Mr. Holman, the 
blind traveller, describes the punishment of a baboon 
for neglecting his duty as a sentinel on guard. It 
is another remarkable fact, which assimilates this 
monkey-tribe to the human race, that the female 
baboons are fond of little children, and delight in 
giving them food ; although, as their dexterity is not 
equal to their good intentions, they do not make 
very eligible nurses. 

But, however close upon our heels the inferiour 
tribes of creation may seem to tread, there is one 
great and invariable mark of distinction between 
the Man with a soul, and the Anitnal without one. 
The latter cannot communicate his intelligence to 
succeeding generations, nor accumulate it from age 
to age ; there is no progressive developement of the 
intellect of the race. It is otherwise with Man ; 
and as he is capable of adding wisdom to wisdom, 
throughout Eternity, we may full surely trust, that 
an Eternity will be allotted for the infinite expan¬ 
sion of his capacities. 


Duels. —In the sixteenth century, during a 
space of only twenty years, the King of France 
bestowed eight thousand pardons on duellists, who 
had killed their antagonists. 





516 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


MARY AND ELIZABETH. 

Q-ueen Mary and the Princess ('afterwards Queen) 
Elizabeth are thus described by an eye-witness, in 
1557 

‘ Mary Tudor is rather of little than middle stat¬ 
ure, thin and delicately formed, lively eyes, short¬ 
sighted, a strong, deep voice like that of a man, so 
that she is heard from a distance, extremely dili¬ 
gent in sewing, embroidery and other female la¬ 
bours, so finished and able a performer on the spinnet 
that professors are astonished. Her passions, pub¬ 
lic and domestic, often throw her into deep melan¬ 
choly. She is vexed about her husband, her own 
barrenness, the state of religion, &c. but, above all 
about her sister Elizabeth, upon whom, as her suc¬ 
cessor, the eyes and minds of all are directed. 

‘ Elizabeth, now twenty-three years old, is a young 
woman who is considered as not less remarkable for 
the graces of the mind than for those of the body, 
although it may be said that her countenance is 
rather pleasing than beautiful. In figure she is tall 
well-shaped, her flesh well to look on, though tend¬ 
ing to olive in complexion; fine eyes, and above all, a 
beautiful hand, which she seeks to display. Her 
spirit and intellect are admirable, so that she has 
known how to conduct herself, displaying both in 
times of suspicion and peril. She surpasses the 
queen in knowledge of languages, for, besides know¬ 
ing Latin, and Greek to a moderate extent, she un¬ 
derstands Italian, better than the queen, and takes 
so much pleasure in the latter language, that she 
will converse in no other tongue with natives of Ita¬ 
ly. She is proud, and considers herself as no less 
or less worthy than the queen. Henry the Eighth 
had set apart for her an annual income of 10,000 
ducats. She would consume much more, and in¬ 
cur great debts, if she did not purposely, to avoid 
increasing the suspicions of the queen, limit her 
household and attendance; for there is not a lord 
or gentleman in the realm who has not sought to 
}>lace himself, or a brother or son, in her service. 
So great is thus the affection and good will which 
is shown her, by which, in one way or another, her 
expenses are increased, although she opposes her 
poverty to the proposed enlargements of her estab¬ 
lishment, which crafty excuse, however, merely in¬ 
creases her party of hangers on, it being considered 
not only unusual, but in the highest degree unbe¬ 
coming, that a king’s daughter should be so hardly 
dealt with, and so iINnaintained. She is to appear¬ 
ance at liberty in her country residence, twelve miles 
from London ; in fact, however surrounded with 
spies and shut in with guards, so that no one comes 
or goes, nothing is spoken or done without the 
queen’s knowledge.’ 

CLIMATE OF ITALY. 

A French writer, speaking of the country in the 
vicinity of Nice, observes:—‘ The Winter months 
are here most delicious. But from February till the 
end of March, there is a prevalent northeast wind, 
which dries up the lungs, and nullifies all the good 
effects which may have resulted from spending the 
winter in this region. It is at this period that con¬ 
sumptive patients perish. All invalids are unfa¬ 
vourably atfected by this pernicious wind. Yet it 


requires great self-denial not to venture into (he 
open air, when the blue sky and the brilliant sun¬ 
shine, seen through the windows, seem to promise 
the temperature of Summer. The English physi¬ 
cians appear not to be sensible of the disadvantages 
of the climate. Their consumptive patients may be 
seen sitting on the banks of the Gulf of Genoa, for 
whole hours, exposed to the deadly blasts of the 
northeast wind. It is thus that the stubborn pre¬ 
judices of medical science rob these poor wretches 
of the little breath that remains to them.’ 


Physician’s Fee. —In Burmah, when a young 
woman is taken ill, her parents agree with the phy¬ 
sician, that if he cures the patient, he may have her 
for his trouble, but if she dies under his medicines, 
he is to pay them her value. It is said that success¬ 
ful physicians have large families of females, who 
have become their property in this manner. 

Mummy Cloth. —In the mummy pits and sepul¬ 
chres of Egypt, there are such immense quantities 
of the ancient cloths, in which mummies were for¬ 
merly enveloped, that the article has become an ob¬ 
ject of speculation in Europe, for the use of the 
paper-manufacturers. These cloths are linen, and 
sometimes possess great beauty and delicacy of tex¬ 
ture. It is observed that the warp has generally 
twice or thrice, and often four times as many threads 
in an inch of cloth, as the woof has. Modern weav¬ 
ers consider this circumstance as a proof that the 
ancient Egyptian weavers threw their shuttles with 
the hand. 


Church of Saint Sophia. —This edifice, of 
which we have given an engraving in another part 
of our Magazine, was built by the Emperor Theo¬ 
dosius. He superintended the work in person, and 
encouraged the artificers by gracious words, and 
promises of recompense. When it was completed, 
the Emperor was so struck with the grandeur and 
beauty of the church, that he named it Saint Sophia, 
or Holy Wisdom ; and exclaimed,—‘ Glory to God, 
who has judged me worthy to achieve this magnifi¬ 
cent work! Oh, Solomon, your temple was noth¬ 
ing to it!’ 

Custom. —The count de Seze, while an advocate 
at the French Bar, had undertaken the defence of 
Louis XVI, at the peril of his own life. After the 
return of the Bourbons, Louis XVHI, made de 
Seze a peer of France. One of the courtiers ob¬ 
served, that it had never been the custom to bestow 
this high dignity on an advocate. ‘ No,’ replied 
Louis; ‘ nor was it the custom of old, that a King 
of France should perish by the guillotine ; and 
neither was it the custom, that an advocate should 
have the courage to defend him, at the risk of shar¬ 
ing his fate !’—Magasin Universel. 

Complexion.— Ladies who wish to preserve a 
fine complexion, (as what lady does not?) must 
take care, especially if they dwell near the sea-shore, 
not to venture out in the evening at twilight, nor in 
the morning at 'day-break. But the latter caution 
is superfluous. 









OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


517 


FIRE AT MIRIMACHI, (N. B.) IN 1825. I 

['Martin’s History of the British Colonies.’] 

On the 6ih of October, the fire was evidently 
approaching Newcastle ; at difierent intervals fitful 
blazes and flashes were observed to issue from dif¬ 
ferent parts of the woods, particularly up the N. W. 
at the rear of Newcastle, in the vicinity of Douglas- 
town and Moorfields, and along the banks of the 
Bartibog. Many persons heard the crackling of 
falling trees and shrivelled branches, while a hoarse 
rumbling noise, not dissimilar to the roaring of dis¬ 
tant thunder, and divided by pauses, like the inter¬ 
mittent discharging of artillery, was distinct and au¬ 
dible. On the 7th of October, the heat increased 
to such a degree, and became so very oppressive, 
that many complained of its enervating effects. 
About twelve o’clock, a pale, sickly mist, lightly ! 
tinged with purple, emerged from the forest, and ! 
settled over it. This cloud soon retreated before a ' 
large dark one, which occupying its place, wrapt 
the firmament in a pall of vapour. This incum¬ 
brance retaining its position till about three o’clock, 
the heat became tormentingly sultry. There was j 
not a breath of air—the atmosphere was overloaded i 
—an irresistible lassitude seized the people, and a stu- i 
pifying dulness seemed to pervade every place but 
the woods, which now trembled, and rustled, and ; 
shook, with an incessant and thrilling noise of e.x- , 
plosions rapidly following each other, and mingling ' 
their reports with a discordant variety of loud and 
boisterous sounds. At this time the whole country 
appeared to be encircled with a fiery zone, which 
gradually contracting its circle by the devastation it 
made, seemed as if it would not converge into a 
point while any thing remained to be destroyed. I 

Peal after peal, crash after crash, announced the 
sentence of destruction. Every succeeding shock 
created fresh alarm ; every clap came loaded with 
its own destructive energy. With greedy rapidity 
did the flatnes advance to the devoted scene of their 
ministry; nothing could impede their progress. 
They removed every obstacle by the desolation they 
occasioned, and several hundred miles of prostrate 
forests and smitten woods marked their devastating 
way. 

That the stranger may form a faint idea of deso¬ 
lation and misery which no pen can describe, he 
must picture to himself a large and rapid river, thick¬ 
ly settled for one hundred miles or more, on both 
sides of it. He must also fancy four thriving towns, 
two on each side of this river, and then reflect, that 
these towns and settlements were all composed of 
wooden houses, stores, stables, and barns ; that these 
barns and stables were filled with crops, and that 
the arrival of the fall importations had stocked the 
ware houses and stores with spirits, powder, and a 
variety of combustible articles, as well as with the 
necessary supplies for the approaching winter. He 
must then remember that the cultivated, or settled 
parts of the river, is but a long narrow stripe, about 
a quarter of a mile wide, and lying between the riv¬ 
er and almost interminable forests, stretching along 
the very edge of its precincts, and all around it. 

* The iininediate loss of life in this fire was upwards of five 
hundred himian beings ; there were one hundred and fifty large 
vessels in the Miriinachi river ; some of these were consumed to 
tlie water’s edge, and most were several times on fire. 


E.xtending his conception, he will see these forests 
thickly expanding over more than six thousand 
square miles, and absolutely parched into tinder by 
the protracted heat of a long Summer. Let him then 
animate the picture by scattering countless tribes of 
wild animals ; hundreds of domestic ones ; and even 
thousands of men through the interior. Having 
done all this he will have before him a feeble descrip¬ 
tion of the extent, features, and general circumstan¬ 
ces of the country, which, in the course of a few 
hours, was suddenly enveloped in fire. 

Newcastle, yesterday a flourishing town, full of 
trade and spirit, and containing nearly one thous¬ 
and inhabitants, was now a heap of smoking ruins; 
and Douglas-town, nearly one third of its size, was 
reduced to the same miserable condition. Of the 
260 houses and store-houses that composed the for¬ 
mer but twelve remained ; and of the seventy that 
comprised the latter but six were left. Dispersed 
groups of half-famished, half-naked, and houseless 
creatures, all more or less injured in their persons ; 
many lamenting the loss of some property, or chil¬ 
dren, or relations and friends, were wandering 
through the country. Of the human bodies some 
were seen with their bowels protruding, others 
with the flesh all consumed, and the blackened 
skeletons smoking ; some with headless trunks and 
severed extremities ; some bodies burned to cinders; 
others reduced to ashes; many bloated and swollen 
by suffocation, and several lying in the last distorted 
position of convulsing torture. Brief and violent 
was their passage from life to death ; and rude 
and melancholy was their sepulchre—‘ unknelled, 
uncoffined, and unknown.’ Thousands of wild 
beasts, too, had perished in the woods, and from 
their putrescent carcasses issued streams of effluvi¬ 
um and stench, that formed contagious domes over 
the dismantled settlements. Domestic animals of all 
kinds lay dead and dying in different parts of the 
country ; myriads of salmon, trout, bass, and other 
fish, which, poisoned by the alkali formed by the 
ashes precipitated into the river, now lay dead or 
floundering and gasping on the scorched shores and 
beaches ; and the countless variety of wild fowl and 
reptiles shared a similar fate. 


Improve. —The use of the word improve, as in 
the following phrase —^improved as a tavern,’ (in¬ 
stead of occupied,or used as a tavern,) is a Yankee- 
ism. It originated with Dr. Cotton Mather. The 
Doctor’s hand writing was very difficult to decypher; 
and the printer of one of his publications mistook the 
word imployed {ox improved. Cotton Mather’s ver¬ 
bal authority being of great weight, this mistake had 
the effect of giving a new (but not improved) mean¬ 
ing to the word. 

Bibles. —The Duke of Wirternburg, in 1789, 
possessed no less than eighty thousand copies of the 
Bible, no two of which were alike. They were in 
upwards of fifty languages. 


Funer.vls. —At old fashioned funerals, if the dead 
person were a man, the men followed next the cof¬ 
fin, two and two;if a female, the women took the 
precedence, in like manner. 











518 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


THE POPE. 

[Dewey’s Travels.] 

The Pope is an absolute sovereign ; and it is found 
quite impossible, I understand, to restrain the pres¬ 
ent pontiff in a course of expenses that threatens 
the ruin, in temporal power, of the papal see. It is 
said that the annual expenses of the government 
now exceed the income, by about three thousand 
piastres. To meet this deficiency the revenues 
from one village and district after another of the 
Roman State are pledged away to the bankers from 
whom the money is borrowed, without any prospect 
of redemption; and I am told that ten or twelve 
years of extravagance like this must leave the papal 
exchequer completely bankrupt. 

It miglit be inferred from this that Gregory the 
Sixteenth is a very ambitious pontiff. Yet he affects 
very little state, is not disposed to exact observance, 
and brings his personal and household expenses, 
within the most moderate allowance. But with all 
this simplicity about the world, I suspect that he has 
a great deal of spiritual ambition. One or two cir¬ 
cumstances will illustrate this. He wrote a book 
before his elevation to the popedom, which gained 
little or no attention. He has since caused this 
work to be published in every form, from the folio 
to the small pocket volume. Saint Paul’s Cathedral, 
a mile and a half out of the walls, was once built, I 
suppose, in the midst of a populous neighbourhood. 
A few years ago it was destroyed by fire. The pope 
is now rebuilding it, at an immense expense, in what 
is neatly a waste field ; and for no ostensible reason 
that I can see, but that he may, by and by, write 
upon its pediment, ‘ Gregorious XVI, sedificavit 
hanc basilicam.’ 


Weight AND Substance of the Globe. —There 
has been much dispute among Philosophers, as to 
the materials of which the inside of our globe is 
composed. The composition of its external crust or 
shell, is known from actual observation ; but no ex¬ 
cavations have ever reached the kernel. Some sup¬ 
pose that the globe is filled with water, whence orig¬ 
inate the fountains which gush so abundantly over 
its surface. Others believe it to contain nothing 
more solid than gas, like an inflated balloon. Ac¬ 
cording to the hypothesis of other theorists, the in¬ 
side of the world is stuffed with loadstone, or with 
solid or molten metal. Our countryman, Captain 
Symmes, lived and died in the belief, that the globe 
is hollow, and contains inhabitants ; and, in recom¬ 
pense of a life of disappointment, we heartily wish 
that the poor Captain may now have gone to that 
inner region, and have found it a better and brighter 
world than the exteriour. But all the above theo¬ 
ries, and especially the Symmzonian, are thought to 
be irreconcileable with the known weight of the 
globe, which is capable of being accurately ascer¬ 
tained, by means either of natural philosophy or as¬ 
tronomy. We are not, indeed, prepared to say 
precisely how many pounds the earth does weigh; 
but its ponderosity is computed to be three or four 
times as great, as if it were entirely composed of 
the heaviest stones with which we are acquainted. 
It therefore follows, that the interiour substance of 
the globe must be extremely dense and heavy. 


Big Kettle. —In a convent at Pisa, there is a 
cast-iron kettle, fifty feet high, and one hundred 
and forty feet in circumference. It is affirmed that 
soup for six thousand paupers is daily prepared in 
this vast cooking utensil. We should apprehend, 
however, that such an ocean of soup would be apt 
to prove rather watery, and that a poor man must 
either drown himself in it, or depart unsatisfied. 
Charity, to be truly efficient, should have a person¬ 
al feeling; for, if it embrace too many objects, it 
will probably become meagre and unsubstantial, 
like a soup for six thousand paupers. 

Temperance in Iceland. —Till within a recent 
period, there was no part of the civilized world 
where intoxicating liquors were so little used as in 
Iceland. The inhabitants were abstemious, indeed, 
because their poverty refused them the means of 
being otherwise; but to this forced abstinence may 
be attributed many of the sim|)le virtues, which 
have always flourished in that frozen and dreary 
region. At present there seems reason to apprehend 
a change for the worse. Brandy has become much 
cheaper than formerly, and is more generally used; 
the annual importation being estimated at about a 
thousand barrels, which would allow somewhat more 
than two bottles to each inhabitant of the Island 


American Architecture. —A Swedish traveller 
remarks, somewhat severely ;—‘ The architecture 
of most public and private buildings in America, is 
unfortunately, copied partly from England, partly 
from Italy, and even from Greece; but it is seldom 
preserved in its original taste. The temple of The¬ 
seus at Athens, St. Peter’s at Rome, and a house in 
Regent street, London, are all mixed together; 
and out of this variety a whole is produced, which 
is denominated American Architecture.’ 


Valley of Caverns. —In the island of St. Mi¬ 
chael, one of the Azores, is the celebrated valley 
of Caverns. In this valley, there are three large ba¬ 
sins of boiling water, which are continually bub¬ 
bling and steaming, as if an intense fire were bla¬ 
zing underneath. The diameter of the most capa¬ 
cious is about twenty feet; and the temperature 
of its water varies from 80 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. 
One of these three boiling springs throws up an 
immense quantity of mud, somewhat resembling 
soap, and which possesses wonderful virtues as a 
remedy for ulcers and cutaneous diseases. It is 
affirmed, that if a loud noise be made at the mouth 
of this spring, by shouting or otherwise, the boiling 
water will suddenly be spouted forth, sometimes to 
the distance of ten feet. 


Hot Springs. —In Germany, beyond the Rhine, 
(says Pliny,) there were fountains so fervid, that 
whoever drank of the water would feel the heat with¬ 
in him, for three days afterwards. The waters of 
another fountain, when put up in bottles, retained 
their heat three days. 

Goats. —In the pastures of New England, soon 
after the settlement of the country, goats were as 
common as cows are now. 










OF USEFUL INFORMATION. 


519 


SPIDER’S WEB. 

Kirby and Spence, in their work on entomology, 
have described the process by which a spider spins 
its web. There is a four-fold apparatus, or rather 
four separate instruments, which act together for 
the formation of the thread. Each of these instru¬ 
ments resembles a sieve or colander, being pierced 
with holes so fine, that the microscope discovers a 
thousand of them on a surface no larger than the 
point of a pin. From each of these holes proceeds 
a thread of incredible tenuity ; and all these threads 
unite themselves, thus forming one combined thread 
from each of the four instruments. At the distance 
of about a tenth of an inch from the spider’s body, 
the four threads unite, and compose the main thread, 
of which the tissue of the web is woven. The 
smaller species of spiders spin their threads so fine, 
that many thousands of them, if twisted together, 
would not equal the thickness of a hair. This is 
the most wonderful fact that has ever been observed, 
in regard to the extreme divisibility of matter. The 
thread of a silk-worm is not nearly so fine as that 
of the spider, although it has been proved, by very 
exact experiments, that the thread which is wound 
round a silk-worm’s cocoon, is generally thirty-six 
thousand feet long. Threads of metal have like¬ 
wise been drawn out to an almost incredible fine¬ 
ness, but the skill of the human artist comes infinite¬ 
ly short of that of the spider or the silk-worm, and 
no mortal fabric, whatever may be the material, will 
ever equal theirs. 

New Hollanders. —It is said of the natives of 
the south-eastern part of New Holland that, till the 
Europeans visited their country, they had never 
thought of tasting an oyster, although these delicious 
shell-fish are very abundant on their coasts. Even 
now, they will not eat them raw. Generally, how¬ 
ever, they are by no means nice in regard to the 
quality of their food ; and among other delicacies 
equally tempting, they devour serpents, lizards, and 
the eggs of pismires. 

El Dorado. —’From the first discovery of the new 
world till within half a century, it was firmly 
believed that there existed a region in the interior 
of South America, where the hills were of solid gold 
and silver, and every thing in a style of correspond¬ 
ing magnificence. The King of this bright land 
was anointed every morning with precious gums, 
and then covered with gold dust, which adhered to 
his body, and gave him the appearance of a golden 
image, or a living Man of Gold. Among numerous 
other adventurers, the illustrious Sir Walter Raleigh 
went in search of El Dorado, or the Golden Kingdom. 
The last expedition for its discovery was undertaken 
so lately as the year 1775. 

Ship Timker. —Except for the supply from Can¬ 
ada, the British government would be unable to 
obtain masts for their ships of the line. Even in 
the primeval forests, a tree, ‘fit for the mast of some 
great admiral,’ is rarely met with. According to 
the contract, such trees must be ‘ ninety-nine feet 
long, thirty inches cube at fourteen feet from the base, 
and measuring twelve loads eighteen feet each, when 


dressed.’ The cost, including the expense of trans¬ 
portation, is enormous. It is calculated, that, taking 
the forest at large, not one tree in ten thousand is 
fit to cut, even for ordinary ship-timber. 


English Nobles. —A traveller in England, in 
the year 1551, remarks,—‘The people in general 
are tolerably tall of stature; but most of the nobles 
are little, which comes from the prevalent custom 
of marrying rich damsels under age.’ At the 
present day, the upper classes of the English are 
said to be physically superiour to those beneath 
them. 


Japanese Cookery. —The people of Japan, ob¬ 
serves a traveller in that country, use every product 
of the seas and rivers as food, from the whale down 
to the cockle. Even the whalebone is finely 
scraped, and forms an ingredient of some of their 
dishes. 


Nature’s Penalties. —‘ Nature, although so 
kind a mother, preserves her laws by severer pun¬ 
ishments than any of human origin. What human 
castigation is equal to a fit of the gout, with which 
she scourges the wine-bibber ? Compare a healthy 
peasant’s cheek with the livid countenance of a 
gin-drinker, and who can say that a magistrate’s 
fine for drunkenness is as severe as her’s ? What 
earthly retribution is so terrible as the torment of a 
guilty conscience ? ’ 


Edible Bird’s-Nests. —The nests of a certain 
species of swallow are eaten as the highest possible 
delicacy, in China, and sometimes sell at a great 
price. In order to form the nest, the swallow eats 
a quantity of a peculiar weed, which is disgorged, 
after being converted into a jelly in the bird’s 
stomach. 


Jerusalem —In the sacred city are still pointed 
out the precise spots, where many of the events 
recorded in Scripture are supposed to have occurred. 
There are the ruins of Pilate’s mansion, and the 
path which the Saviour trod from thence to Cal¬ 
vary. The place is likewise shown, where Simon 
the Cyrenean helped Jesus to bear his cross. All 
these localities, however, have probably been settled 
on no better 4 uthority than that of the monks, who 
dwelt in Jerusalem after it had been conquered by 
the infidels. 


MusquiTOES. —The Quarterly Review speaks of 
a traveller to the northern regions, who placed upon 
his fire a large piece of what he conceived to be 
peat. In a short time, the room was filled with a 
cloud of musquitoes. It appeared that the sup¬ 
posed peat was, in reality a frozen mass of these 
insects, and that the warmth of the fire had revived 
them from their torpidity. 


Eggs. —An Egg is so constructed, that, roll it 
how you will, the yolk must always be upper 
most. 













520 


PICTORIAL LIBRARY 


Sperm Whales. —‘The sagacity of Sperm 
Whales/ observes Obed Macy, in his interesting 
History of Nantucket, ‘ is in no way so remarkably 
manifested, as in the instantaneous knowledge they 
possess when one of their number is struck and 
wounded, at a distance of two, three, and even four 
miles apart. Whether they receive this knowledge 
by sight or sound, we shall not pretend to say. 
When a whale is struck, those around, and feeding 
undisturbed, sometimes instantly, as with one accord, 
make the best of their way towards the wounded 
whale, which gives the disengaged boats a fine 
opportunity to fasten. At other times, they will 
collect in a body, and go in a contrary direction as 
fast as possible, to all appearance much frightened. 

‘ Sperm whales migrate far and wide. Instances 
can be cited of whales having been struck, and 
making their escape in the Atlantic Ocean, being 
afterwards taken in the Pacific, with the heads of 
harpoons in them, bearing the marks of ships known 
to have been cruising eastward of Cape Horn.’ 

Incurable Disease. —Sir Edward Coke being 
oppressed with infirmities, a friend sent him several 
physicians to hold a consultation upon his case. 
But Sir Edward told them, that he had ‘never taken 
physic since he was born, and would not now begin ; 
and that he had now upon him a disease, which all 
the drugs of Asia, the gold of Africa, the silver of 
America, nor all the Doctors of Europe could cure, 
—Old Age! ’ Yet human nature has not always 
been content to believe that there is no remedy for 
this disease; men have often wasted the oil of life, 
and grown old faster than there was need, in vain 
researches for some medicine that should recall 
their youth. Were we to judge merely from the 
great advances that have been already made in 
science, such a medicine might not seem beyond 
the reach of the philosopher. But it is beyond his 
reach, because the Creator has absolutely debarred 
mankind from all inventions and discoveries, the 
results of which would counteract the general laws, 
that He has established over human affairs. 


Algerine Surgery. —‘ When a person is to be 
bled,’ says Mr. Lord, in his work on Algiers, ‘ the 
operator commences by tying a string round the 
patient’s neck, so tight that he is almost choked. 
When the veins in the forehead appear so full as to 
be ready to burst, he then takes a razor and makes 
five or six incisions, from which the blood gushes 
all over the patient’s face, and its flow is assisted 
by rolling a round wooden cylinder over the inci¬ 
sions. When the operation is finished, they wash 
the wound, staunch the blood with a little argilla¬ 
ceous earth, tempered with water, and bind round 
it a handkerchief. Their application to a raw 
wound is melted butter, poured on as hot as pos¬ 
sible, or the application of a heated knife round its 
edges, so as to convert the wound into a burn. 
This is the principle also of their dressing after 
amputations, which are generally performed at a 
single stroke, as they see done by the Sultan’s or 
Dey’s executioner, after which the limb is thrust 
into a kettle of boiling pitch, which certainly will 
put an end to the bleeding, but must needs he most 


excruciating torture. The patient, too, is always 
subject to the danger that, when the burnt surface 
is separating, the blood may break out ahesh.’ 

Mile-Stones. —In France, the central Mile- 
Stone of the whole kingdom is placed near the 
church of Notre Dame. All the roads which set 
out from the frontiers, or from any other point, 
have their termination there. In ancient Rome, 
the central Mile-Stone was a golden column, erect¬ 
ed by the Emperor Augustus in the forum, near the 
Temple of Saturn ; and from thence all the mag¬ 
nificent roads of the Empire diverged, like radii 
from a centre. It is doubtful whether the United 
States will ever have a central Mile-Stone; nor, 
perhaps, is it desirable that they should ; for it 
would be one of the phenomena of a government 
and nation, consolidated to a much greater degree 
than .at present. If, in future times, such a Mile- 
Stone should ever be established, its site ought to 
be near the national Capitol; but a glance at the 
map will convince us, that the Capitol must then 
be far westward of Washington. 

Short Nights. —‘ On approaching the higher 
latitudes’ (says Mr. Dewey, in ‘ The Old World and 
the New,’) ‘one of the most remarkable things that 
drew my attention, was the extreme shortness of 
the nights. It is not quite two hours from the end 
of the evening twilight to the first dawn of the 
morning. The sun sets, I think, at about half-past 
eight o’clock, and rises at half-past three in the 
morning. (On the 26th of June.) A gentleman 
on board said that he had read in England, by twi¬ 
light, at 10 o’clock in the evening, without difficulty.’ 


WOMEN WHO HAVE BECOME VOLUNTAEY EXILES. 

“ ’T is ever so! affection feeds 
Sometimes on flowers. — how oft on weeds! ” 

J. H. WiFFEN. 

Antonia Flaxilla, when her husband was ex¬ 
iled by Nero, preferred to accompany her beloved 
lord into banishment, although she might, by- 
remaining at Rome, have enjoyed all the pleas¬ 
ures and delights of that city. Egnatia Maxi- 
milla, whose husband, Gallus, was found guilty 
of the Pysonian faction, the same conspiracy in 
which Priscus, the husband of Flaxilla, had 
joined, also accompanied her exiled partner. 

Sulpitia, having been, by her mother, Julia, pre¬ 
vented following Lentulus Crustellis, her husband, 
into banishment, when he was confined in Sicily, 
by the Triumvirate, made her escape from those 
appointed to watch over her, under the attire of a 
maid-servant, and, attended by two of her women 
and two men-servants, fled secretly to the place 
where her husband was, preferring a share in his 
miseries and misfortunes to every enjoyment Rome 
could offer. 

Fannia, the illustrious wife of Helvidius Pris¬ 
cus, attended him in exile up to the period of his 
unfortunate and unjust death ; she was confined, 
for the third time, from the death of Tiberius Nero 
to the death of Domitian. Pliny has commemorated 
the virtues of this excellent lady in his Epistles. 























